will county crackerjacks/ mcl championship program

MIDWEST COLLEGIATE LEAGUE

CHAMPIONSHIP

SERIES

VS.

2011OFFICIAL PROGRAM

League CommissionerDon Popravak

Phone Number(312) 420-1268

[email protected]

Websitewww.midwestcollegiateleague.com

Midwest Collegiate League Mission StatementThe Midwest Collegiate League will provide and promote premier summer collegiate baseball to commu-nities across the Midwest in a family-oriented, affordable environment which will be held at the highest

levels of integrity while operating in a socially responsible manner. The MCL is a summer collegiate base-ball league that includes players who are enrolled in college during the academic year and have remaining eligibility. Our baseball players compete at some of top baseball programs in the nation and they come to

the MCL to play with wood bats, improve their skills and perform in front of Major League Baseball scouts and local fans. Our teams are part of the local fabric of the community and encourage various groups and businesses to gather at the ballpark for events that promote their business and their support of our teams. Affordable tickets, concessions and merchandise mean families can enjoy MCL baseball for far less than

a Major League Baseball game. Our players are approachable and enthusiastic role models who live either with their respective families or with host families during the season. Midwest Collegiate League baseball is

what baseball is meant to be for Midwest communities large and small.

CONTENTSTHE 2011 MIDWEST COLLEGIATE LEAGUE

CHAMPIONSHIP SERESJULY 30 - JULY 31, 2011

OFFICIAL PROGRAM

The 2011 Will County CrackerJacksIn its franchise-opening season, the CrackerJacks exceeded expectations. Re-live the club’s journey to the 2011 regular season MCL Championship and its sweep of the Chicago Zephyrs in the MCL Semi-finals, glance at game-by-game results of the 2011 season and take a look at the CrackerJacks’ 2011

regular season and postseason statistical leaders.

Page 15The 2011 Rockford Foresters

After splitting the first two games of the MCL Semis with the Southland Vikings, the Foresters rallied to win the third game of the series at Marinelli Field to advance to the MCL Championship Series. Look back at the Foresters’ classic series with the Vikings, game-by-game results of the 2011 MCL

season and take a glance at the Foresters’ 2011 postseason statistical leaders.

Page 192011 Team Rosters

Meet Vern Hasty’s Will County CrackerJacks and Rene Valdez’s Rockford Foresters.

Page 21Head-to-Head

The CrackerJacks and Foresters met 12 times during the 2011 regular season. After losing two out of the first three games to the CrackerJacks, the Foresters went on to win the season series 7-5.

Page 22Behind the Scenes

View the front office staffs of the Will County CrackerJacks and the Rockford Foresters, production information of the Official Midwest Collegiate League Championship Program and the mission state-

ment of the Will County CrackerJacks.

MCL Standings through June 2011Pl Team W-L GB Pct.1. Foresters 12-7 --- .6322. Vikings 8-6 1.5 .5713. CrackerJacks 9-7 1.5 .5634. Zephyrs 3-10 6.0 .231

June 2011 HighlightsJune 3: ‘Jacks win franchise opener 12-6 over the Chicago ZephyrsJune 4: Scott Hull hits the first home run in CrackerJacks franchise historyJune 7: ‘Jacks play Chicago Bandits in exhibition gameJune 11: ‘Jacks play its first home games at Wayne King, Jr. FieldJune 11: Conor Szczerba scores the game-winning run in first walk-off winJune 26: ‘Jacks score five times in the ninth to rally and beat the Elgin Aces

A Wild RideIn the spring of 2011, 27 ballplayers from eight different states came together. By summer’s end, they were champions.

It all started from scratch. No players, no manager, no website, no tradition, no staff, no ballpark, not even a team name. But on a cold December evening in 2010, former Joliet JackHammers General Man-ager Jamie Toole created the foun-dation of a new baseball team in Will County, Ill. As the days turned to weeks, the new club began accepting entries for what it would be called. The thought process was simple: get as many people in the local communi-ty involved as possible. This wasn’t going to be a ballclub that people would be able to ignore. It was to be Will County’s hometown team. But even as Toole continued to accept entries for his new team’s name, there was still a daunting question that lingered throughout the chilly Chicago winter. Sure, the team can have a name, but what is a baseball team without players and a manager? If Will County’s new team was going to have a chance at com-peting in 2011, Toole needed to act fast and acquire talented collegiate ballplayers. Then, in late January 2011, Toole got the good news he was searching for when he got a commitment

The CrackerJacks loosen up before they play their first game in franchise history on June 3, 2011.

CrackerJacks’ players celebrate after winning the MCL regular season championship on July 24.

By Mike Garabedian

The 2011 Midwest Collegiate League Championship Series Official Program 3

Final 2011 MCL StandingsPl Team W-L GB Pct.1. CrackerJacks 23-12 --- .6572. Foresters 22-13 1.0 .6293. Vikings 16-17 6.0 .4854. Zephyrs 6-24 14.5 .200

July 2011 HighlightsJuly 7: ‘Jacks win marathon 19-16 game over the Southland VikingsJuly 13: Nine players represent CrackerJacks in MCL All-Star GameJuly 17: ‘Jacks beat Rockford 10-1 to split four-game seriesJuly 18: ‘Jacks beat Vikings in 8-6 come-from-behind thriller in JolietJuly 22: ‘Jacks catch Rockford for first place for the first time since June 16July 24: ‘Jacks sweep Zephyrs to win regular season MCL championship

from a tall, right-handed pitcher from nearby Tinley Park, Ill. When the paperwork was finally signed on Jan. 25, the new ballclub in Will County finally had its first player in franchise history: University of Wisconsin-Parkside product Ryan Windt. Despite the much-needed vic-tory for Toole, the last thing on his mind was slowing down. A roster was needed, and time was sparse. The new days came quickly, but as the calendar turned to February, so did new acquisitions. On Feb. 8, Toole acquired another Wisconsin-Parkside pitcher in right-hander Mike Nicks and then he landed tal-ented College of DuPage outfielder Domenic Biagini on Feb. 28. By the time March came around, a 2011 season became even more realistic. Then, it happened. After over three month’s worth of team name entries were collected, Toole and his family had come across one that stuck out. It was a name that de-scribed the type of ballplayer every manager desires. On March 1, 2011, the new baseball team in Will County finally had its name. They were the Crack-erJacks. Contrary to popular belief, the background of the “CrackerJacks” name has nothing to do with the famous treat sold in ballparks all over the United States. Instead, the name stems from an old saying that describes someone excellent of their kind. If someone described a ballplayer by saying “he was a

On Jan. 25, 2011, Ryan Windt became the first player to sign with the Will County CrackerJacks.

real CrackerJack,” they’d be imply-ing that he was a top-notch player, someone who has the skills and determination to be successful. “It’s a breath of fresh air,” Toole said of the CrackerJacks. “It’s so refreshing to deal with kids who are just excited to have a place to play ball in the summer.” Toole came to the CrackerJacks after a decade-long run in profes-sional baseball that included stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates and numerous Independent League teams. The goals that those play-ers had in mind were far different than those of the fresh faces in the CrackerJacks organization. Sure, the ultimate goal for every player is to play in the major league. But for professional players, the focus was less on the actual sport and more on

external factors such as meal money and a new contract. For collegiate players, the goal is to get better and develop the necessary skills to suc-ceed. As the word about the Crack-erJacks spread throughout Will County, Toole was still working on finding a leader for his club. On March 16, he had his man. Vern Hasty became the first manager in CrackerJacks history on that day in March, eager to get back to coaching players who were will-ing to learn the fundamentals of the game to be successful. He had just completed a long season in Slova-kia with the Trnava Angels in the summer of 2010 and although he saw some success with the European club, including a win over the Rus-sian National Team in June 2010, he


felt it was time to come back to the United States to manage again. Hasty, a native of Kearney, Neb., brought years of managing experi-ence at nearly all levels of collegiate baseball in addition to his interna-tional stint into the CrackerJacks’ inaugural season. “At first, I was content with just being able to play and maybe win a few ballgames in our first year,” Toole said. “But when we signed Vern, my outlook changed. I want-ed to win the league.” “When I went over [to Europe], it was a little difficult to have to teach basic fundamentals of the game, like the hit-and-run, that [the European players] did not com-pletely grasp,” Hasty said of his time in Europe. “The great thing about coaching a summer collegiate team is that there are a lot of quality play-ers playing in college right now that really know how to play the game.” With the team roster develop-ing and the manager now in place, Toole and Hasty decided to fill the roster with a slightly different ap-

Vern Hasty (right) talks with outfielder Scott Hull (left) before a game. CrackerJacks’ ace Steve Taylor finished the 2011 regular season a perfect 7-0.

proach: instead of building a club that consisted of only Illinois play-ers, why not take it to the next level and go outside the state? When this decision was made in at the end of March, the Crack-erJacks began signing new players on a daily basis. In late April, Toole signed Conor Szczerba, Colt Han-kamer and Chris Noble from Polk State College in Winter Haven, Fla. The three would become the nucle-us of the CrackerJack infield for the majority of the regular season. In addition, Toole was able to acquire Oklahoma native Scott Hull, Kansas City, Kan., product Brandon Truitt and St. Charles, Mo., native Lendon Ehlmann. When the roster was finalized at the beginning of June, the CrackerJacks’ roster consisted of players from eight different states. One of those key out-of state acquisitions was Steve Taylor, who quickly emerged as the ace of the pitching staff even before the regular season began. Finally, on June 3, 2011, after six long months of hard work and

preparation, Hasty and the Cracker-Jacks took the field for the first time. The end result of game one was better than what anyone could have expected. Behind Taylor’s five shut-out innings, the CrackerJacks jumped out to an early 12-0 lead and never looked back. They won their first game in franchise history on that warm June evening over the Chi-cago Zephyrs at Waubonsee Com-munity College in Sugar Grove, Ill. The team cruised through the first week of the season and got off to an early 6-1 start. Of course, that record did not include a 6-2 June 7 loss to the Chicago Bandits, Chi-cago’s professional softball team, in a “Battle of the Sexes.” But over the next week, the CrackerJacks began to stumble and on June 19, the Zephyrs downed the CrackerJacks 11-8 to drop the Will County club to 7-6 overall and 6-6 in the Midwest Collegiate League. But it was after that game in Sugar Grove where one of the key moments in the season occurred.


Disappointed with what he had just witnessed, Toole addressed his club in the parking lot at Waubon-see Community College. “Guys,” Toole said. “This is what rock bottom feels like. It can only go up from here.” At the time, no one knew how correct Toole ended up being with his bold statement. After the June 19 loss to the Zephyrs, the CrackerJacks went 10-4 over their next 14 ballgames to improve to 17-10 overall and 15-9 in the MCL. The streak propelled them up to second place in the league standings, just 2.5 games be-hind the first-place Rockford Forest-ers heading into the MCL All-Star Game, which featured nine Cracker-Jacks, including Taylor, Drew Sain, Windt, Nicks, Biagini, Truitt, Ehl-mann, Szczerba and Derek Thomas, on July 13. The Foresters took over sole possession of first place on June 16 when they stunned the CrackerJacks at Wayne King, Jr. Field by scoring four runs in the ninth inning after trailing 3-0. Rock-ford would hold that first place position for over a month after that game but they were never able to completely pull away from the CrackerJacks, who quietly hung around in the division standings as July wore on. One of the major reasons the CrackerJacks were able to remain within striking distance of Rockford was the July 7 mid-season acquisition of utility player Michael Jordan. In 15 games with the Cracker-

The CrackerJacks invent a “human jump rope” before their July 21 game.

The CrackerJack dugout eagerly awaits the conclusion of the division-clincher.

Jacks, Jordan hit .383, drove in 15 runs and stole 13 bases. In addition he went 2-1 on the mound with just a 2.96 earned run average. With all the right pieces in place, the Crack-erJacks entered a four-game series with Rockford just 2.5 games out of first place. After losing the first game of the series, the CrackerJacks won two out of next three to split the series. The series finale saw the CrackerJacks rout the Rockford club 10-1. The win to split the series marked the second turning point of the season for the Will County club. No, the win did not propel them into first place. But it did show the Foresters that it was going to be a tight race to the finish.

The 10-1 win over Rockford ended up being the first of seven straight wins for the CrackerJacks to close out the regular season. The winning streak featured a thrilling

come-from-behind 8-6 win over the Southland Vikings on July 18, a near-brawl in a July 21 win over the Zephyrs and a dominating 12-5 win over the Foresters to tie them for the division lead on July 22. But still, the CrackerJacks were the underdogs to win the division heading into the final day of the regular season on July 24. To win the regular season title and grab the top seed in the playoffs, they needed

to sweep the Zephyrs in a double-header and then hope that South-land knocked off Rockford. On a warm, damp Sunday eve-ning in Sugar Grove, the Crack-erJacks’ took care of business and got the help they were looking for as well, pounding the Zephyrs 12-1 and 13-4 while the Vikings topped Rockford in extra innings. It was a championship that sig-nified much more than just a top seed in the playoffs. It was a title that was a result of perseverance through the adversity of early sea-son struggles, a championship for a general manager who only four months earlier was still searching

for a team name and a victory for a manager who came back to coach in the United States with one goal in mind: to win.


2011 MIDWEST COLLEGIATE LEAGUERegular Season Champions


WILL COUNTY CRACKERJACKS2011 SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Date Opponent Result Overall MCLJune 3, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W, 12-6 1-0 1-0June 4, 2011 vs. Elgin Aces W, 18-2 2-0 1-0June 8, 2011 at Rockford Foresters W, 7-4 3-0 2-0June 11, 2011 vs. Rockford Foresters L, 5-3 3-1 2-1June 11, 2011 vs. Rockford Foresters W, 6-5 4-1 3-1June 12, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 15-0 5-1 4-1June 12, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 3-1 6-1 5-1June 13, 2011 at Rockford Foresters L, 4-2 6-2 5-2June 14, 2011 at Southland Vikings L, 10-0 6-3 5-3June 16, 2011 vs. Rockford Foresters L, 4-3 6-4 5-4June 17, 2011 at Southland Vikings W, 7-6 7-4 6-4June 18, 2011 at Rockford Foresters L, 4-3 7-5 6-5June 19, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs L, 11-8 7-6 6-6June 24, 2011 at Southland Vikings W, 10-4 8-6 7-6June 25, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 2-1 9-6 8-6June 25, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings L, 5-3 9-7 8-7June 26, 2011 at Elgin Aces W, 8-4 10-7 8-7June 28, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs L, 7-3 10-8 8-8June 29, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 12-6 11-8 9-8June 30, 2011 vs. Des Plaines Patriots L, 6-1 11-9 9-8July 1, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W, 6-5 12-9 10-8July 6, 2011 at Southland Vikings W, 3-0 13-9 11-8July 7, 2011 at Southland Vikings W, 19-16 14-9 12-8July 9, 2011 at Rockford Foresters L, 2-1 14-10 12-9July 10, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 4-3 15-10 13-9July 10, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 4-2 16-10 14-9July 11, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 3-0 17-10 15-9July 14, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings L, 4-3 17-11 15-10July 15, 2011 at Rockford Foresters L, 11-6 17-12 15-11July 16, 2011 vs. Rockford Foresters W, 3-2 18-12 16-11July 16, 2011 at Rockford Foresters L, 9-2 18-13 16-12July 17, 2011 at Rockford Foresters W, 10-1 19-13 17-12July 18, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 8-6 20-13 18-12July 20, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 16-4 21-13 19-12July 21, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 7-0 22-13 20-12July 22, 2011 at Rockford Foresters W, 12-5 23-13 21-12July 24, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W, 12-1 24-13 22-12July 24, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W, 13-4 25-13 23-12

Playoff ScheduleJuly 26, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 9-5 WP: Taylor LP: Huenecke July 27, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W, 10-2 WP: Sain LP: Hudspeth

July 30, 2011 MCL Championship, Game 1 vs. Foresters 12:00 p.m. Joliet, Ill.July 30, 2011 MCL Championship, Game 2 at Foresters 7:30 p.m. Rockford, Ill.July 31, 2011 MCL Championship, Game 3* vs. Foresters 1:00 p.m. Joliet, Ill. *If Necessary


Final 2011 Will County CrackerJacks Regular Season Statistics

PITCHING (sorted by innings pitched) Name G GS W L SV ERA CG IP H R ER BB K BA Stephen Taylor 9 8 7 0 1 0.50 4 54 1/3 32 7 3 14 52 0.169 Drew Sain 6 6 5 0 0 3.30 2 43 2/3 34 22 16 20 39 0.210 Ryan Windt 7 7 2 3 0 3.92 3 43 2/3 38 28 19 24 29 0.233 Mike Nicks 8 5 2 3 0 3.86 0 28 32 30 12 12 25 0.286 Michael Jordan 3 3 2 1 0 2.96 1 24 1/3 22 8 8 17 15 0.259 Josh Kause 5 0 3 0 1 3.79 0 19 23 13 8 2 12 0.295 Tom Laudadio 4 3 0 1 0 4.11 0 15 1/3 12 8 7 13 15 0.203 Chris Noble 6 1 1 1 1 4.05 0 13 1/3 16 10 6 7 11 0.296 Benny Collesano 9 2 1 1 0 7.30 0 12 1/3 17 14 10 9 4 0.315 Brooks McDowell 4 1 0 1 0 2.79 0 9 2/3 5 9 3 8 6 0.147 Matt Pruneau 5 1 0 2 0 9.00 0 7 7 8 7 1 4 0.259 Anthony Buonamici 3 1 0 0 0 15.43 0 4 2/3 9 10 8 8 2 0.391 Chris Bell 4 0 0 0 0 2.25 0 4 6 2 1 4 3 0.333 Kyle Cahill 3 0 0 0 0 17.18 0 3 2/3 9 8 7 2 2 0.500 Derek Thomas 2 0 1 0 0 2.45 0 3 2/3 1 1 1 3 3 0.083 Conor Szczerba 2 0 1 0 0 0.00 0 3 2 0 0 0 2 0.182 Spencer Lehmann 3 0 0 0 1 6.00 0 3 2 2 2 3 0 0.167 Mark Zhorne 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1.000 Totals 38 38 25 13 4 3.63 10 292 2/3 269 180 118 147 224 0.242

HITTING (sorted by at-bats) Name G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP K SB AVG OBP SLGConor Szczerba 38 132 38 45 5 2 0 25 16 7 6 19 0.341 0.436 0.409Brandon Truitt 38 128 23 38 4 0 0 30 9 9 26 3 0.297 0.368 0.328Domenic Biagini 38 119 25 42 8 2 1 25 13 6 22 15 0.353 0.436 0.479Lendon Ehlmann 35 103 24 34 3 0 0 23 25 7 23 4 0.330 0.482 0.359Derek Thomas 34 103 21 26 4 0 0 15 14 4 14 5 0.252 0.361 0.291Colt Hankamer 34 97 18 24 4 1 0 14 12 3 24 7 0.247 0.348 0.309Chris Noble 34 94 29 30 2 1 0 15 14 5 16 19 0.319 0.430 0.362Steve Kedroski 25 80 12 15 1 0 0 10 11 6 13 2 0.188 0.327 0.200Scott Hull 22 74 21 24 4 2 1 18 8 8 8 6 0.324 0.440 0.473Steve Clancy 23 64 6 14 1 0 0 2 14 1 14 7 0.219 0.363 0.234Michael Jordan 15 47 17 18 4 0 1 15 10 3 4 13 0.383 0.517 0.532Mark Zhorne 16 32 7 11 0 0 0 6 7 0 5 1 0.344 0.462 0.344Chris Bell 11 25 5 6 1 0 0 3 5 0 6 1 0.240 0.367 0.280Rick Gazarek 6 18 2 4 1 0 0 2 0 0 4 1 0.222 0.222 0.278Kyle Thomas 6 15 2 3 1 0 0 1 1 0 5 0 0.200 0.250 0.267Dominic Denney 8 15 6 4 0 1 0 1 8 0 5 0 0.267 0.522 0.400Spencer Lehmann 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0.500 0.500 0.500Josh Kause 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Nick Emmole 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 Matt Gustafson 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 Justin Westre 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.000 0.500 0.000 Anthony Buonamici 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.000 1.000 0.000Totals 38 1158 258 340 43 9 3 208 170 59 198 103 0.294 0.406 0.354


2011 Playoffs • Will County CrackerJacks Statistics PITCHING (sorted by innings pitched) Name G GS W L SV ERA CG IP H R ER BB K BA Stephen Taylor 1 1 1 0 0 3.00 1 9 11 5 3 1 3 0.289 Drew Sain 1 1 1 0 0 3.00 0 6 5 2 2 5 4 0.227 Mike Nicks 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 Mark Zhorne 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0.250 Spencer Lehmann 1 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 Totals 2 2 2 0 0 2.50 1 18 17 7 5 7 9 0.243

HITTING (sorted by batting average) Name G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP K SB AVG OBP SLGChris Bell 1 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.667 0.750 0.667Conor Szczerba 2 9 4 5 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 0.556 0.600 0.667Michael Jordan 2 9 4 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 1 0.444 0.444 0.444Brandon Truitt 2 10 2 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0.400 0.400 0.400Lendon Ehlmann 2 8 2 3 1 0 0 2 0 2 2 1 0.375 0.500 0.500Scott Hull 2 10 1 3 1 0 0 5 0 0 1 0 0.300 0.300 0.400Domenic Biagini 2 8 2 2 1 0 0 2 2 0 2 1 0.250 0.400 0.375Steve Kedroski 2 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.250 0.333 0.250Derek Thomas 1 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.250 0.250 0.250Chris Noble 2 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.222 0.300 0.222Totals 2 78 19 28 4 0 0 15 5 3 8 6 0.359 0.419 0.410

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Zephyrs (0-1) 1 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 5 11 2 CrackerJacks (1-0) 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 3 x 9 11 3

2011 Midwest Collegiate League Semifinals • July 26, 2011Game 1 vs. Chicago Zephyrs • Oil City Stadium; Whiting, Ind.

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E CrackerJacks (2-0) 4 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 17 0 Zephyrs (0-2) 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 2

2011 Midwest Collegiate League Semifinals • July 27, 2011Game 2 vs. Chicago Zephyrs • Waubonsee Community College; Sugar Grove, Ill.


Taking Down the ZephyrsLeading 5-2 with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one, the Zephyrs had the

CrackerJacks on the ropes. Then, the ‘Jacks caught a break, started hitting and never looked back.

By Mike Garabedian

When Chicago Zephyrs relief pitcher George Heller induced a ground out from CrackerJacks outfielder Scott Hull in the bot-tom of the seventh inning of game one of the Midwest Collegiate League Semifinal Series, it seemed as though the top-seeded Crack-erJacks, not the fourth-seeded Zephyrs, would be fighting for their playoff lives in game two. It would not have been a sur-prise to anyone who witnessed the game. The Zephyrs got an early un-earned run off a CrackerJack error, pushed the lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning and did not trail for a single moment through the first six and a half frames. It was as if the Zephyrs were the top dogs in the Midwest Colle-giate League, not the CrackerJacks. Zephyrs’ starter Mike Derby was missing bats with his devastating two-seam fastball and the Crack-erJacks were making errors that were uncharacteristic of a team that ended the 2011 regular season on a seven-game winning streak. But perhaps the most important factor working for the Zephyrs in game one at Oil City Stadium was that CrackerJacks ace, Steve Taylor, who was unbeatable during the 2011 regular season, was proving that he was human.

Conor Szczerba scored three runs in game one for the ‘Jacks.

“It was just one of those days where I knew I just didn’t have it,” Taylor said after game one. “[CrackerJacks’ catcher] Brandon [Truitt] came up to me in the second inning and said that he thought [Taylor’s] velocity was down,” said Crack-erJacks manager Vern Hasty. “I was already starting to get a little worried at that point.” Through the first four in-nings of game one, the Zephyrs tagged Taylor for three runs on seven hits. Although only one of the three runs were earned, Taylor held his opponents to just seven total runs in 54 1/3 innings pitched during the regular season. He entered the playoffs with a 7-0 record and a 0.50 earned run aver-age. “I really was concerned even before game one started,” Hasty said. “Anytime you begin a series in the playoffs, especially a three-game series, you essentially throw your regular season records out. If you happen to lose game one of the series, you’re backs are really against the wall.” Leading 3-2 in the top of the seventh, the Zephyrs scored twice more off of Taylor to take a 5-2 lead thanks to a Luke Collins two-out

RBI double off the right field wall and a single by Ryan Cowhey to knock in Collins. Heller had allowed just one hit in his inning and two-thirds of relief before Conor Szczerba stepped to the plated for the CrackerJacks with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning. With no one on base, Szczerba bunted up the third base line and darted for first base. Zephyrs’ third baseman Ryan Payne watched the ball trickle toward the foul line only to watch it settle in the grass just inches fair. With Domenic Biagini now at the plate, Szczerba broke for second base and stole it easily. Suddenly, the CrackerJacks had


life. Biagini drew a walk to bring up Truitt, who represented the game’s tying run. With Szczerba dancing off of second base and Biagini on first, Truitt laced a single into left-center field to score Szczerba and advance Biagini to third. The RBI single not only closed the CrackerJacks within two runs but also ended Heller’s night. Dan Huenecke came into the game in relief of Heller. The first batter Huenecke faced was Lendon Ehlmann. Huenecke promptly drilled Ehlmann in the left leg with a fastball to load the bases with only one out for Chris Noble. The CrackerJacks had threat-ened the previous two innings. In the fifth, they had runners on the corners with one away and then the bases loaded with two outs but only managed to score one run. In the sixth, they had runners on second and third with nobody out but Heller managed to escape the inning without allowing a run. With only eight outs to work with, the CrackerJacks were running out of time in the bottom of the seventh frame. Then, the CrackerJacks caught the break they desperately needed. John Wehr entered the game at second base in the seventh in-ning for the Zephyrs to replace the injured K.C. Wright. When Noble

Brandon Truitt delivered key RBI singles in the late innings of game one.

hit a weak ground ball to Wehr, he was immediately involved in the ac-tion. In all likeli-hood, it would not have been a double-play op-portunity for the Zephyrs and a run would have scored for the Cracker-Jacks. But after Wehr fielded the grounder cleanly,

his throw to a covering Ryan Rich-ardson at second base went into left field, allowing both Biagini and Tru-itt to score to tie the game at five. It was almost as if after that sin-gle play, the Zephyrs finally realized they were playing the regular season champions of the Midwest Colle-giate League, a team they went 2-9 against during the regular season. The following batter was Derek Thomas, who took a pitch in the dirt that bounced away from Zeph-yrs catcher Scott Blanchette and al-lowed Ehlmann to score from third. The 6-5 CrackerJack lead was their first of the day. When the four-run seventh inning finally came to a close, you could feel the life being sucked out of the rambunctious Zephyrs squad. They never saw an-other lead for the remainder of the series. In the eighth inning, Taylor

Chris Noble’s late-inning grounder opened the door in game one.

finally began to settle down, retiring the Zephyrs in order. In the bottom of the eighth frame, the Cracker-Jacks put the game away. Michael Jordan led off the in-ning with a single and then swiped second base. After Szczerba drew a one-out walk, Biagini gave Taylor and the CrackerJacks the insurance runs they so badly needed with a booming double to left-center to score both Jordan and Szczerba. Then, Truitt knocked home Biagini to put the CrackerJacks up 9-5. In the ninth, Taylor induced two ground outs to Szczerba and a line out to Jordan to end the game and give the CrackerJacks a dramatic victory. “It certainly wasn’t pretty,” Hasty said. “But when you’re in the play-offs, you take any win you can get and get out of the park and prepare yourself for the next game.” “We had it the whole way,” CrackerJacks pitcher Ryan Windt joked the next day. “I told the guys after the game I really wasn’t feeling great about our chances after we kicked the ball around a few times and weren’t swinging the bats like we had been throughout the summer,” Hasty said. “But when we finally did get it going, we never looked back. I was so proud of the way we persevered through that first game. It really showed me that you really can’t count us out of any game.”

The CrackerJacks left Oil City Stadium in Whiting, Ind., that night with a 1-0 series lead and a chance to sweep the Zephyrs the following evening at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Ill., the fol-lowing evening. The outcome of game two was never in question.


In the first inning, the Cracker-Jacks scored four times on five hits, highlighted by Hull’s RBI double, the first of four RBIs for the Crack-erJacks’ centerfielder, Szczerba’s single to score Hull, an RBI single by Truitt and Ehlmann’s double to score Truitt. Before the Zephyrs could catch their breath, they were down 4-0. Leading 4-1 in the second, the CrackerJacks scored three more runs off of Zephyrs’ starter Ryan Hudspeth and then tacked on three additional runs in the third off of reliever Lucas Geier. The 10-2 lead (the Zephyrs scored once more in the second) was plenty for Crack-erJacks’ starter Drew Sain. Both Sain and Geier held their opposition scoreless for the remainder of the game as the CrackerJacks cruised to a convincing 10-2 victory. Sain earned the win for the CrackerJacks by allowing just two

The Will County CrackerJacks congratulate each other after their dominating game two series-clinching 10-2 win over the Chicago Zephyrs on July 27.

runs on five hits in six innings. Mike Nicks, Mark Zhorne and Spencer Lehmann each threw a scoreless inning of relief to end the Zephyrs’ 2011 season. For Sain, it was his sixth win as a CrackerJack. He went a perfect 5-0 during the regular season. “I had a great feeling going into game two,” Hasty said. “After game one, I made sure that I talked to the guys about relaxing at the plate and swinging the bats like they did the whole summer. Once we had the early lead that we did [in game two], I knew we’d be fine.” The CrackerJacks scored their 10 runs in game two off of 17 hits and did not commit an error (they had three errors in game one). Ev-ery player in the CrackerJack start-ing lineup picked up at least one hit, and six players recorded multi-hit games. Hull and Jordan led the at-tack by going 3-for-5 and knocking

in four runs and two runs, respec-tively. The dominating victory was the CrackerJacks’ 11th win over the Zephyrs in 13 tries but more im-portantly, it propelled them into the Midwest Collegiate League Cham-pionship Series against a team that just completed a thrilling three-game series. “Because we were able to sweep our series and the other series went all the way to three games, I really like our chances in the finals,” Hasty said. “Pitching is the name of the game and we have a chance to set up our rotation exactly the way we want to.” Whether the sweep plays out to the CrackerJacks’ advantage in the MCL Championship Series remains to be seen, but the CrackerJacks have won nine consecutive games and they do not appear to be slow-ing down any time soon.


The 2011 MCL SemifinalsCrackerJacks 2, Zephyrs 0

MCL Semifinals Team ComparisonStatistics Category ‘Jacks ZephyrsGames 2 2Wins 2 0At-Bats 78 70Runs 19 7Earned Runs 14 5Unearned Runs 5 2Hits 28 17Singles 24 10Doubles 4 2Triples 0 0Home Runs 0 0Runs Batted In 15 7Errors 3 4Walks 8 7Strikeouts 8 9Stolen Bases 6 1Caught Stealing 1 2Sac Fly 0 0Batting Avg. 0.359 0.243OBP 0.419 0.312SLG 0.410 0.200ERA 2.50 7.41Top Series Performers • CrackerJacksConor Szczerba.556 avg. (5-for-9), 4 R, 1 2B, .600 OBP

Brandon Truitt.400 avg. (4-for-10), 4 RBI, 2 R, .400 OBP

Scott Hull.300 avg. (3-for-10), 5 RBI, 1R, 1 2B

Top Series Performers • ZephyrsMac Coffey.714 avg. (5-for-7), 2 R

Kyle Renaud.333 avg. (3-for-9), 2 R

Ryan Cowhey.286 avg., 2 RBI, 1 2B

CrackerJacks vs. ZephyrsFinal 2011 Season Results

Game 1 (at Sugar Grove): June 3, 2011 Final Score: CrackerJacks 12, Zephyrs 6

Game 2 (at Joliet): June 12, 2011Final Score: CrackerJacks 15, Zephyrs 0


Game 4 (at Sugar Grove): June 19, 2011Final Score: Zephyrs 11, CrackerJacks 8

Game 5 (at Sugar Grove): June 28, 2011Final Score: Zephyrs 7, CrackerJacks 3


Game 7 (at Sugar Grove): July 1, 2011Final Score: CrackerJacks 6, Zephyrs 5

Game 8 (at Joliet): July 20, 2011Final Score: CrackerJacks 16, Zephyrs 4

Game 9 (at Joliet): July 21, 2011Final Score: CrackerJacks 7, Zephyrs 0



Game 12* (at Whiting, Ind.): July 26, 2011Final Score: CrackerJacks 9, Zephyrs 5

Game 13* (at Sugar Grove): July 27, 2011Final Score: CrackerJacks 10, Zephyrs 2

CrackerJacks win regular season series 9-2CrackerJacks win postseason series 2-0*MCL Playoffs


Surviving the epic three-game setAfter a marathon regular season, the three-game sprint to the Midwest Collegiate League Champi-

onship Series between the Southland Vikings and Rockford Foresters was one for the ages.

By Mike Garabedian

Ten years from now when peo-ple look back on the 2011 Midwest Collegiate League Playoffs, they will see a 2-1 Rockford Foresters series win over the Southland Vikings. But what will not be captured in the MCL record books is the excite-ment, the suspense and the unpre-dictability that took place from July 26-29, 2011. After Rockford took the season series 7-5 from Southland, a series that saw the two teams split the first six games, the two would meet again in the playoffs with a chance to play in the first Midwest Colle-giate League Championship series. The Foresters came into the series searching for a shot at back-to-back championships after win-ning the 2010 Great Plains Baseball League Championship. For the Vikings, they were look-ing to dash the hopes of a Rockford club for the second time in 2011. On the final day of the 2011 regu-lar season (July 24), the Vikings knocked off the Foresters in extra innings to end the Foresters’ chance at a regular season MCL title. The series was essentially a toss-up on paper. The Foresters were over .500 when they played the Vi-kings in Rockford and in Flossmoor, but its records were just 4-3 and 3-2, respectively. In game one (July 26) of the

series at Marinelli Field in Rockford, the two teams battled deep into the warm summer night. The game saw four lead-changes through the first eight innings. Leading 5-4 in the top of the ninth inning, the Foresters were one out from closing out the Vikings before third baseman Ian O’Connor dou-bled home Elliot Armstrong to tie the game. “It was a 3-2 count,” O’Connor said. “I was looking for something that was in the zone and I got a pitch I liked.” But the momentum built by Southland in the ninth inning was short-lived. In the bottom of the tenth in-ning, Dontrell Rush’s first pitch to Rockford’s Cyrus Wimberly was rocketed beyond the Viking out-fielders. Wimberly raced around second base and tried to leg out a triple. The throw back to the infield got away and Wimberly trotted home to score the game-winning run. The 6-5 Rockford win put the Vikings on the brink of elimination. But in game two, the Vikings bounced back thanks to a master-ful pitching performance by crafty left-hander Aaron Hauge. Hauge came into the game with a 4-2 over-all record and delivered his finest performance of the 2011 season in his most critical start.

In a complete-game perfor-mance, Hauge struck out 18 Rock-ford hitters and led his team to a 4-2 win in Flossmoor. “I felt really good out there,” Hauge said. “I really wanted to beat the Foresters to force a game three. I basically just tried to stay ahead of the hitters and mix in my off-speed pitches when I needed to. I give a lot of credit to my team. They made some nice plays behind me and came up with some big hits.” The Vikings’ game two win set up a showdown in game three on July 29 at Marinelli Field. After two straight games filled with drama and suspense, game three lacked the excitement that the first two games possessed. Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth in-ning, the Foresters rallied for seven unanswered runs, including two in the fourth, four in the seventh and one in the eighth. Cyrus Wimberly earned the win for Rockford and Josh Negele took the loss for the Vi-kings. The 9-4 win was Rockford’s ninth victory over the Vikings in 2011. They finished 9-6 over South-land overall. The series ended with a five-run Rockford win in game three, but the events that took place in games one and two won’t soon be forgotten.


The 2011 MCL SemifinalsForesters 2, Vikings 1

Foresters vs. VikingsFinal 2011 Season Results

Game 1 (at Rockford): June 3, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 6, Vikings 5

Game 2 (at Rockford): June 3, 2011 Final Score: Vikings 11, Foresters 1

Game 3 (at Rockford): June 4, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 10, Vikings 0

Game 4 (at Rockford): June 19, 2011 Final Score: Vikings 1, Foresters 0

Game 5 (at Flossmoor): June 27, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 9, Vikings 6

Game 6 (at Flossmoor): June 29, 2011 Final Score: Vikings 7, Foresters 4

Game 7 (at Flossmoor): July 2, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 8, Vikings 1

Game 8 (at Flossmoor): July 2, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 8, Vikings 7

Game 9 (at Rockford): July 8, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 8, Vikings 0

Game 10 (at Rockford): July 8, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 2, Vikings 0

Game 11 (at Flossmoor): July 21, 2011 Final Score: Vikings 12, Foresters 1

Game 12 (at Rockford): July 24, 2011 Final Score: Vikings 9, Foresters 5

Game 13* (at Rockford): July 26, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 6, Vikings 5

Game 14* (at Flossmoor): July 27, 2011 Final Score: Vikings 4, Foresters 2

Game 15* (at Rockford): July 29, 2011 Final Score: Foresters 9, Vikings 4

Foresters win regular season series 7-5Foresters win postseason series 2-1*MCL Playoffs

MCL Semifinals Team ComparisonStatistics Category FOR VIKGames 3 3Wins 2 1At-Bats 99 101Runs 17 13Earned Runs 13 9Unearned Runs 4 4Hits 26 21Singles 20 15Doubles 4 6Triples 1 0Home Runs 1 0Runs Batted In 14 10Errors 10 9Walks 12 11Strikeouts 36 17Stolen Bases 7 4Caught Stealing 3 1Batting Avg. 0.263 0.208OBP 0.342 0.286SLG 0.354 0.267ERA 3.00 4.33

Top Series Performers • ForestersTyler Leach.571 avg. (4-for-7), 2R, 1 2B, .714 SLG

Garrett Gee.444 avg. (4-for-9), 3 R, 1 2B, .545 OBP

Ryan Scarpetta.400 avg. (4-for-10), 3 R, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Top Series Performers • VikingsElliot Armstrong.455 avg. (5-for-11), 4 RBI

Aaron Hauge1-0 (1.00 ERA), CG, 18 K

Kevin Kaczmarski.182 avg. (2-for-11), 4 R, 1 RBI


ROCKFORD FORESTERS2011 MCL SCHEDULE & RESULTS

Date Opponent Result MCLJune 3, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 6-5 1-0 June 3, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings L, 11-1 1-1June 4, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 10-0 2-1June 5, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs L, 10-2 2-2June 7, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 3-0 3-2June 8, 2011 vs. Will County CrackerJacks L, 7-4 3-3June 11, 2011 at Will County CrackerJacks W, 5-3 4-3 June 11, 2011 at Will County CrackerJacks L, 6-5 4-4June 13, 2011 vs. Will County CrackerJacks W, 4-2 5-4June 16, 2011 at Will County CrackerJacks W, 4-3 6-4June 17, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 7-2 7-4 June 18, 2011 vs. Will County CrackerJacks W, 4-3 8-4 June 19, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings L, 1-0 8-5June 25, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 5-2 9-5June 26, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs L, 8-6 9-6June 27, 2011 at Southland Vikings W, 9-6 10-6June 29, 2011 at Southland Vikings L, 7-4 10-7June 30, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W, 6-2 11-7June 30, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W, 9-4 12-7 July 2, 2011 at Southland Vikings W, 8-1 13-7July 2, 2011 at Southland Vikings W, 8-7 14-7July 3, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W** 15-7July 3, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs W** 16-7July 8, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 8-0 17-7July 8, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 2-0 18-7July 9, 2011 vs. Will County CrackerJacks W, 2-1 19-7July 10, 2011 vs. Chicago Zephyrs W, 7-3 20-7July 14, 2011 at Chicago Zephyrs L, 9-2 20-8 July 15, 2011 vs. Will County CrackerJacks W, 11-6 21-8 July 16, 2011 at Will County CrackerJacks L, 3-2 21-9July 16, 2011 vs. Will County CrackerJacks W, 9-2 22-9July 17, 2011 vs. Will County CrackerJacks L, 10-1 22-10 July 21, 2011 at Southland Vikings L, 12-1 22-11July 22, 2011 vs. Will County CrackerJacks L, 12-5 22-12 July 24, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings L, 9-5 22-13

Playoff ScheduleJuly 26, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 6-5 WP: Wimberly LP: Rush July 27, 2011 at Southland Vikings L, 4-2 WP: Hauge LP: UlloaJuly 29, 2011 vs. Southland Vikings W, 9-4 WP: Wimberly LP: Negele

July 30, 2011 MCL Championship, Game 1 at CrackerJacks 12:00 p.m. Joliet, Ill.July 30, 2011 MCL Championship, Game 2 vs. CrackerJacks 7:30 p.m. Rockford, Ill.July 31, 2011 MCL Championship, Game 3* at CrackerJacks 1:00 p.m. Joliet, Ill. *If Necessary**Rockford win, but final score unreported by Rockford


2011 Playoffs • Rockford Foresters Statistics PITCHING (sorted by innings pitched) Name G GS W L SV ERA CG IP H R ER BB K BA Cyrus Wimberly 2 1 2 0 0 1.69 1 10 2/3 6 4 2 5 10 0.162Mark Ulloa 1 0 0 1 0 2.25 0 8 3 2 2 3 5 0.100Craig Provow 1 1 0 0 0 2.25 0 4 3 2 1 2 1 0.167Daryn Streed 1 0 0 0 0 3.00 0 3 4 1 1 0 1 0.333Ziggie Vanderwall 1 0 0 0 0 13.50 0 1 1/3 3 2 2 1 0 0.375Brian McCabe 1 1 0 0 0 N/A 0 0 2 2 1 1 0 0.667 Totals 3 3 2 1 0 3.00 1 27 21 13 9 12 17 0.208

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E Vikings (0-1) 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 5 11 3 Foresters (1-0) 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 0 1 6 7 5

2011 Midwest Collegiate League Semifinals • July 26, 2011Game 1 vs. Southland Vikings • Marinelli Field; Rockford, Ill

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Foresters (1-1) 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 5 2 Vikings (1-1) 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 4 5 2

2011 Midwest Collegiate League Semifinals • July 27, 2011Game 2 at Southland Vikings • Homewood-Flossmoor High School; Flossmoor, Ill.

Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Vikings (1-2) 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 5 4 Foresters (2-1) 2 0 0 2 0 0 4 1 0 9 12 3

2011 Midwest Collegiate League Semifinals • July 29, 2011Game 3 vs. Southland Vikings • Marinelli Field; Rockford, Ill

HITTING (sorted by batting average)Name G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB HBP K SB CS AVG OBP SLGTyler Leach 2 7 2 4 1 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0.571 0.571 0.714Garrett Gee 3 9 3 4 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 2 0 0.444 0.545 0.556Ryan Scarpetta 3 10 3 4 0 0 1 2 2 0 4 0 0 0.400 0.500 0.700Zach Wisowaty 3 8 3 3 1 0 0 0 4 0 3 3 1 0.375 0.583 0.500Cyrus Wimberly 3 12 3 4 1 1 0 4 0 0 3 1 1 0.333 0.333 0.583Ziggie Vanderwall 3 11 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 0 0 0.273 0.273 0.273Connor Kretz 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0.250 0.250 0.250Ryan Hickey 3 10 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 0 0.200 0.200 0.200Daryn Streed 3 10 1 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 3 0 0 0.100 0.182 0.100Matt Cervantes 3 9 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0.000 0.100 0.000Michael Delgado 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000Josh Voigtlander 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0.000 0.333 0.000Jason Schnulle 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0.000 0.250 0.000Totals 3 99 17 26 4 1 1 14 12 0 36 7 3 0.263 0.342 0.354


2011 WILL COUNTY CRACKERJACKSPresident/General Manager................................Jamie TooleManager................................................................Vern Hasty

Pitchers (9)No. Name Pos. Hometown College29 Ryan Windt RHP Tinley Park, Ill. University of Wisconsin-Parkside27 Mike Nicks RHP Tinley Park, Ill. University of Wisconsin-Parkside21 Steve Taylor RHP McDonough, Ga. Southern Polytechnic State University16 Drew Sain RHP Momence, Ill. Kankakee Community College14 Josh Kause RHP Elmwood Park, Ill. Triton Junior College11 Tom Laudadio LHP St. Charles, Ill. Kankakee Community College18 Benny Collesano RHP Homer Glen, Ill. Trinity Christian College22 Matt Pruneau RHP Plainfield, Ill. Calumet College of St. Joseph36 Spencer Lehmann RHP Minooka, Ill. Minooka High School

Infielders (7)No. Name Pos. Hometown College3 Colt Hankamer IF Solado, Texas Polk State College10 Conor Szczerba IF Titusville, Fla. Polk State College13 Chris Noble IF Fort Myers, Fla. Polk State College26 Lendon Ehlmann IF St. Charles, Mo. Kansas City KS Community College5 Mark Zhorne IF Galesburg, Ill. Carl Sandburg College2 Michael Jordan IF Miami, Fla. Benedict College32 Steve Kedroski IF Crystal Lake, Ill. Western Illinois University

Outfielders (4)No. Name Pos. Hometown College8 Scott Hull OF Bartlesville, Okla. Kansas City KS Community College9 Chris Bell OF Gainesville, Ga. Emmanuel College33 Domenic Biagini OF Arlington Heights, Ill. College of DuPage19 Derek Thomas OF Cedar Rapids, Iowa Lewis University

Catchers (1)No. Name Pos. Hometown College34 Brandon Truitt C Kansas City, Kansas Baker University


2011 ROCKFORD FORESTERSGeneral Manager..................................................Joe StefaniManager................................................................Rene ValdezBench Coach.........................................................Mark HernandezAssistant Coach....................................................Eric Pinter

Pitchers (15)No. Name Pos. Hometown College15 Brian McCabe LHP Lena, Ill. Clarke College34 Chris Jordan LHP Geneva, Ill. Aurora University44 Cory Walden RHP Aurora, Ill. Waubonsee Community College29 Craig Provow RHP Naperville, Ill. Waubonsee Community College7 Cyrus Wimberly RHP/Util. Rockford, Ill. Valparaiso University50 Dan Hutcheson RHP Rockford, Ill. Sauk Valley Community College25 Dan Okapal RHP Aurora, Ill. Waubonsee Community College40 Jacob Chandler RHP Mendota, Ill. University of Wisconsin-Parkside12 Luke Ingersoll LHP Savanna, Ill. Southern Ill. University-Edwardsville3 Marc Ulloa LHP Chicago, Ill. Coker College35 Matt Bowman RHP Streator, Ill. Coker College9 Steven Lewis RHP Sugar Grove, Ill. Waubonsee Community College6 Zak Engelbrecht RHP Hebron, Ill. Carl Sandburg College11 Ziggie Vanderwall LHP/Util. Rockford, Ill. Holmes Community College21 Dustin Meier RHP Roscoe, Ill. Oakton Community College

Infielders (8)No. Name Pos. Hometown College5 Josh Voigtlander IF Rockford, Ill. Rock Valley College2 Michael Delgado IF Chicago, Ill. Ashford University36 Regulo Moy IF Valencia, Venezuela University of Oklahoma26 Tim Brann IF Sheridan, Ill. Waubonsee Community College32 Tyler Leach IF Rockford, Ill. St. Ambrose University20 Garrett Gee IF Woodstock, Ill. Kishwaukee College51 Ryan Scarpetta IF Rockton, Ill. Rock Valley College48 Daryn Streed IF Belvidere, Ill. McHenry County College

Outfielders (6)No. Name Pos. Hometown College30 Connor Kretz OF Rockford, Ill. St. Ambrose University8 Ryan Adams OF Geneva, Ill. Aurora University39 Luke Wichmann OF Freeport, Ill. Marshalltown Community College1 Israel Sanchez OF Mission, Texas Sauk Valley Community College14 Ryan Hickey OF Freeport, Ill. George Washington University19 Zach Wisowaty OF Clinton, Wisc. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Catchers (3)No. Name Pos. Hometown College27 Brad Winkler C La Grange Park, Ill. Monmouth College17 Jason Schnulle C Batavia, Ill. Waubonsee Community College10 Matt Cervantes C Sandwich, Ill. University of Illinois


HEAD-TO-HEAD: ‘JACKS & FORESTERSHow the CrackerJacks and Foresters fared against one another in 2011

2011 Season Series: Foresters won 7-5 All-Time Series: Foresters lead 7-5First Meeting: June 8, 2011Last Meeting: July 22, 2011CrackerJacks’ Record in Rockford: 3-5Foresters’ Record in Joliet: 2-2

Game 1 (at Rockford): June 8, 2011 Game 8 (at Rockford): July 15, 2011Final Score: CrackerJacks 7, Foresters 4 Final Score: Foresters 11, CrackerJacks 6WP: Steve Taylor WP: Dan OkapalLP: Craig Provow LP: Tom Laudadio

Game 2 (at Joliet): June 11, 2011 Game 9 (at Joliet): July 16, 2011Final Score: Foresters 5, CrackerJacks 3 Final Score: CrackerJacks 3, Foresters 2WP: Dan Okapal WP: Drew SainLP: Matt Pruneau LP: Marc Ulloa

Game 3 (at Joliet): June 11, 2011 Game 10 (at Rockford): July 16, 2011Final Score: CrackerJacks 6, Foresters 5 Final Score: Foresters 9, CrackerJacks 2WP: Drew Sain WP: Steven LewisLP: Matt Cervantes LP: Chris Noble

Game 4 (at Rockford): June 13, 2011 Game 11 (at Rockford): July 17, 2011Final Score: Foresters 4, CrackerJacks 2 Final Score: CrackerJacks 10, Foresters 1WP: Steven Lewis WP: Michael JordanLP: Brooks McDowell LP: Ziggie Vanderwall

Game 5 (at Joliet): June 16, 2011 Game 12 (at Rockford): July 22, 2011Final Score: Foresters 4, CrackerJacks 3 Final Score: CrackerJacks 12, Foresters 5WP: Daryn Streed WP: Michael JordanLP: Mike Nicks LP: Cyrus Wimberly

Game 6 (at Rockford): June 18, 2011Final Score: Foresters 4, CrackerJacks 3WP: Dustin MeierLP: Ryan Windt

Game 7 (at Rockford): July 9, 2011Final Score: Foresters 2, CrackerJacks 1WP: Dan OkapalLP: Michael Jordan


Midwest Collegiate League Championship Program Production

The Official 2011 Midwest Collegiate League Champion-ship Series Program was produced by the Will County CrackerJacks media relations department based on in-

formation available through July 29, 2011. Photography, editing, research, design, statistics, formatting and writing

is provided by Mike Garabedian, Manager of Broadcast and Media Relations for the Will County CrackerJacks.

The Official 2011 Midwest Collegiate League Champion-ship Series Program is an official publication of the Will County CrackerJacks, 24014 West Renwick Road, Suite

103, Plainfield, Ill., 60544. Its logos and graphics are trade-marks of the Will County CrackerJacks and of the Mid-

west Collegiate League. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part of the Official 2011 Midwest Collegiate

League Championship Series Program without written permission is strictly prohibited.

Will County CrackerJacks Mission Statement:CrackerJacks baseball is dedicated to beginning a tradi-

tion of excellence for the entire organization. We want to be a championship organization on and off the field and want to develop the premiere summer collegiate baseball operation in the country. We want to have championship

players on the field and championship people off of the field. We would like to utilize the 2011 inaugural season to lay the ground work for the future success of the Will

County CrackerJacks. We want to be an asset and anchor for our community and an organization that Will County can be proud of. We want to make a positive impact on

community organizations that can use our assistance. We want Will County to be a better place because of the Will

County CrackerJacks.

The Will County CrackerJacksMailing Address:Will County CrackerJacks24014 W. Renwick Road, Suite 103Plainfield, Ill., 60544(815) 704-2255

President & General Manager:Jamie TooleManager of Broadcast & Media Relations:Mike GarabedianMarketing Associate:Natalie CorteseCommunity Relations Associate:Amanda CortesePublic Relations Intern:Ruth LeeOperations Manager:Jose ContrerasIntern:Mike FriendIntern:Matt Lang

The Rockford ForestersMailing Address:Southland VikingsP.O. Box 611Rockford, Ill. 61105(815) 312-2115

President & General Manager:Joe StefaniAssistant General Manager:Josh VanSwolDirector of Group Tickets & Operations:Dan StachowskiGroup Ticket Sales:Nicole StefaniTeam Chiropractors:Dr. Brant Hulsebus & Dr. Cory ThieleTeam Dentist:Dr. Kris Tumilowicz

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