The River Forest 11U baseball team won the Little League Illinois State Championship in Freeport, Illinois. The team won four of five games, highlighted by three comeback wins and a dramatic 6-5 victory over Tri-Cities in the title game.
“Coming back to win three games shows how resilient these kids are,” said head coach Matt Hickey. “I can’t say enough about their collective character. They’re talented, but more importantly, they never quit. As a coaching staff, we’re privileged that these guys let us come along for an incredible ride.
“The support we received in Freeport, and the entire state tournament season, from not only our kids’ parents but RFYBS, was amazing,” Hickey added. “The cheering section during the championship game, which included a number of 10U players and their parents, clearly inspired our kids.”
Players include Matt Carolan, Spike Gall, Patrick Ganschow, Luke Hickey, Ben Jarnecke, A.J. Kilburg, Ryan Lazewski, Nic Lissuzzo, Dutch Navigato, Ethan Niewoehner, T.J. Nix, Jimmy O’Brien, Jack Paris. Assistant coaches are Dennis Jarnecke and Joe Lazewski.
