Alton Parks and Recreation baseball had some competitive action on Wednesday night, with the Eagles taking on the Lumberjacks on Diamond 4 at Gordon F. Moore Park in Alton at 6 p.m.
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The boys, who are between the ages of 11 and 13, seemed to be having the time of their lives as they hit the field for the first of 12 games in the Summer classic.
Lumberjacks coach David Ollenbittle was fairly optimistic about the state of his current team, which was missing a few key members.
“Our boys are holding their own,” Ollenbittle said. “Pitching has been our thing tonight.
Pitching for the Lumberjacks was indeed extremely impressive. One of the young pitchers, Joab, towered over the mound and threw with great precision most of the evening.
Scott Spangler co-coaches the Lumberjacks alongside Ollenbittle.
Most would imagine this age group to take the sport less than seriously, but the boys proved that notion wrong immediately as they hit the field.
“The professionalism is a testament to their parents, I think,” Ollenbittle said. “You’d be hard-pressed to find a kid on this bench to think that this is anything but competitive baseball, even if it is just recreational fun.”
Overall, Ollenbittle was optimistic about his team. “My favorite part about coaching this team is the boys and their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. It’s made the past four years coaching this team very enjoyable. We’ve had a lot of off-season fun with everyone, too.”
Unfortunately for the Lumberjacks, the Eagles, led by Chad Lewis and Scott Grindstaff, won in a 5-3 victory. However, the effort of the Lumberjacks did not go unnoticed, and with practice, the Lumberjacks may end up having quite a successful season.
Other recreation results to Riverbender.com from Jessica Wiedman, Godfrey Park and Recreation supervisor, were:
Coach Mike Heinz and the Badgers –Majors Division (11-12 years old):
Badgers (Heinz) vs Steward (Godfrey team), W 14-4, Grant Heinz complete game win, 8 strikeouts, 1 walk; Aiden Keshner 2 for 3
Badgers (Heinz) vs Tassinari (Godfrey team), L 2-12
Badgers (Heinz) vs Markel (Godfrey team), L 2-3, Connor Hampton – HR
Badgers (Heinz) vs Tassinari (Godfrey team), W 9-8, Losing 8 to 1, scored 8 runs in last inning to win.
Badgers (Heinz) vs Coffman (Jerseyville team), L 1-11, really good pitching by Goetten from Coffman (Jerseyville)
Badgers (Heinz) vs McDuffie (Jerseyville team), L 6-11, 9 strikeouts by Steven Hamby
Badgers (Heinz) vs Kanallakan (Jerseyville team), L 4-8, 9 strikeouts by Caleb Gray
Coach Corey Bell and the Sam’s Soldiers – Minors B Division (9-10 years old; 1st year teams)
Sam’s Soldier’s won 15-12 against with the winning pitcher being Scottie Bartow and the save by Lucas Biggs. Key RBI hits in the Bottom of the 4th inning brought in the go ahead run.
Anyone with summer recreation results can send them to news@riverbender.com and danbrannan@riverbender.com. The score, winning pitcher, top hitters are the things necessary to be published in the Riverbender.com sports roundup. E-mail danbrannan@riverbender.com if you want to suggest your key game featured with photos.
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