It’s the final Naperville Little League championship game of 2024 with the Mortenson Construction Laser Sharks taking on the Naperville Jaycees Dragons in the Juniors A title game. The lone championship being played at Knoch Park. Naperville Jaycees tied for the league lead with 12 regular season wins behind team MVP Alex Therapos as well as players like Vincent Drager, Jameson Kanak and Veer Pratap Singh. Mortenson started the season 0-5 before catching fire and going on an epic run to the championship game. Bryce Reed, Jack and Dylan Kane and Lucas Soline help round out an offense that was near the top in the league in runs scored.
Mortenson strikes first in the opening inning
The first batter of the game for Mortenson is Ayden Collins and he gets the Laser Sharks going with a leadoff single into short center field.
Next up is Patrick Karnick who rips a single into left field as Collins motors into third base to put runners on the corners with nobody out.
Up next is Dan Zavala. Jaycees pitcher Jameson Kanak strikes him out swinging, but the pitch is dropped. Zavala heads towards first base. Bryan Jones gathers the ball and throws him out at first, but that allows Collins to sprint home for the first run of the game. Mortenson takes a 1-0 lead.
Naperville Jaycees breaks out the bats in the first
In the bottom of the first, Zavala is on the mound for the Laser Sharks. Ryan Vaity powers a ball to deep left. Ryan Blanco nearly makes a spectacular diving catch, but he can not keep the ball in his glove. Vaity heads into second base for a leadoff double for Naperville Jaycees.
Up next is Alex Therapos, who is hitting over .600 on the season for the Dragons. He hits a grounder to the left side and the ball gets eaten up by the infield grass. He is able to beat the throw to first as Vaity comes in to score, tying the game at one.
After a single and a stolen base from Andrew Balzer, catcher Bryan Jones steps to the plate and hits a hard liner to short. Patrick Karnick knocks the ball down, keeping Balzer at second base, but Therapos comes in to score on the single to put Naperville Jaycees in front with nobody out.
Runners on second and third with one out as Adam Lopez works a walk and heads to first to load the bases for the Dragons.
Zavala gets a strikeout and looks to escape the jam, but Neel Mali is able to take first base thanks to a catcher’s interference as his swing hits the mitt of Ayden Collins. Balzer touches home to make it 3-1 for the boys in green.
Next up is Vincent Drager. On a 2-1 count, the pitch is behind him and heads to the backstop. Bryce Jones breaks for home, but Collins gathers the ball and throws to Zavala in time to make the tag to end the inning.
The offense stays hot for the Dragons
The Laser Sharks are retired in order in the top of the second, so we continue to the bottom half with Drager still at the plate. He chops one back to Zavala who makes the throw to Connor Vest covering first. After a bobble, he keeps his cool and keeps his foot on the bag to make the out.
Next up is Evan Therapos who uses a keen eye to draw the one out walk to give Naperville Jaycees a baserunner.
Adrian Fracz is up next and he takes advantage of that thick infield grass as he gets a single and heads to second base as the throw to first is off the mark.
Two outs with runners on second and third, Zavala gets a ground ball from Ryan Vaity, but the ball takes a late high hop over the glove of Dylan Kane. Fracz and Therapos come in to score and it’s 5-1 in favor of Naperville Jaycees.
After the Dragons add another run via an error on a ground ball from Alex Therapos, Andrew Balzer blasts one to deep center field. Kameron King can’t catch up to it, as Therapos comes in to score as Balzer has himself a booming double. 7-1 Dragons.
Next up is Bryan Jones, who lofts a deep fly ball into center field over everyone’s head. Balzer scores easily as Jones turns on the jets and heads into third base. He comes in to score for good measure, but his run does not count as five runs have already scored in the inning. Naperville Jaycees is looking strong with an 8-1 lead after two frames.
Heading to the bottom of the third with Luke Orsini on the mound now for Mortenson. With a runner in scoring position, Logan Farmer powers a single the other way into right field in front of Bryce Reed. Jameson Kanak comes in to score as it’s 9-1 Naperville Jaycees as Farmer takes second on the throw home.
Neel Mali is up next and he chops one to second base. Kameron King fields it smoothly and throws over to Ryan Blanco for the out at first. Orsini is able to escape the inning with no further damage.
The Laser Sharks attack at the plate
In the top of the fourth, Ayden Collins looks to get the Mortenson offense kickstarted once again with a two-out single into center field. He goes on to steal second and third base.
Patrick Karnick then hits a hard grounder towards third. Collins comes in to score from third as Karnick beats the throw and aggressively heads to second where he slides in safely.
After a Dan Zavala walk, Luke Orsini smashes a double into left field. Karnick and Zavala come in to score and just like that, it’s a 9-4 ball game as the Laser Sharks are back in it.
Kameron King is up next looking to do more damage with a hard liner up the middle, but Jameson Kanak, who they call Jay-Mo makes the snag on the mound to end the threat.
Naperville Jaycees adds some insurance
In the bottom of the fourth, Naperville Jaycees looks to get some of those runs back with Adrian Fracz on third base and Ryan Vaity on second. With two outs, Alex Therapos hits a high bouncer that takes a huge hop near the edge of the grass. Everyone is safe as Fracz comes in to score to make it 10-4.
Next up is Andrew Balzer as he hits a sinking fly ball into right that is bobbled and hits the ground, allowing Vaity to score from second to make it 11-4 in favor of the Dragons.
Mortenson heads back to the plate in the fifth against Alex Therapos on the mound. Elston Caile hits a blooper on the infield that drops in as he beats the throw to first. However, Therapos leaves him stranded there with a strikeout to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Dragons can end the game by scoring three runs in the frame as Jay-Mo Kanak helps the cause with a base hit to lead things off.
With one out and runners at first and second, Neel Mali hits a high breaking ball into left field over the head of Brent Glaser. Glaser gathers the ball and starts a relay with Patrick Karnick who throws home just in time to allow Ayden Collins to tag out Kanak at the plate. A great play keeps hope alive for the Laser Sharks.
Naperville Jaycees wins the Naperville Little League Juniors A City Championship
Last chance for Mortenson in the top of the sixth trailing 11-4, needing two runs to extend the game to the seventh inning due to the five run per inning limit. Lucas Soline is the batter with two outs as Alex Therapos is able to shut the door down the stretch. Soline pops it up on the infield and Kanak makes the catch to end the game. Naperville Jaycees is the 2024 Naperville Little League Juniors division city champions after an 11-4 victory over Mortenson Construction. A season to remember for the Dragons and the Laser Sharks as that puts a bow on another outstanding season of Little League baseball in Naperville.
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