South Baltimore Little League Wins District Championship with 10U and 11U Teams
It’s been a banner year for the South Baltimore Little League as its 10u team won the District 4 Championship for the first time in 20 years and its 11u team won the District 4 Championship for the second straight year. The 12u team additionally made it to the district championship before falling to South Maryland 6-2.
South Baltimore Little League 10u Head Coach Kenny Kulesz told SouthBMore.com that “the South Baltimore Little League is as strong as I’ve ever seen.”
He added, “There is now a legit pipeline.”
Kulesz noted all but one kid on this year’s 1ou team will move up to 11u next year, but said “the 10u team next year will be just as good.”
Kulesz said the league recently switched to a schedule with less games to more skills and drills practices to develop talent and fundamentals.
Upon wining the championship, Kulesz said the team was thrilled, especially after losing in the championship last year. “A lot of them remembered the sting from last year. Our goal was to get back,” he said.
The South Baltimore Little League 10u team outscored opponents 46-8. They beat Laurel 5-2 to win the championship.
The 10u District 4 Region tournament was held at South Baltimore Little League in Locust Point.
A recap of the region tournament from Kulesz:
The leaders in innings pitched for our team were Cam O’Brien, Henry Blood, Kaden Kulesz, and Ben Jenkins.
Leading us in OPS were Henry Blood, Cam O’Brien, Cooper Dach, Kaden Kulesz, and Preston Zimmerman.
Tied for the team lead in stolen bases were Jack McCartney and Ben Jenkins.
Playing great defense was Brooks McQuillan, Kevin Shudtz, Aiden Bryant, Charlie Hoelhein, and Daxton Parr.
The 10u team will compete for a Little League Maryland State Championship entering a tournament with six other region champions from around the state. It’s double elimination and the games will begin this weekend in Fruitland in Wicomico County.
Assistant 10u coaches are Matt Blood and Mike Jenkins.
Looking to spread out the talent eligible for 10u, the South Baltimore Little League 11u team was comprised of mostly 10-year-old kids, as well as one nine-year-old. Kulesz noted all these kids played against each other all year in the South Baltimore Little League Minors division.
A total of 66 kids, mostly from South and Southeast Baltimore, played in the Minors and 24 spots were filled on the two all-star teams.
The 11u South Baltimore team is coached by Dammion Toliver with assistants Sean Delaney and Steven Mandelburg. The 11u team went 3-1 in the Region tournament which was held in Laurel. It sealed the championship with a 10-0 win over Greenbelt.
Toliver provided the following recap of the win:
Hitting:
Jack Teresi 3-3
Hudson Connolly 2-3
Joey Lloyd 2-3, 3 stolen bases
Owen Wunderlich 2-2
Pitching:
Hudson Connolly pitched 5 innings, allowed 2 BB, 3 hits, and had 6 strike outs.
Fielding:
South Baltimore didn’t commit a single error. Joey Lloyd had the most chances in the field with six.
Toliver said the kids were “super excited” upon winning the championship. He said his team came a long way since its first practice and really started believing in themselves.
Toliver, who’s been involved in South Baltimore Little League since his son Jack was in t-ball, said he’s seen the “skill level go up.” He also noted the kids have grown and the overall chemistry and team environment has improved.
Both the 10u and 11u teams suffered days of rain and Canadian smoke postponements before being able to complete the District 4 tournaments. Toliver said it was “a nightmare” for the parents to work around vacations and rescheduling plans.
“If it wasn’t for the parents and their support, we wouldn’t be here,” he said. He also noted the thriving support from the South Baltimore community.
The 11u team will start the state tournament this Sunday in Arbutus and compete against six other region champions.
10u Roster
Henry Blood
Aiden Bryant
Cooper Dach
Charlie Hoelhein
Ben Jenkins
Kaden Kulesz
Jack McCartney
Brooks McQuillan
Cam O’Brien
Daxton Parr
Kevin Shudtz
Preston Zimmerman
11u Roster
Milo Biscoe
Decker Davidow
Connor Delaney
Camden Connolly
Hudson Connolly
Joey Lloyd
Drew Mandelberg
Ardy Scholz
Ryan Shea
Jack Teresi
Owen Wunderlich
Miro Ziegler
Photos below courtesy of Shawn Hubbard
Photo courtesy of South Baltimore Little League
About the Author: Kevin Lynch
Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.
