RIVER FOREST — Rochelle Little League’s 11U Baseball All-Stars headed to River Forest for the Illinois Little League State Championship tournament over the weekend. Rochelle played two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday, finishing 1-2 in the state tournament.

The team includes Bennett Law, Bentley Etes, Brantley Koenig, Brayson Bouland, Brycen Williams, Devin Hansen, Dominic Escatel, Grange Kissack, Jimmy Chadwick, Landon Johnson, Noah Hayden and Riley Heal. The team is coached by Tim Hayden, Scott Etes and Adam Heal.

Clear Ridge

Rochelle’s state tournament run started with a 4-2 victory against Clear Ridge on Saturday. Bennett Law started on the mound, throwing shutout innings while striking out four batters. Noah Hayden and Grange Kissack each followed with two innings of relief while combining for two strikeouts. Bentley Etes went 1-for-2 with one single and one RBI to lead the offense.

Rochelle surged ahead in the top of the second inning, scoring four runs to take a 4-0 lead over Clear Ridge. Brycen Williams reached on an error before crossing home plate on a passed ball during the next at-bat. Bentley Etes delivered an RBI single to center field, driving home Landon Johnson before Bennett Law scored to record Rochelle’s fourth and final run of the frame.

Clear Ridge inched closer after slapping an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning and adding one run on an error in the bottom of the fifth inning. Clear Ridge opened the bottom of the sixth inning with two singles, but a double play and a popout to second ended the threat.

Naperville

Rochelle finished Saturday’s action with a 6-3 loss against Naperville during the evening. Noah Hayden went 1-for-2 with two RBIs, while Dominic Escatel and Bentley Etes each struck out two batters. Escatel threw two and two-thirds innings and Etes tossed two and one-third innings. 

Naperville commanded a 3-0 lead after scoring three runs on two singles, three walks and one fielder’s choice grounder in the bottom of the first inning. Three walks and a sacrifice fly to center field allowed Naperville to take a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Rochelle rallied for three runs in the top of the fourth inning, scoring after Noah Hayden’s two-run single to center field drove home Grange Kissack and Bentley Etes. After Hayden scored on a steal of home, Brayson Bouland singled to center to keep the inning alive. But a strikeout ended the scoring threat for the 11U All-Stars, who conceded two runs to Naperville in the bottom of the fourth inning, where back-to-back singles gave Naperville a three-run lead.

Robinson

Rochelle’s state tournament run concluded with a 3-2 loss against Robinson on Sunday afternoon. Brayson Bouland went 1-for-2 with an RBI and started on the mound, throwing three innings with five strikeouts. Brantley Koenig tossed two innings and struck out two batters.

Rochelle took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, where Brayson Bouland belted an RBI single to center field that drove home Bentley Etes. Robinson capitalized on two errors and three walks in the bottom of the second inning, tallying two runs to jump ahead 2-1. An RBI single in the bottom of the third inning allowed Robinson to command a 3-1 lead over Rochelle.

The 11U All-Stars battled back in the top of the fourth inning, where Grange Kissack scored on a steal of home after drawing a lead-off walk earlier in the frame.