OREGON - The Oregon Avalanche 14U travel team wrapped up the season by placing second in the C Division at the USSSA Illinois/Iowa Tournament held in Moline on June 29-30.
"The coaches are immensely proud of the hard work and determination that these girls have put into their season,” coach Lynn Kalnins said. “Many balance a full schedule of other sports, activities and school and still commit time to improving their skills on the field. Our organization is not like most of the teams we face at these larger scale tournaments. Most teams play with players from multiple communities that do not continue on to high school together.”
In their first game on Saturday, they held off the Prairie Hawks 13U team for a 6-4 victory. Avalanche pitcher Izzy Berg struck out 10 batters during the game. Next, Avalanche won big over the Scott County Little League 14U All-Stars 11-2.
“In Avalanche, we focus on girls solely from the OCUSD district who will eventually go forward to play high school ball,” Kalnins said. “We believe that the teamwork and trust developed at these younger ages provides a strong foundation for the future Oregon Hawks Softball Program. I had high expectations for these girls this season, but getting to the championship game and taking home second was beyond even what I originally set my sights on.”
Avalanche 14U fell to the Wildcat Softball 14U team 4-2 on Sunday. During their next game, Avalanche 14U snatched the lead late in their 6-5 victory over the EP Junior Panthers 14U team on Sunday. Avalanche 14U were down 5-4 in the top of the third inning when Abigail Kalnins singled, scoring two runs. Izzy Berg earned the win for Avalanche 14U.
“I wanted the girls to be able to stay competitive with other comparable teams at state, but they were determined to do more than just that,” Kalnins said. “They overcame situations where other teams got a jump on us early.. They didn't get discouraged, but battled back to end up turning the game and taking the win. These girls are competitors, but better yet they support each other, cheer for each other, and demonstrate world class sportsmanship."
The team participated in the NAFA Midwest Nationals in Rockford on July 11-14. Over 1,800 players, coaches and spectators attended the event which started on Thursday. From 8U to 18U, 118 teams from around the Midwest participated. Oregon Avalanche 14U took home the championship in the bronze division.
"Avalanche struck back after some challenging pool play games to find success in the bracket division of the tournament,” Kalnins said. “This national tournament places opponents from a variety of levels against each other in the pool play without looking at any history or records. Teams just play teams. We faced some exceptional teams and struggled to find our stride.”
The weekend kicked off Thursday with players participating in college coaches' camps, skills competitions, and a parade of teams. Players got to meet and exchange trading pins with teams from around the state and country. Avalanche fell short all day on Friday, being defeated in all three pool play games by Vernon Hills Stingers (14-0), Wisconsin Lightning (10-0), and Wisconsin Outlawz (21-6).
“On offense, we just couldn't get our hits to get through to get players on base,” Kalnins said. “We had some silly baserunning mistakes. Our defense went in waves. We would have had innings where we were strong and prevented them from scoring, but then the next inning we'd have multiple errors and couldn't get it together. Still playing against stronger teams benefits us at the developmental level. Our girls got to face pitchers who were throwing 50 to 60 miles per hour and had lots of movement. That level of challenge will be good for them in the long run."
Saturday began bracket play, where the Avalanche overcame Rockford Xtreme (8-7) in an extra inning with the International Tie Breaker rule in place.
"Brackets started with no less of a formidable opponent with a neck and neck challenge against Rockford Xtreme,” Kalnins said. “We would get ahead and they would catch up. Then we'd sneak another run in, but they would answer with one. The time ended with us being tied 4-4. We went into an extra inning with them batting first. With international tie rules, they got to start with a runner on second base.”
“They were able to get three runs with some great hits past the infield before we could get the third out,” Kalnins continued. “We were nervous going into our half of the inning, because we knew we were chasing 4 for the win. Our first two batters walked, resulting in three runners on. Izzy Berg then hit a single bringing in two runs. Kendall Boyle came up next and laid down a solid single up the center of the field bringing two more runs in."
Oregon’s win over the Rockford Xtreme qualified the team for another game against the Illinois Lightning, who the Avalanche took down 7-4. Avalanche base running helped get momentum going during the fourth inning. The first two batters were walked and then were advanced with a line drive over the first base player's head by Gabby Burke.
Avalanche brought in an additional cushion of three runs to bring the score to 5-0. The Lightning pushed hard to the end, with two outfield doubles bringing in two runs in the sixth. But the Avalanche kept their cool and fought through to finish out the game 7-4.
“It was a slow start in the second game versus the Illinois Lightning,” Kalnins concluded. “After three innings, the Avalanche were able to just bring in two runs while holding the Lightning at zero. Our defense was key at the start of this game. They were definitely hitters but our infield was able to prevent them from getting on with solid fielding and no errors. They hit a few holes in the outfield, but our outfielder hustled to make sure they didn't advance more than just to first. I have no complaints about our defense.”
Sunday's early morning storms caused a significant rain delay and a bracket readjustment due to fields being too flooded to play.
"We were supposed to play at 8 a.m., but the fields were drenched after the storms,” Kalnins said. “Field crews were using pumps, squeegees, and even cups and buckets to pull water off the fields. They put in a lot of work despite the hot and muggy weather. They were finally able to open fields up to play the bracket championship games a little after noon.”
In the championship game against Stateline Fury, consistency was key. Izzy Berg's pitching kept Fury's bats mostly tamed with nine strikeouts total. Lola Schwarz, Kimber Ege and Abi Kalnins caught key fly-ball outs, preventing those who did get on base from advancing home.
“I was unsure of how the girls were going to do with having a four-hour delay,” Kalnins said. “They turned the music up and got themselves pumped up to play by singing and dancing with some of the other teams there. The girls were there to compete against each other, but at the same time most of the teams let loose and would have fun. Our dugout ended up in a duet with the dugout of one of the silver bracket competitors.”
On offense, Schwarz, Macauley Heuerman, Lyndee Anderson and Madeline Rogers knocked down key hits to move runners home. Schwarz’s double in the first inning brought in the first run, later scoring when Anderson stepped to the plate and snagged a single line drive along the left outfield line.
"Throughout our bracket play, there were no big, over the fence hits or stunning defensive tricks that made the games,” Kalnins said. “Our girls stuck to the fundamentals and kept it simple. They did the things that we've worked all season long on. They put the bat on the ball on offense and moved their feet to stop the ball on defense. We are such a unique type of team with all of our players being from one community who will eventually go on to play high school ball together.”
Heuerman's double in the second inning brought runners in to secure a 5-1 lead going into the third. Rogers' line drive single through an infield gap secured the final runs needed to award the Avalanche the win with a final score of 7-5.
“The teams we played try out girls from a variety of zip codes to find the best of the best,” Kalnins said. “Our focus continues to be developing our hometown Oregon district players and to strengthen our high school program. It's a long term goal and there have definitely been hurdles along the way. This weekend was a win on multiple levels and showed that what we're doing is working to provide our girls quality and competitive skill development.”
What's next for Avalanche? Volunteering at the Ogle County 4-H Fair and at other events throughout the community. It's important for us to give back to our community. Avalanche is also holding 10U-14U player registration and skills testing for the fall session. This will be six weeks of play with a focus on skill development for the upcoming 2025 season. For more information call coach Nate Rogers at 815-979-2094.
