Congratulations Cincinnati Flames

2001 CABA 9U National Runner-up

"A Great Season"

Contributed by Dan Davis

 The 9 and under Cincinnati Flames Baseball Team play their home games at Basil Field in Westchester, Ohio. They are participants in the AABC Southwest Ohio League where they finished second during the regular season. The team qualified to participate in the Continental Amateur Baseball Association (CABA) World Series. This is a national tournament hosted in Charles City, Iowa for the last thirteen years. The CABA baseball tournament annually draws the best teams from all over the continental United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Cincinnati’s play during the CABA World Series was outstanding. They began the pool play with a loss to the Wichita, Kansas Sluggers. The team rebounded to win the remaining three games in pool play over teams from Charles City, Iowa, Omaha, Nebraska, and Dublin Ohio. Their 3-1 record qualified them to advance as a second seed into the championship bracket.

The Flames began championship play with a victory over Mansfield, Ohio. The next opponent would be the defending champion from Puerto Rico. The Puerto Ricans had not lost a baseball game in the last 2 years. Their streak remained intact with a hard fought victory over Cincinnati. The Flames rebounded by defeating Dublin for a second time. In order to advance to the championship finals, they would have to avenge an earlier loss to Wichita, Kansas.  The Flames responded with a stellar performance hammering out 10 runs to support Kyle Hart’s one-hitter on the mound.  Cincinnati would have to defeat Puerto Rico twice to claim the title in the double elimination championship.

Puerto Rico's magic disappeared in the first championship game.  Cincinnati jumped to a 6-0 lead.  Lead by pitcher Kevin Clark, the Flames defense shut down the powerful Puerto Rico offense, limiting them to only three hits and one lone walk.  Stellar plays like Jordan Ball's great sliding catch in right field fueled the defense.  As a result, Puerto Rico was handed their first loss 6-3 forcing a second and deciding contest.

The game for the World Series Title was a back and forth affair. Puerto Rico jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead.  The Flames responded in a big way. Highlighted by a two-run single by Daniel Novak (3-for-3) and a two-run, pinch-hit double off the bat of Jared Riley, the Flames put six runs on the board and took a 7-5 lead. After holding them scoreless in the next inning, the Flames tacked on another run. Novak, who led off with a single up the middle and stole second and third, scored when Marcus Davis laid down a safety-squeeze bunt. Going into the final inning of a very exciting game, the score was knotted at 9 all.  The Puerto Ricans scored the final 3 runs of the contest to claim the title by a score of 12-9. Cincinnati Head Coach Dennis Oltorik, who was consoling his squad just hours after it had won its biggest game of the year, was upbeat following the contest. "Playing baseball is supposed to be for all the fun in the world," he said. "We came out here and had as much fun as we could. The boys played their hearts out and that's what the game is all about."

The above-mentioned players all had their big moments during this championship tournament. Their play combined with the efforts of Ryan Oltorik, Robby Sunderman, and Noah Buettgen led the way. Being the balanced team that they are, there were also key contributions from Landen Hunter, Ethan McAlpine and Kyle Parido. The entire team and coaching staff is pictured above. They should all be commended for their outstanding play and great sportsmanship throughout the entire season.