Oak Park Falcons soar at own tourney

A solid pitching performance by Megan Sullivan helped the 12U Oak Park Falcons (Black) win the 2012 Falcon Fest Tournament over the weekend.   

The Falcons shut out the N. Riverside Black Widows 9-0 in five innings Sunday to win the Gold Division championship at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest.

"The girls came out ready to play," said head coach Johnny Scott of the Falcons. "They wanted this from the start, so I just allowed it to happen. I just sat back and watched them play, and they were excellent."

The Falcons jumped out early, scoring five runs in the first inning. They added two more insurance runs in the second thanks in part to an RBI single by catcher Mariah Scott.

Scott finished 1-for-1 with an RBI and two walks in Sunday's victory. Sullivan drove in two runs, including the ninth and final run by grounding into a fielder's choice at third base. She also threw five scoreless innings to record her third shutout of the tournament. She yielded just four hits, while striking out four and not allowing a walk.

 "I just pretended that we were playing catch, and that it was just a normal game," she said after the victory. "It doesn't bother me when I give up a huge hit. I just concentrate on one pitch at a time and see where that takes me."

The Falcons went undefeated on the weekend. They opened the tournament with a 4-0 victory over Melrose Park on Friday night. Sullivan struck out 15 batters in that win, while game MVP Sam Michaud recorded a triple. The team also downed Homer 10-2. The Falcons won both of their playoff games by a combined score of 21-0.

"Everything went well, it was a well-run tournament," said coach Scott. "Good teams came to visit and everyone played well. It was a whole lot of fun, and I hope the winning continues for us."

For the Black Widows, Gianna Panzani went 1-for-2 with a double, while Kailyn Ngo and Chrissy Cook each finished 1-for-2 with a single.

The tournament was the first invite for the Black Widows, who ended up with a 2-2 record on the weekend. Both losses came from the Falcons Black. But the Widows knocked out the Falcons Green team 13-2 in the semifinal. 

After a long weekend, Sullivan and her teammates seemed more excited than exhausted.

"I'm pretty tired," she said, "but all of this excitement definitely makes up for it."

The Elmwood Park Lady Tigers, a team made up entirely of players from Oak Park and River Forest, won the 10U championship by going 5-0 in the tournament. The Lady Tigers defeated Barrington 10-3 to win the title game. Maire O'Donnell hit two home runs and pitcher Izzy Newbury notched the victory in the title game.