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CHANNAHON – There’s no substitute for putting the ball in play.
Just ask the Minooka 12U Mudslingers after they beat the Somonauk RedHawks, 15-5, on Sunday to win the championship of the Channahon Fireworks Tournament.
Minooka, which earned a berth in the title game with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Whiteford in the semifinals earlier in the day, struck out only three times in its four innings at bat.
And that’s part of the plan, co-coach Brent Barnes said.
“We’ve been working on our hitting,” Barnes said. “The top seven or so in our lineup can really crush the ball. We’ve been working on having the guys at the bottom put the ball in play so we can turn the lineup back over to the top, and they did a good job of that.
“We have some speedsters all up and down the order, so if they just put it in play, there’s a good chance they will get on. And, once we’re on base, we keep running.”
Minooka saw Somonauk take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but that didn’t last long.
The Mudslingers got five hits and stole 10 bases in the bottom of the first en route to eight runs.
Jake Formenti, who pitched the first three innings, led off with a single up the middle, then stole second and third.
Catcher Bryce Barnes then walked and stole second before Jonathon Forneris singled to right to score Formenti and move Barnes to third. A steal of second by Forneris put runners on second and third, and Brandon Moore beat out an infield hit to second, scoring Barnes.
Moore stole second before a wild pitch brought in Forneris. Tyler Standord walked, then stole second, and Moore scored when Tre Sangiacomo grounded to third and Moore beat the throw at home.
Bryce Harris singled through the middle to bring home Stanford to make it 5-1. Two outs later, Jack Kennedy reached on an error as Sangiacomo scored and Ian Ban singled to left to score both Harris and Kennedy for an 8-1 lead.
Somonauk got two runs back in the top of the second to make it 8-3, but Minooka countered with five more in the bottom of the second, all with two outs.
Moore then started a rally with a single to center and Stanford followed with a long double to left.
A walk to Sangiacomo and a single by Harris loaded the bases. Julian Reyes walked to bring home Stanford and Connor Gregorec walked, forcing in Sangiacomo. Kennedy then doubled to left, scoring Harris and Reyes.
Somonauk got an RBI double from Brendon McNally in the top of the third to make it 13-4, and Minooka answered with two in the bottom. Forneris doubled to center to score Barnes, who had led off with a walk.
An out later, Stanford singled up the middle to cap the Minooka scoring as Forneris crossed the plate.
“It’s my first year with the team, and it’s been fun,” said Stanford, who had two hits and two RBIs despite an injured calf. “What I like the most about it is the players. I am friends with everyone.”
Forneris also had two hits and two RBIs, while Harris and Moore had two hits as well.
“I’ve been trying to stay focused when I am hitting,” said Forneris, who shut out Whiteford in the semifinals. “That, and keeping my feet planted. I felt good pitching in the first game. I was hitting my spots and got a lot of strikeouts.”
“We played good ball all weekend,” Barnes said. “We started a little slow early in the week, but we really got rolling this weekend.
“We played good defense, too, and we have been working hard on that. I tell them that defense wins games, and that showed in this tournament. We didn’t give teams very many extra bases.”