Diamond Owlz 2010 Season Record
| W |
L |
T |
H |
A |
RF |
RA |
Last 10 |
Streak |
| 73 |
12 |
1 |
11-0 |
62-12-1 |
687 |
234 |
7-3 |
W 5 |
2010 Tournament Championships
Game Day USA - Illinois State Games
Batavia Spring Fever
Schaumburg Flyers Showdown
Schaumburg Seminoles Slugfest
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Illinois Diamond Owlz Win Season Opener!
Tyler Halas and Will Corn Lead Owlz Offensive Attack!
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4/3/10 Elburn, IL
The Illinois Diamond Owlz are a perfect 2-0 after opening their 2010 baseball season with a double header victory against the McHenry County Hurricanes, taking the opener 7-5 and the night-cap 11-2. What started out as a blustery, rainy morning turned into a beautiful, but very windy, afternoon. Moving the games back from noon to 2 p.m. allowed ample time for the field to dry, and the boys were excited to finally get the season under way.
Jake Esp got the opening start, giving up only two runs in two innings of work. The 6' hard-throwing righty was a little juiced for his first appearance in a Diamond Owlz uniform and gave up three walks and a hit batsman before settling down and striking out the side. The Owlz held the "Canes" scoreless in the third and fourth innings as veteran lefty Alex Troop gave up only two infield hits in his quick two innings of work. The save went to the crafty lefty, Reid Connolly, who tossed the final three innings in an impressive debut performance as a Diamond Owl. He helped his own cause with a sly pick-off of a runner at first base. Both Troop and Connolly did a great job of keeping hitters off balance at the plate and holding runners at bay when they reached.
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The Owlz offense was led by Tyler Halas, who went a perfect 4-4, falling just a home run shy of the cycle. Halas started out the season going 8-11 in the March Mayhem Tournament at East Cobb, GA, in late March and picked up where he left off to open the regular season. Will Corn also had a solid performance at the plate, going 2-3 with all balls hit extremely hard. In spite of a strong wind blowing in from right field, the "Corndog" displayed his strength with a two-run bomb over the right fielder's head. The ball was five feet short of clearing the fence and would have easily been a home run under normal weather conditions.
The Owlz bats started to warm up in game two as they sent 10 players to the plate in the second inning. Will Corn led off with his second double of the day and promptly scored on a line shot to left center by Matt Ellis. Jake Esp then doubled to deep left center followed by consecutive hits from Bryan Bandyk and Tony Solis to finish the six run assault.
The Owlz displayed the depth of their pitching in the second game parading three more big guns to the mound. Cole Nelson got the start and, like his long-time friend, Jake Esp, came out a little amped up in his first game as a Diamond Owl. He walked four batters before settling down to strike out the side. He allowed no hits in his two innings of work. The third and fourth innings saw the return on Matt Ellis, who, after a three year hiatus, re-joined the team for the 2010 campaign. He last played in the organization during the Illinois Lightning era. Matt gave up a run in his first inning before finding the groove and striking out the side on nine pitches in a second inning of work. It was an awesome display of his control and complement of three pitches. With a hard-tailing fast ball and impressive breaking pitch, Matt showed he is one Owl to be watched and reckoned with this season.
After a five run fourth inning, which included hits from Nelson, Connolly and Bandyk, Tyler Halas took to the mound for the fifth and final inning. Halas showed his dependable, closing capability, again, by striking out the first batter and engineering a nifty, inning ending 1-6-3 double play on a quick come-backer.
The Owlz are back in action this Tuesday playing host to the Wasco Wildcats, and Wednesday the Bartlett Bandits visit the Elburn Complex in a final tune-up to the Queen City Invitational in Cincinnati this weekend.
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Owlz to send 4 players to East Cobb Tournament
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2/26/10 - Diamond Owlz announce their plans to send the following players (Tyler Halas, Alex Troop, Matt Ellis and Josh Grabinski) to play at the East Cobb Baseball Complex in Marietta, Georgia. The Owlz players will be representing the Chicago Select Baseball team at the Triple Crown Sports - March Mayhem on March 19-22. In addition to Owlz players, the Chicago Select team will be represented by Roger Wilson and Mike Christie from the Orland Park Magic, Collin Bonnett and Brad Wood from the Illinois Sparks, Chris Whalen from the Lisle Wolves and Cory Wright from the St. Charles Northstars. Owlz players are looking forward to the early start to their 2010 season! Facing some of the top East Cobb Teams in this event will be a scouting opportunity they can use as they see some of these teams later this year at the Battle in the South and Cincy Flames Classic.
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Diamond Owlz Start Pre-Season Workouts!
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The 2010 version of the Illinois Diamond Owlz officially embarked on its season with the commencement of winter practices on January 10th at the Dupage Training Academy. The new-look Diamond Owlz have added several key players to their returning roster to better prepare for the rigorous all-tournament format scheduled for the baseball season. 15 tournaments are currently booked and on the calendar throughout the South and Midwest against many of the nation’s premier teams and programs.
While fundamental skills are still an important part of the training regimen, much more emphasis is now being placed by the coaches and instructors on the intellectual complexities of the game. The truly elite level of baseball at which the boys will compete requires the ability to gain that extra edge through a better understanding of the game and their role as a true team player. Whether it is studying a pitcher’s habits to gain the upper hand at the plate, situational hitting for the count or runners on base, or maximizing the speed and efficiency of defensive skills through the proper use of eyes, footwork and angles, each and every Owlz player will be working to improve these intellectual facets of their game.
The anticipation for a truly memorable and outstanding 2010 is evident in the boys’ enthusiasm and work ethic as we move towards our opening tournament in Mason Ohio the second week in April. With trips to the “Battle in the South” and “Cincy Flames” Summer Classic (I think the coaches are a bit excited, as well).
Please visit our web site as often as you like to monitor our progress and, perhaps, even come out to see us in action.
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| Click Picture For Tournament |
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| June 23-27th, Rockwood, TN |
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| Cincy Flames Summer Classic June 8-11th Hamersville, OH |
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