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‘Dreams fulfilled’: Illinois Valley captures Central Region Tournament title · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Dreams fulfilled. Illinois Valley captures Central Region Tournament title. Written
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  Speaker 1: by Brian Hoxey, This article is being read by an
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  Speaker 1: automated voice brought to you by Everlett. With runners on
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  Speaker 1: first and second, two outs and a two strike count
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  Speaker 1: in a tide game, in the bottom of the sixth,
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  Speaker 1: Emmitt Olsen said he just wanted to come through for
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  Speaker 1: his team. He did just that. Olson's two run triple
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  Speaker 1: to the right center field gap gave the Illinois Valley
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  Speaker 1: Senior League team the lead, and pitcher Jonathan Kamnicker finished
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  Speaker 1: off a complete game in the seventh to give Illinois
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  Speaker 1: Valley an exciting four to two victory on Ja Hapfield
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  Speaker 1: at Washington Park in Peru. Most baseball players say it,
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  Speaker 1: but it's true. The situation in the sixth is something
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  Speaker 1: you play out in the yard so many times when
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  Speaker 1: you're growing up, you dream about it, said Olson, who
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  Speaker 1: will begin his junior year at lasal Peru High School
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  Speaker 1: this fall and also double in the contest. It's a
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  Speaker 1: weird mix of excitement and nerves. Ohio's pitcher was tipping
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  Speaker 1: his pitches, and I knew I was getting a fastball
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  Speaker 1: on that pitch. I just told myself. If it's there,
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  Speaker 1: I have to put a good swing on it. I
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  Speaker 1: was nervous, but it's the situation I've dreamed to be in,
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  Speaker 1: and you just never know how many chances like that
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  Speaker 1: you're going to get. After I made contact, I saw
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  Speaker 1: where the ball was going and that neither of the
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  Speaker 1: outfielders were going to get to it. I'm not even
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  Speaker 1: sure where it ended up. I just kept running. I
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  Speaker 1: just wanted to scream. It's the greatest feeling. This year
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  Speaker 1: is the fortieth anniversary of the tournament coming to Peru
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  Speaker 1: and the first time an Illinois Valley team has won
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  Speaker 1: the title. Illinois Valley will begin at the Senior League
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  Speaker 1: World Series in Easley, South Carolina, on Saturday, August first.
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  Speaker 1: Illinois Valley, which dropped a tough seven to six decision
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  Speaker 1: to Ohio in the morning to force the winner take
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  Speaker 1: all game, grabbed a one zero lead in the first
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  Speaker 1: as Kamnikar drew a one out walk, advance danst to
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  Speaker 1: second on a single by Blake Queneberg, and scored on
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  Speaker 1: a two out base hit by Nolan Siebert. In the fourth,
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  Speaker 1: with two outs, Diku Yuseini was hit by a pitch
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  Speaker 1: moved to third on a double by Olsen and scored
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  Speaker 1: on a wild pitch. Ohio scored single runs in both
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  Speaker 1: the fifth and sixth to tie the game. Kamnikar, who
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  Speaker 1: will be a sophomore at LP this fall, was solid
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  Speaker 1: throughout his winning mound effort, giving up just five hits,
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  Speaker 1: one earned run, with no walks and three strikeouts. He
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  Speaker 1: also fired fifty of his seventy four pitches for strikes.
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  Speaker 1: The loss this morning was tough, but we just had
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  Speaker 1: to move on because you can't change the past, Kamnikar said,
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  Speaker 1: just before getting a gatorade shower from teammates. We talked
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  Speaker 1: about right after about letting that game go and getting
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  Speaker 1: ready for the next one. I felt like I was
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  Speaker 1: able to really hit my spots well with any pitch.
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  Speaker 1: Because of that, I was throwing my breaking ball in
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  Speaker 1: fastball counts, which seemed to be keeping Ohio off balance.
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  Speaker 1: My goal was to keep the ball around the strike
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  Speaker 1: zone and not walk anybody. Our defense has been really
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  Speaker 1: good all week, and my plan was to pitch to
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  Speaker 1: contact and let them make the plays behind me. My
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  Speaker 1: coaches call the pitches and if I don't like it,
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  Speaker 1: I'll shake it off. But today it seemed like whatever
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  Speaker 1: I already had in mind was the pitch and location
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  Speaker 1: they called for. We were on the same page all game.
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  Speaker 1: Illinois Valley manager Lance Siebert said he was just so
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  Speaker 1: proud of the kids. We've been talking about and dreaming
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  Speaker 1: about having the opportunity we had this week in winning
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  Speaker 1: this tournament and advancing to the World Series. Lance Siebert said,
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  Speaker 1: there have been so many great teams from the Illinois
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  Speaker 1: Valley to compete here over the years, so to be
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  Speaker 1: the first to win this is a pretty special feeling
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  Speaker 1: for all the players and coaches. I felt like we
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  Speaker 1: had the talent this year to do this, and the
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  Speaker 1: kids really showed it. I couldn't be happier for the kids.
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  Speaker 1: They earned this. Ohio. Winning the first game today, especially
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  Speaker 1: dramatically in the bottom of the seventh like they did,
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  Speaker 1: really swung the momentum their way. We talked as a
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  Speaker 1: team about how really good teams find ways to bounce
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  Speaker 1: back when they encounter some adversity, and that's what the
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  Speaker 1: boys did. They let that first game go mentally and
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  Speaker 1: then came into this one really focused. Jonathan was so
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  Speaker 1: good for us today. He was sharp and when he
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  Speaker 1: needed to make a pitch he did. Then in the
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  Speaker 1: sixth man, what a clutch it bat by Emmett. He
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  Speaker 1: had a great two strike approach and really put a
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  Speaker 1: great swing on that one. What a day.