The Elmhurst-River Forest Little League Junior League partnership is developing into a dynasty of sorts.
The team, comprised of players from the Elmhurst Youth Baseball 14U juniors all-star team and players from the River Forest Little League, recently won the Central region championship for a third year in a row.
Elmhurst-River Forest is playing this week (Aug. 9-16) in the Little League Junior League World Series in Taylor, Michigan—the same event viewers see each year on ABC/ESPN from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but at a higher age level.
Elmhurst-River Forest went 4-0 on its way to the Central region title in Midland, Michigan. The team opened play with a 4-2 win over Whitefish Bay (Wisconsin).
Elmhurst-River Forest broke open a 2-2 tie against Whitefish Bay with a pair of runs in the fourth inning. Daniel Goggin and Tyler Welch each had a double, while Ayden San Roman and Tiago Rangel each had a hit. Elmhurst-River Forest took advantage of nine walks. Goggin also stole two bases.
Mario Iveljic, Xander Escarpita and Jimmy Madden combined to limit Whitefish Bay to five hits, while fanning five. Escarpita was the winning pitcher in relief. He fanned three in three innings. Madden earned the save, pitching the final 1 2/3 innings.
Elmhurst-River Forest edged Bullock Creek Little League (Midland, Michigan) 7-6 to advance to the Central region semifinals. Elmhurst-River Forest trailed 4-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth before scoring two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth to pull ahead. Elmhurst-River Forest held off a Bullock Creek comeback over the final two innings.
Eight different Elmhurst-River Forest players registered one hit each with San Roman and Escarpita each doubling and Iveljic hitting a double. Elmhurst-River Forest also swiped nine bases with Goggin, Roshan Vitha and Rangel each registering two stolen bases. San Roman had three RBI, while Iveljic had two RBI.
Five Elmhurst-River Forest pitchers combined to limit Bullock Creek to five hits while striking out six. Will Bartolucci was the winning pitcher in relief. He pitched 1 2/3 innings. AJ Fleming picked up the save. He pitched the seventh inning.
In the semifinals, Elmhurst-River Forest downed Negaunee (Michigan) 11-0 with Iveljic and Dylan Ranieri combining to throw a combined five-inning no-hitter. Ranieri pitched the final four innings and struck out two.
Elmhurst-River Forest pounded out 12 hits and led 9-0 after three innings. Welch had three hits and an RBI, while Escarpita had two hits and an RBI. Rangel had a hit and two RBI, while Iveljic had two hits and an RBI. Vitha had a hit and an RBI, while Madden also had a hit and an RBI. Fleming added an RBI, while Bartolucci had a hit and an RBI. Rocco Popo had one RBI and walked two times.
Elmhurst-River Forest then defeated Whitefish Bay again 10-0 in five innings to win the Central region title. Elmhurst-River Forest had 14 hits. San Roman had two hits and three RBI, while Rangel had two hits and an RBI. Goggin also had two hits and an RBI, as did Bartolucci. Goggin and Bartolucci each had a double. Eight different players had at least one hit.
Iveljic pitched a five-inning shutout. He allowed only five hits and struck out four.
Prior to the Central region tournament, Elmhurst-River Forest won the Illinois state title with a 4-0 mark at Dickinson House baseball field in Oglesby.
In a 15-1 win over Illinois Valley, Elmhurst-River Forest took advantage of 14 walks. San Roman had two hits and two RBI, while Vitha had three RBI. Ranieri had a double. Rangel stole three bases, while Welch had two steals. Elmhurst-River Forest stole 11 bases.
Three Elmhurst-River Forest pitchers combined to allow two hits and record five strikeouts. Madden was credited with the win. He struck out two in 2 1/3 innings. Elmhurst-River Forest scored eight runs in the fourth inning.
In an 8-5 win over Burbank American, Elmhurst-River Forest scored five runs in the fifth to break open the game. Madden had three hits (2 doubles) and four RBI. Rangel had two hits and an RBI. Escarpita had three steals, while Welch had two stolen bases.
Four Elmhurst-River Forest pitchers allowed a combined five hits and struck out nine. Fleming picked up the win in relief. He pitched the final 3 1/3 innings and struck out three while allowing no runs.
In a 20-0 victory over Plainfield, Elmhurst-River Forest had 17 hits. San Roman, Goggin, Ranieri and Rangel each had a double. Rangel finished with three hits and three RBI. Madden had three hits and four RBI, while Ranieri had three hits and an RBI. Goggin had two hits and two RBI, while Escarpita had a hit and two RBI. San Roman had two hits and an RBI.
Madden and Ranieri combined to throw a four-inning no-hitter. Each had one strikeout. Madden was the winning pitcher.
Elmhurst-River Forest then defeated Burbank American again, this time 10-1, for the Illinois state title. Elmhurst-River Forest led 3-1 before scoring two runs in the fifth and five in the sixth. The team had 12 hits.
Vitha had three hits and an RBI, while Rangel (3 RBI), San Roman (2 RBI) and Iveljic each had two hits, as did Welch (1 RBI, 3 runs scored). Rangel had two doubles, while San Roman and Escarpita each had a double.
Iveljic was the winning pitcher. He threw a seven-inning complete game, allowing five hits (1 extra-base hit), while striking out four. He threw 60 of 95 pitches for strikes and faced six batters over the minimum.
The Elmhurst-River Forest coaching staff includes manager Rob Fleming along with assistants BJ Bartolucci and Lee Fitzgerald.
