Ryan Tokar, Thurmont Little League
The regular season came to an end for the Thurmont Little League (TLL), but there was still a lot of baseball to be played!
As the normal slate of games concluded, the league quickly moved into All-Star and tournament season. First up were the TLL In-House All-Star games for the T-ball and Instructional (Coach Pitch) divisions, which were held on Saturday, June 12. Representatives from T-ball included Addison Ling, Parker Ketterman, Madelyn Toms, Logan Otto, Mireya and Harlen Chavez, Reid Thurston, Jaycee Moriyama, Erin Mcgrew, M.J. Hoke, Jett Derr, Riley Woodward, Ben Roberts, Franek Zielinski, Garret Troxell, Wyatt Murray, Caleb Lynn, Lily Tankersly, Caleb Valentine, Tyler Warfield, and Riley Woodward. The teams were managed by Mark Lingg and Evan Atkinson. The Instructional rosters were made up of Brayden Nash, Hunter Crabb, Aaron Oden, Payton Fritz, Xavier Meekins, Dennis Smith, Cheyenne Jones, Stiven Makarov, Gage Emert, Angus Riddle, Ryan May, Levi Baker, Julian Thompson, Bryce Rickerd, Abby Harrington, Harper Holmes, Devin Riffle, Luke Wiles, Chris Kehne, Bryant Price, Gracen Baer, and Riley Workman. Managers for this game were Robbie Nash and Darryl Dextradeur. Congrats to all of these future stars on a great season of baseball!
Next up was the Minor League division In-House playoffs, which included a host of extremely hard-fought games, culminating in the Thurmont Nationals becoming back-to-back league champs, overcoming a valiant effort by the Cubs. This was an extremely hard-fought game that came all the way down to the final at bat. Both teams put forth a tremendous amount of effort and displayed excellent sportsmanship throughout the game. The Nationals were managed by Jeff Kuhn, with assistants John Veronie, Darren Hudson, and Tim Swartz. The roster included players: Weston Tyler, Mason Delcid, Myles Kuhn, Tyler Creel, Jeremy Veronie, Noah Bradbury, Desean Brown, Colt Hudson, Herbie Blache, and Daniel Genemans. Congrats to the Nationals on another successful campaign. After their regular season ended, many of these teams also participated in the Frederick City Minor Tournament, which provided even more valuable experience for their players. Additionally, there will be a Minors All-Star team traveling to play in the Emory Frye Memorial 11U Tournament and the Penmar Youth League Tournament. Managed by Jeff Kuhn, with assistants John Veronie and Gregg Warner, the team is made up of Daniel Genemans, Myles Kuhn, Jeremy Veronie, Camden Magluilo, Devin Youngerman, Ayden Wolfe, Eli Yocum, Weston Tyler, Desean Brown, Tyler Creel, Colton Warner, Landon Kelley-Voisine, and Parker Hahn.
The Major Division was represented by two teams in end-of-season tournaments as well. The league champion Brewers, managed by Chris Morlan, played in the Gregg Quedeweit Memorial Tournament of Champions at Brunswick Little League. Meanwhile, the second-place Orioles and Manager John Code played in the Dave Fogle Tournament at Frederick National Little League. The team fought extremely hard and finished in second place. There will be two All-Star teams from the major’s division. The 11-12 year-old team managed by Keith Myers will play in the District 2 Tournament. Players selected were Carson Fry, Connor Smith, Gage Eyler, Hunter Byington, Jay Code, Justice Myers, Lane Koenig, Layton Wilhide, Mason Fry, Mason Hewitt, Skyler Sotzky, and Tanner Shorb. John Code and Jeff Eyler will serve as assistant coaches. The 10-11 year-old team will begin their District 2 Tournament on June 26. This team is managed by Chris Morlan with assistant coaches Brandon McQuay and Adam Cregger. The roster includes Weston Brantner, Brody McQuay, Chase Cregger, Brayden Rickerd, Grayson Strobel, Nate Morlan, Tucker Bryant, Bracen Webb, Justin Salonis, Reed McCauley, Ethan Tokar, Noah Shankle, and Marcus Kuhn. Congratulations to all the teams participating in tournaments this summer.
In addition to the full slate of year-end tournaments, TLL will also be taking part in several fun community events. On Saturday, June 26, the league will be riding in the Emmitsburg Community Heritage Day Parade with several teams participating. Then, they will play host to the Guinness World Record Game of Catch on Wednesday, June 30, at 7:00 p.m. Sponsored by The Potter Baseball Tour, Thurmont will be one of over 100 virtual locations participating across the country. Along with having a memorable time (and receiving a medallion), all proceeds will go towards CureSearch, a non-profit organization that does research on pediatric cancer. The cost is $10.00 for ages 13 and over, and $5.00 for ages 12 and under. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Refreshments will be available, including The Sauced Savage food truck and Kona Ice. Please come out and join in the fun and help raise money for an incredible cause!
Thanks to everyone that came out to support the league this year. Following the loss of our last spring season due to COVID-19, it was great to be back on the fields to celebrate 70 seasons of TLL! Fall registrations will be opening in July, so be sure to sign up to be a part of a tremendous organization.
Minor League Championship post-game, featuring the Cubs and League Champion Nationals.
