Kalco proved to be the kings of coach-pitch baseball all season.
Kalco brought home the championship in the boys 7-8 league, completing an undefeated run throughout the summer by sweeping its two games in the tournament. Kalco smashed SMG 17-3 in the semifinals, then took down Solomon Consulting 17-9 in the finals.
Something special seemed to be brewing for Kalco dating back to last fall, when many of the same kids – playing as American Soil Supply Company - ran off a 9-0 record to claim the fall championship. By the end of this summer’s tournament, that winning streak was up to 21.
“That fall was focused on fundamentals, mental toughness and how to play the game,” said coach Scott Reilly. “We worked very hard as a team – practicing two times a week to learn the game and how to be mentally tough. We were having fun doing it and it led us to another defeated season and getting to take home the league and tournament championships.”
Kalco entered the tournament as the undisputed No. 1 seed following a 10-0 season where it outscored opponents by 102 runs. SMG earned its way into the semifinals by beating Triple C Nursery 14-0, but Kalco came into the tournament on upset alert and played its best ball when it mattered most.
Lead-off hitter Hudson Pack, one of the only additions to the lineup from last fall (Hudson and Branson Pack joined the group for this spring season), was a catalyst for the semifinals romp. He was 3-for-3 and was on his way to the cycle before the run-rule victory, finishing with a single, double and triple.
Owen Young and Aidan Reilly were also 3-for-3 in the semis, while Kohen Skinner rocked a two-run, inside-the-park homer to spark a seven-run second inning that put the game away.
Colton Batey added the exclamation point when a round-tripper of his own when Kalco maxed out with eight runs in the third inning (the most, by rule, a team can score in any frame).
Camden Chadwell led SMG’s offense with an inside-the-park homer and Gunner Powers smacked a pair of singles and scored twice.
After a short break following the semifinal win, Kalco got right back to work while searching for another title. Solomon Consulting wasn’t going to make it easy though.
The No. 2 seed, which earned its spot in the finals by beating M&J Logging 12-10, got off to a rocking start when Beckham Frey ripped a three-run, inside-the-park HR in the first. Levi Zahn followed with a single and scored on Mason Dearhold’s double, making it 4-0 early.
Kalco never panicked and responded with an offensive explosion of its own. Three straight singles by Young, Eli Sherrard and Reilly were followed with back-to-back doubles from Aiden Johnson and Batey to tie the game at 4-4. Kaysn Taylor broke the tie with a triple, giving his team the lead for good.
After holding Solomon Consulting scoreless in the second, Kalco exploded again. Keegan Elkins, Brayden Bruce and Decker Matheney started things at the bottom of the order with hits, then the top of the order broke the game wide open. Hudson Pack, Young and Eli Sherrard had three straight singles before Reilly smashed an inside-the-park HR that made it 12-4.
Dearhold and Frey tried to keep Solomon within striking distance with two more hits each in the final three innings, while Barrett Dye and DJ Ramirez had singles and scored for their team as well, but the deficit was too much to overcome.
Branson Pack singled and scored in the third for Kalco and Reilly secured the title with his second inside-the-park HR (a two-run shot to the fence in the fourth) to push his team to 17 runs in the fourth.
By the end of the finals, every member of the 13-person squad had reached base multiple times, including a 2-for-2 performance by Braden Bruce in the finals and three hits from Colton Sherrard over two games (he scored twice in the win over SMG). It was part of the plan the coaches had been preaching since last fall.
“We all worked together as a team – parents working with kids at home, treating each skill-level kid as an important member of the team and building their skills (and not just throwing them in the OF). Everything we do is for the kids. (We were) Teaching them teamwork, individual responsibility, fundamentals, how to mentally manage baseball and – most importantly – to have fun,” said Reilly.
Nothing is more fun in baseball than lifting the championship trophy.
