20 • Thursday, May 13, 2021 - The Elmhurst Independent
The Elmhurst Independent
Sports
May 13, 2021 • 20
York softball team off to tremendous start Derkowski racks up high strikeout totals in pitching circle
By Mike Miazga CORRESPONDENT
SUBMITTED PHOTO Elmhurst Independent
The Elmhurst Cougars 12U baseball team recently won the Game Day Turf War tournament title in downstate Rantoul. The Cougars defeated the Sluggers from Hamilton, Ohio, 6-3 in the championship game. Pictured, front row, from left: Coach Zak Devermann, Jack Nahumyk, Mason Hopkins, Donovan O’Connor, Gio Rangel, Coach Daryl O’Connor. Second row, from left: Coach Tim White, James White, Nick Mandra, Elliott Bastedo, Charlie Schwarz, Josh Landry, Coach Andy Hopkins. Not pictured: Joseph Lubbe, Grant Hickman, Dom Tomala, Coach Clint Hickman.
Elmhurst Cougars 12U baseball team wins Turf War title Team effort lifts squad to crown in Rantoul
By Mike Miazga CORRESPONDENT
The Elmhurst Cougars 12U baseball team hit the road to central Illinois and ended up hitting the jackpot. The Cougars won the Game Day Turf War tournament at the new Rantoul Sports Complex. Elmhurst defeated teams from Chicago, Danville and Cincinnati on its way to the title. The Cougars downed the Sluggers from Hamilton, Ohio 6-3 in the championship game. In the quarterfinals, Elmhurst defeated the Edgebrook Thunder 141. Nick Mandra had a double, triple, home run and five RBI to lead the way.
The Cougars then recorded a 9-0 victory in the semifinals over No. 1 seed Post 210 Junior Speakers from Danville. Mason Hopkins and Josh Landry each pitched two scoreless innings. Hopkins was 3-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored, while Landry drove in three runs. Elliott Bastedo had two hits, including an RBI double. In the final against Hamilton from the Cincinnati area, Cougars’ leadoff man Gio Rangel had three hits and three RBI. Chuck Schwarz had a huge RBI double off the wall in the second, which turned out to be the game-winning hit when Elmhurst never relinquished the lead. Jack Nahumyk reached base twice in the championship. He also recorded the save, pitching the final game of pool play. Nahumyk also turned in “some great at-bats and solid base hits,” Cougars coach Daryl O’Connor noted. Nahumyk had two hits in the semifinal game.
Donovan O’Connor reached base three times in the title game. James White scored a key insurance run in the final inning against Hamilton. Daryl O’Connor also was impressed with White’s pitching and hitting efforts in Rantoul. “James threw strikes and worked the counts when hitting like he always does,” he said. Overall, Nick Mandra struck out 19 hitters in the tournament, including 11 against Hamilton, while allowing zero earned runs over seven tournament innings. More specifically, Mandra fanned 19 of the 27 batters he faced in Rantoul. “Nick again looked like the most skilled/ talented player and MVP of the tournament,” O’Connor said. The Cougars played five games in a little over 24 hours with only nine players. Daryl O’Connor also directed praise to Bastedo and Nahumyk, who did the lion’s share of the catching. “That’s not easy with multiple games,” he said. “They did
a fine job and both came up with big hits when we needed them.” In addition to Mandra, Hopkins and Landry provided strong performances on the hill, O’Connor noted, while Donovan O’Connor was able to get on base when needed and played solid defense, the coach added. Landry had seven total RBI on the final day of the tournament. Additionally, Rangel had six hits on the final day of the tournament. O’Connor pointed out that the Cougars’ fourth through ninth hitters each scored a run in the title game. Elmhurst flashed its pitching depth on the Saturday of the tournament with all nine players toeing the rubber. In addition to the nine players in Rantoul, the team also features Joseph Lubbe, Grant Hickman and Don Tomala. The coaching staff includes O’Connor, Zak Devermann, Tim White, Andy Hopkins and Clint Hickman.
Simply put, the York softball team is on fire. The Dukes were 9-1 in their first 10 games of the season, which included a 6-1 mark in West Suburban Conference Silver Division action. As of late last week, York was on an eight-game winning streak and had outscored its 10 opponents 9419. A big part of the York success thus far has been University of Michigan signee Lauren Derkowski, who has been nearly un-hittable in the pitching circle. The senior standout already has struck out 18 batters in one game and fanned 17 in two other contests, plus she threw a no-hitter. Thus far, she’s 9-0 with 126 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched and has given up only one earned run and walked five batters. Derkowski has a 0.12 ERA and has allowed only 16 hits. Derkowski also was hitting .697 at the plate with five doubles, six home runs and 22 RBI —leading York in every major offensive statistical category. Senior Molly Loch was hitting .455 with three doubles, one homer and nine RBI through the first 10 games. Coach Brendan Holba pointed out Loch’s steal of home against Lyons Township in an early May contest provided York the needed cushion “in a tremendously pitched game on both sides,” he said. “Molly is one of our three captains, and while she is off to a hot start on the diamond, she is also one of the stronger leaders on the team.” Junior Emily Fujiwara was hitting .417 with five doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI. In the Lyons Township game Fujiwara homered in the second inning. “Her home run proved to be enough in that game,” Holba said. “Emily is another athlete who had some varsity experience as a freshman and has really risen to the occasion this year as a junior. She has cemented herself as a rock in the middle of our lineup.” Junior Lindsey Bingham was second on the team in total hits with 17 through 10 games and was hitting .436 with three doubles and 14 runs scored. “Lindsey would have been a starter on last year’s team as a sophomore, but the shutdown did not slow her progress as a softball
See SOFTBALL, Page 21
