Youth Sports
Beware of the Brookfield Burritos. The hometown representatives in the 48th Annual Roy A. Overholt Invitational are red hot after crushing Lyons-McCook 15-1 at Kiwanis Park last week earning passage into the semifinals.
Lyons-McCook held a 1-0 lead against Brookfield after two innings. In the third, the Burritos’ bats came to life as centerfielder Buster Sickel, infielder Eric Gradilla and catcher Frankie Mazgay all cracked run-producing doubles in the six-run frame. Brookfield tacked on seven runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach as Sickel, Gradilla and pitcher Zach Lake had RBI producing hits.
Gradilla (3-for-5, 2 RBIs), Sickel (2-or-2, 3 RBIs) and shortstop Ben Davis (1-for-3, 3 RBIs) paced Brookfield offensively. Lake pitched four innings to earn the victory before reliever Charlie Lynch mopped up in the final frame.
“We did everything great,” said Lynch, whose father, Kevin, is the Brookfield manager. “We played the field and we had some really good hits. Every time we win it seems like more people are coming out to cheer for us. It’s exciting [to be in the semifinals] and we want to get our name on the [Overholt Champions] board.”
Will Tracy, Bobby Kotrba, Ryan Brown and Jake Garvey are the other key players who have contributed for the Burritos, who own an impressive 20-4 summer record.
In other quarterfinal games last week, La Grange Park defeated Lyons Township 6-2, La Grange defeated Riverside 3-0, and South Cicero blanked Pleasantdale 5-0.
“The kids are having a blast,” Kevin Lynch said. “The community support has been awesome. After the first round, there’s absolutely more pressure. The remaining teams all want to win the championship.”
The Overholt Tournament Championship is scheduled for Thursday at Kiwanis Park (7:30 p.m.).