ROCHELLE — Rochelle Little League held the 2024 Major League Boys City Championship series at Floyd J. Tilton Park this week. Kiwanis took home the tournament title this season, defeating Firemen on Monday and Tuesday and concluding the season with a 16-2 record. 

Kiwanis includes Riley Heal, Porter Macklin, Noah Hayden, Dominic Escatel, Eli Thompson, Griffin Rutledge, Zayden Kimbro, Jadon Exantus, Ryan Kerwin, Zachary Waddle and Xavier Mueller. The team is coached by Tim Hayden, Dan Escatel, Mike Thompson and Adam Heal.

The Firemen include Brecken Bruns, Remy Hunley, Teddy Millard, Brantley Koenig, Chase Brown, Gavin Smith, Lucas Bunger, Gwen Good, Noah Carter, Emmitt Putzstuck and Cole Albers. The Firemen are coached by Henry Bunger, Jason Carter and Jon Hunley.

The Major League Boys Division tournament began on Thursday evening, when Rotary won over VFW and Lions defeated Central Bank in the quarterfinals. The semifinal round was played on Friday evening, when the Firemen edged out the Lions and Kiwanis took down Rotary.

Finals Game 2

Kiwanis outlasted Firemen for a 2-0 win Tuesday evening. Eli Thompson went 2-for-3 with a double and one RBI, while Griffin Rutledge went 1-for-3 with one single and one RBI for the Kiwanis side. Brecken Bruns doubled and Chase Brown tripled for the two hits on the Firemen side.

Teddy Millard pitched five innings for the Firemen, striking out eight batters while allowing two unearned runs. Eli Thompson threw a complete game for the Kiwanis side, striking out 10 batters and holding the Firemen to two hits for the win.

A scoreless tie was broken in the top of the sixth inning, where Kiwanis scored two runs on Eli Thompson’s RBI double to center field and Griffin Rutledge’s RBI single to right field. The Firemen had two chances to take the lead earlier in the game, but the Kiwanis side stepped up with a pair of defensive gems including a throw from shortstop Noah Hayden to catcher Dominic Escatel that resulted in Firemen’s Chase Brown being out at the plate on an attempted steal.

Finals Game 1

Kiwanis rallied for a 9-7 win over Firemen in the series opener Monday evening, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Eli Thompson went 2-for-3 with one double and four RBIs for the Kiwanis side, while Dominic Escatel went 1-for-2 with a double, two runs and two RBIs. Teddy Millard went 3-for-3 with an RBI and Chase Brown went 2-for-3 with an RBI for Firemen.

Remy Hunley pitched four innings for the Firemen, striking out five batters. Dominic Escatel threw three and one-third innings with six strikeouts for Kiwanis before Noah Hayden shut the door in relief, firing two and two-thirds innings with three strikeouts and no runs allowed.

Teddy Millard’s RBI double and Chase Brown’s RBI single in the top of the first inning gave the Firemen a 2-0 lead. Kiwanis responded with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, where Dominic Escatel drew a bases-loaded walk and Jadon Exantus drove home two runners on a fielder’s choice grounder. Eli Thompson smacked a two-run double in the bottom of the third inning to score Escatel and Noah Hayden to put Kiwanis ahead 5-2 in the series opener.

The Firemen rallied for five runs in the top of the fourth inning to hold a 7-5 advantage. The score was tied after Gwen Good drew a bases-loaded walk, Noah Carter sent an RBI groundout to second base and Emmitt Putzstuck delivered an RBI single to second base. Brecken Bruns reached on an error soon after, allowing two more Firemen to come home.

The back-and-forth battle continued into the bottom of the fifth inning, where Kiwanis tallied four runs to retake the lead 9-7. Dominic Escatel slapped a fielder's choice grounder to short for an RBI, making the score 7-6 before Eli Thompson’s two-run single to left field gave Kiwanis a one-run lead. Zayden Kimbro reached on an error two batters later to drive home one run.

Semis Game 1

Firemen rallied for a 14-13 win over the Lions in the semifinal round on Friday evening. Teddy Millard went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Firemen on offense, while Brecken Bruns, Gwen Good and Chase Brown each went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Jimmy Chadwick and Jaxson Olsen each went 3-for-3 with three RBIs for the Lions, while Devin Hansen went 3-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Kamden Kessen went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and one RBI in the game.

Semis Game 2

Kiwanis outlasted Rotary for a 3-2 win in the semifinal round on Friday evening. Noah Hayden went 2-for-3 with an RBI on the Kiwanis side, while Eli Thompson went 1-for-2 with one run and one RBI. Bentley Etes went 2-for-3 with one run scored to lead the Rotary offense in the game.

Eli Thompson pitched four and two-thirds innings with eight strikeouts on the Kiwanis side, while Noah Hayden added one and one-third innings of shutout relief for the win. Bennett Law threw four innings with six strikeouts, while Jaxon Quinonez added three strikeouts for Rotary.

Quarters Game 1

The Lions dominated Central Bank 15-0 in the quarterfinal round on Thursday evening. Jaxson Olsen went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Devin Hansen went 2-for-2 with two runs and one RBI. Chase Olsen went 2-for-2 and both Charlie Chadwick and Jacob Chadwick added two RBIs.

Brycen Williams and Garrett Miller accounted for the two Central Bank hits in the game. Rafael Betancourt pitched all three innings for the Lions, striking out four batters to earn the win.

Quarters Game 2

Rotary held on for a 5-4 win over VFW in the quarterfinal round on Thursday evening. Bentley Etes and Jaxon Quinonez each went 1-for-2 with one RBI for the Rotary offense, while Roberto Bugarin scored two runs. Cody Cox went 2-for-3 on the VFW side, while Landon Johnson and Paul Olszewski each went 1-for-3 with one run scored. Royce Scott went 1-for-2 with one run.

Roberto Bugarin pitched five and two-thirds innings with 10 strikeouts for the Rotary side. Cody Cox fired four innings to close the game on the VFW side, striking out five batters in the game.