Thurmont Little League: A Fall Season to Remember
As the leaves turned colors and the temperatures began to drop, Thurmont Little League brought an end to a season that will not be forgotten any time soon. With COVID-19 bringing about the cancellation of the spring season, an extended fall season, jam-packed with raffles, spirit wear sales, sandlot games, and a Fall Showcase Tournament, made sure that the players and their families ended the year on a memorable note.
The T-ball and Instructional divisions wrapped up their seasons in late October. Several evening games were held to give these up-and-coming stars of the future the chance to shine on the big field under the lights. Despite the cold weather, everyone always has a good time with these games, and it is great to see the progress that they have all made throughout the season. Developing these players at a young age is what helps Thurmont Little League stand apart and build a great program for the future.
It was an incredibly competitive Minors Division this year, as all four teams ended up with winning records against those outside of the league. The top three teams all finished within a game of each other, which made for an intense end-of-season playoff. Ultimately, the Nationals, managed by Jeff Kuhn, were crowned the champions. They defeated the Angels in a back and forth matchup to finish things off. An end of season All Star game was also held. Players recognized by their coaches to participate in this game were: Brayden Rickerd, Noah Bradbury, Mason Fry, Logan Holden, and Devin Youngerman (Angels); Tucker Bryant, Bracen Webb, Myles Kuhn, Marcus Kuhn, and Tyler Creel (Nationals); Grayson Strobel, Reed McCauley, Seamus Riddle, Ethan Tokar, and Ayden Merritt (Orioles); Colton Warner, Jeremy Veronie, Tristan Van Echo, Gibson Main, and Parker Hahn (Braves). It was a great season, overall, and many of these players will be moving up to the next level in the spring.
Not without its fair share of excitement was the Major Division, which saw both Thurmont teams representing the league with excellent performances in the first-ever Fall District 2 Showcase Tournament. Several rounds of pool play were held, and eventually the Thurmont Twins and Orioles wound up playing each other in the semifinal round of the American Division. After the Orioles jumped out to a big early lead, the Twins battled back to win in walk-off fashion. The next day, they relied on timely hitting and a dominating pitching performance by Brennan Conrad to defeat the Frederick American Elks 10-1 for the Championship. Many of these players are aging out of the league, so it was wonderful to see them going out on top in their final season for Thurmont Little League.
With the season wrapping up, it was time for the league to take on another initiative that was in the works for quite some time. For over a year now, the Board of Directors has been planning a makeover on the two main fields, Nicholson and Leisner. On Sunday November 1, work began to have the fields scraped and torn up from behind home plate to about 10 feet into the outfields. The final result will be a more even and level playing surface, significantly better drainage for those rainy baseball days, and a far smoother playing surface. This will give our players a better opportunity to make even more great plays in the field. This project will be completed during the off-season, and they will be ready to go for opening day 2021.
Speaking of 2021, the board of directors is already hard at work with planning for next year’s season. Registration for spring begins on January 1! Thurmont Little League will be celebrating its 70th anniversary, so there will undoubtedly be a huge celebration planned, as long as COVID-19 restrictions will allow it.
If you are interested in learning more, volunteering, or signing your child up to be a part of this wonderful organization, please visit www.tllbaseball.com.
Courtesy Photo
Thurmont Little League Minor Division All Stars.
