The Zionsville Little League Senior Team won the District 8 President Cup title on Sunday, July 1st against Brownsburg. The team advanced to the championship round by defeating Eagledale on June 26th and Broad Ripple on June 28th. During the championship game, the Seniors team scattered 10 hits over 5 innings of play, winning 10-9, when the game was called because of time.
Zionsville played an aggressive game by stealing 10 bases and being caught stealing just once.
The team has played well this season. Hitting, fielding, pitching and catching have been excellent. The mix of 15-17 years olds have come together in a short time to play as a united team. Top batters on the team are Jared Hopwood, B ave .684, Bobby Caswelch, B ave .631, Jake Donley, B. ave .583, Keenan Leary B. ave 571, and Paul Jeffries, B ave .555. The players with the highest on base percentages are Keenan Leary at .786, Kurt Mastin at .727, Jared Hopwood at .714, and Paul Jeffries at .667.
Ace starting pitcher is Paul Jeffries has a season ERA of 1.84 and a WHIP of just .341. Over 30 innings pitched, Paul has allowed just 7 hits and 4 walks while striking out 46 batters. Other pitchers have included Tyler OBrien, Connor Dall, Kurt Mastin, Josh Geiser, Jared Hopwood, and Garrett Hall .
Working behind the plate as catchers have been Jake Donley, Kurt Mastin, Mark OBrien, Trent Bryant, and Tim Carr.
The infield has featured the hot gloves of Tyler O’Brien, Paul Jeffries, Cade Ducket, Mark O’Brien, Keenan Leary, Brad Berglund, and Trent Bryant.
The outfield has had great catches by Bobby Caswelch, Kenny Walter, Garrett Hall, and Tim Carr.
Manager Bill Jeffries remarked about his team, “The guys really learned how to play like a team this year. They supported each other, picked each other up, and came from behind in three games this year to win. While there are some individual stars in different games, baseball is truly the ultimate team sport. Every player has to think every play, if the ball comes to me, where do I go. How is what I am doing right now helping the team. In every game we had some players missing for vacation, injury, football practice, mission trips, camp, or family affairs and other players returning to the team after a week or 2 hiatus. We didn’t play with the same starting 9 in a single game.The guys always quickly re-bonded and became a team again.”
The Seniors Team heads into end of season district tournament play next week. With this great President’s Cup Title and an unbeaten season behind them, the team is optimistically looking forward to a fun and competitive tournament.
From left to right in the photo are:
Team Coach/Manager, Bill Jeffries, Asst Mgr Mike Mastin, Cade Duckett, and Kenny Walter
Holding the banner and behind it are Paul Jeffries, Tylet OBrien, Kurt Mastin, Keenan Leary, Mark OBrien, Tyler Leix, Garrett Hall, Jake Donley, Coach Dave Donley, Brad Berglund, and Jared Hopwood.
On ground in front of the banner are Trent Bryant, Tim Carr, and Bobby Caswelch
Not present for the photo but also on the team were Billy Goggins, Drew Hobick, Josh Geiser, Connor Dall, Gabe Valle, Asst mngr Greg Leary, and Score keeper, Cheryl Crawford.