While Hinsdale’s 12-year-olds won a state Little League championship Monday, the 11-year-olds stayed alive and the 10-year-olds were eliminated in state competition.
The 11-year-olds quickly put themselves in the hot seat by losing Saturday in the opening round to River Forest, 16-7, in Streamwood.
“We were a little over confident,” Hinsdale manager Scott Frisoni said. “We didn’t play our best game at all, but we talked after the game, and our kids became very focused.”
Hinsdale responded with a 15-2 win Sunday over Olney and a 21-4 victory Monday over La Grange.
The La Grange team opened the tournament with a 4-3 win over Streator, but fell into the losers’ bracket Sunday with a 5-4 loss to Horner Park.
Hinsdale’s back-to-back wins advanced it to a scheduled Tuesday night game against Streator. The winner of that contest moves on to play Horner Park at 7 p.m. Wednesday, with the championship slated for Thursday against Tri-City.
“I told our kids after that first game that they had a choice to make,” Frisoni said. “They had the choice to leave it all on the field. We’re in this to win it, so whether we finish second or eighth doesn’t really matter.
After winning its first game over Hinsdale, River Forest was eliminated with losses Sunday to Tri-Cities, 18-8, and Monday to Streator, 15-4.
Hinsdale’s 10-year-olds were eliminated from their state tournament with a 2-1 loss in Salem Monday to Riverside.
‘It was as well played of a game as I’ve seen in a long time,” Hinsdale manager Ben Jagoe said. “There were 10 or 12 really oustanding defensive plays.”
Even with the elimination, Jagoe was proud.
“We’re excited to be one of the elite teams in the state,” he said.
Saturday’s first round went well for Hinsdale, which defeated Rochelle, 15-3. But a 22-7 loss Sunday to River Forest put Hinsdale into the losers’ bracket.
Twitter @chuckwriting
