Ryan Tokar, Thurmont Little League
The regular season has come to an end at Thurmont Little League (TLL), but there is 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 Tuesday, June 13.
Representatives from T-ball included Lucy Liller, Gabe Shankle, Maverick Cox, Brailey Hammock, Carter Rodas, Brenton Tull, Billy Sullivan, Andrew Smith, Tinsley Young, Rylee Oden, Carson Lingg, Kellam Robertson, Tucker Long, Chance Grimes, Emmet Amyot, Everett Oxenford, Cash Burrier, and Ryder Murray.
The Coach Pitch rosters were made up of Jon Rose, Caleb Lynn, Caleb Valentine, Tyler Roderick, Declan Myers, Michael Mendez, Parker Ketterman, Wyatt Breeden, Addison Lingg, Abel Boone, Braxton Lovejoy, Eli Yanke, Jackson Boyer, Knox Devries, Colton Grimes, Logan Otto, Jett Derr, Brantley Steinhour, Chase Stine, Gage Baugher, Zachary Montgomery, and Michael McGinnis. Congrats to all of these future stars on a great season of baseball!
The Minor League division post-season kicked off with their In-House playoffs, which included a host of extremely hard-fought games, culminating in the Cougars becoming this year’s champions, overcoming a valiant fight by the Rays. Both teams put forth a tremendous amount of effort and displayed excellent sportsmanship throughout the game.
The Cougars were managed by Darryl Dextradeur, with assistants Kevin Rickerd, Kevin Rabbit, Anthany Wolfe, and Nathan Fritz. The roster included players Bryce Rickerd, Julian Thompson, Colson Wolfe, Payton Fritz, Logan Smith, William Fletcher, Liam Ecker, Brayden Constable, Joseph Fogle, Leland Beach, and Marshall Frey. Congrats to the Cougars on a successful campaign.
Next up was the Minors In-House All-Star Game, featuring Brayden Nash, Luke Wiles, Brooks Otto, Aaron Oden, Tyler Warfield, Bryce Yocum, Angus Riddle, Wade Wolfe, Julian Thompson, Bryce Rickerd, Payton Fritz, Marshall Frey, James Hewitt, Dennis Smith, Liam Delawter, Cole McCauley, Josh Tingler, Jace Fisher, Devin Riffle, Scarlett Riffle, Chris Kehne, Jerome Turner, Lewis Turner, and John Clements. These teams put on quite a display of athleticism for the fans in attendance and showcased the up-and-coming talent at TLL.
Additionally, there will be a Minors All-Star team traveling to play in the Emory Frye Memorial Tournament. Managed by Darryl Dextradeur, the team will be made up of Marshall Frey, Payton Fritz, Bryce Rickerd, Julian Thompson, James Hewitt, Cole McCauley, Brayden Nash, Brooks Otto, Dennis Smith, Garret Troxell, Luke Wiles, and Riley Workman.
TLL is also proud to announce a softball All-Star team for this year, represented by Madison Oden, Ella Rose, Ella Flanary, Hadley Crone, Dixie Eckenrode, Hannah Crone, Emma Stevens, Aubree Shull, Abby Shankle, Joclyn Cassidy, Kiley Long, Kathryn Bradhsaw, Kinsley Bowlus, Erin McGrew, Demi Hudson, and Tori Brown.
The Majors Division was represented by two teams in end-of-season tournaments as well. The second-place Warriors and Manager Chris Merriman played in the Dave Fogle Tournament at Frederick National Little League. The team gave it their all and made it all the way to the Championship game, but they came up just short against a very good team from Lower Montgomery County. Meanwhile, the Thurmont Bucks, coached by Rick Reeder, played in the Gregg Quedeweit Memorial Tournament of Champions right here at Thurmont Little League. The Bucks had a remarkable season, losing only one game in league play. They started strong with wins over Montgomery County Upper and Frederick American, but, ultimately, they would lose in a very hard-fought game to the eventual champion, the Brunswick Cubs, in the third round. Overall, it was a great season for these boys, and they made all of us at TLL proud.
There will be three All-Star teams representing TLL in District 2 Tournament play. The 10-12-year-old team, managed by Jeff Kuhn, includes Tucker Bryant, Callen Edmonston, Bradley Goodard, Parker Hahn, Shawn Livingston, Reed McCauley, Brayden Rickerd, Ethan Tokar, Weston Tyler, Jeremy Veronie, Bracen Webb, Eli Yocum, Noah Bradbury, and Luke Berg. The 9-11-year-old team began their District 2 Tournament on June 25. This team will be managed by Nathan Laird, and the roster includes Joey Blentlinger, Desean Brown, Nathan Camilleri, James Clements, Kaiden Dewees, Chase Dumas, Marshall Frey, Chance Kruger, Evan Laird, Wesley Meekins, Brooks Otto, and Riley Workman. Finally, there will be an 8-10 team, consisting of Levi Baker, Nemo Dewees, Payton Fritz, James Hewitt, Riggins Koenig, Cole McCauley, Brayden Nash, Owen Ott, Bryce Rickerd, Dennis Smith, Julian Thompson, and Luke Wiles. Darryl Dextradeur will also manage this team. Congratulations and best of luck to all the teams participating in tournaments this summer.
Be sure to check out next month’s edition for a full update on All-Star tournament play, as well as a recap of several fun events TLL will be taking part in this summer.
Fall registrations will be opening later this summer as well, so be sure to sign up to be a part of a tremendous organization!
The first-place Thurmont Bucks represented TLL in the Tournament of Champions.
Minors Division players celebrate after their Championship game.
