The 11U Oregon JR. Eagles capped off their season by providing their coaching staff with great Fathers Day present.  They won the Nations 11U Select State Championship on Fathers Day.  On the road to the title the JR. Eagles notched an 8-0 record for the tournament.  Great pitching, clutch hitting and sound defense put the JR. Eagles in the drivers seat for the entire tournament.

The team is led by an outstanding group of dedicated coaches. Paul Lambrecht manages the team.  John Utter works with the defensive aspect of the JR. Eagles.  Form, technique and fundamentals are his secret for success.  Marty Bihn is the ace of the staff focusing on pitching.  His uncanny knack for detail and mechanics provide a sound building block for the team’s pitchers to learn and compete.  Safety and control are the catalysts our pitching staff is built on.  Tom Daniel rounds off the coaching staff.  Tom runs the teams stretching and warm ups.  He makes sure we are loose and ready to go.  He has helped the team strengthen their upper body and core, this has allowed us to throw, hit and run much better than the previous years.

The JR. Eagles began the tournament going 3-0 in their pool. They started with an 8-5 win over the Hilliard Colts.  The second game was a 15-2 win over The Stow Bulldogs.  The final game of pool play ended with a 9-2 victory over Miamisburg Post 165.  Their efforts gave them the number four seed when the top thirty advanced.

The JR. Eagles continued their march to the title on Saturday morning.  Their first opponent in the single elimination bracket play was the Woodmore Wildcats.  The JR Eagles handled them winning 8-1.  Their next opponent was the Springfield Heat.  The JR. Eagles won this contest 7-4. This victory put them in the final eight.  Their next opponent was the Ohio Thunder.  The JR. Eagles showed up Sunday morning ready to play.  They rolled to a 13-4 victory over the Thunder.  They now advanced to the semi-finals where they faced HRS Express Navy.  This contest proved to be a real battle.  The JR. Eagles held out for a 3-2 victory in eight innings.  The championship game was between the JR. Eagles and the Aurora Athletics.  The Jr. Eagles battled to an early lead and were able to fend off a late rally by the Athletics.  The JR. Eagles won 7-4.

The JR. Eagles used sound defense, clutch hitting and excellent pitching to win the State Tournament.  The were able to hold opponents to only 24 runs in 8 games.  They allowed an average of only 3 runs per game against some of the top teams in the state.

The JR. Eagles were led by great pitching efforts from Nolan Ansara, Adam Bihn, Jake Lingohr, Trace Lambrecht, Alec Jaquillard, Antonio DiTerlizzi and Justin Daniel.  Great defesive play came from shortstop Tommy Eitniear, catcher J.J. Utter and outfielder Nick Walter.  Topping off the great effort was the key pinch running of Robbie Gechter.  One of the key plays of the tournament was Robbie scoring the tying run against the Express, while pinch running.

One of the strongest variables of the JR. Eagles success is that they win with total team efforts.  They have no one star.  The players all contribute.  When one player is off his game the others pick up the slack.  This year the JR. Eagles believed in their coaches and more importantly they believed in themselves.  Their desire to be number one came true.

The JR. Eagles finished the season 22-14.  They have already begun working for next season’s success.

The Oregon JR. Eagle family would like to thank all the parents, coaches, players and sponsors who made this CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON possible.  We would also like to congratulate Dave Whitmire and his entire staff and crew at Carter Park on providing such a great experience for the young ball players in Ohio.

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