The Palos American Legion Post 1993 Coyotes will remember this trip to the American Legion senior state finals for a long time.
The Coyotes finished third in the state the past two seasons, but the event was never like this.
Aviston, a town with a population of under 2,400 located about 40 miles east of St. Louis, hosted the state tournament. Coyotes coach Mike Jeffers said it was an experience the players might not get to be a part of again.
Aviston residents plus those from neighboring communities in Clinton County came out in droves.
“People were filtering in to watch the host team play and there were easily 1,000 people there are the end of our game,” Jeffers said of the Coyotes’ first-round 7-5 win against Rock Island on July 22. “It was just such a different environment for summer baseball.
“I told our kids, ‘You will never play in front of 1,000 people in a summer game again.’’’
Palos lost to eventual state champ Aviston 4-2 in the second round and beat Wheaton-Carol Stream 4-3 in the consolation bracket before being eliminated by Rock Island, 11-9.
Sean Popp had three hits and two RBI while Brady Jeffers added three hits in the Rock Island loss.
Michigan thwarts EP twice
Evergreen Park’s 16U softball team was stopped in the Senior League Central Region tournament thanks to two losses against defending national champion Michigan on July 21-24 in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky.
EP opened the tourney with a 7-1 loss to Michigan and followed up with a 15-0 win over Ohio, a 17-0 win over Missouri and a 7-6 thriller over Kentucky before falling 8-0 in the tournament championship.
The Illinois state champion EP roster featured Molly Goyke, Layne Schillo, Hannah Pikus, Addy B. Mrskos, Sam Johnson, Ava Krueger, Liv Hovanec, Makenna Juarez, Mackenzie Norbut, Molly Racz, Olivia Rodriguez and Ceci Chavez.
Fire report
The Chicago Fire dropped their first two games back from the World Cup break, which were also the first two games of Polish star Robert Lewandowski in a Fire uniform. They also lost their top scorer in a transfer move.
The Fire lost 3-2 at Inter Miami on July 22 in an MLS game, although Miami and Argentina star Lionel Messi did not play. Lewandowski played 63 minutes and did not have any shots on goal.
Chicago (8-6-2) dropped a 3-1 decision against New York City FC July 25 at Yankee Stadium. Lewandowski played 45 minutes and had one shot on target.
Between matches, the Fire transferred top scorer Hugo Cuypers to Liga MX side Club de Futbol Monterrey for a multi-million dollar fee. This season, he scored 13 goals in 11 matches and scored a team-record 10 straight matches in which he played.
The Fire host Charlotte at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 1 at Soldier Field.
The Fire II (7-6-6) dominated Carolina 5-1 on July 25 on the road in an MLS NEXT Pro game as Oscar Pineda, Vitaliy Hylut and Damian Nigg each had a goal and assist.
Chicago hosts Cincinnati at 3 p.m. Aug. 2 at SeatGeek Stadium.
Wade honored
Former Richards basketball star and Robbins native Dwyane Wade was honored on July 26 with the inaugural Dwyane Wade Day in the village as well as having a street named after him – Dwyane Wade Boulevard.