River Forest Team 2 Wins Away From Little League World Series

RIVER FOREST, IL — A bunch of all-stars from the River Forest Youth Baseball and Softball league are two wins away from representing Illinois on the grandest of all youth baseball stages. River Forest's 12 and under (12u) team has won the district and state championships and now seeks a title in the regionals.

The team, now known simply on the national stage as "Illinois," will face Michgan at 4 p.m. Friday. If they win that game, it's a spot in the championship against Kentucky at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Thirteen players make up the River Forest team that is no stranger to success. Ten of these players were on a 10u team that finished in second at state two years ago and an 11u squad that won state just a year ago, an RFYBS board member said.

If the team wins both games on Friday and Saturday, the reward is a spot in the Little League World Series.

The board member who talked to Patch said in order to qualify as a little league team, the players needed to play in 60 percent of their "house league" games, even if they are involved in travel ball as well.

All members of the team, listed below, either live or go to school in River Forest. Here's the group all of Illinois should be rooting on come this weekend: Luke Hickey, Jack Paris, Ryan Lazewski, Ethan Niewoehner, Ben Jarnecke, AJ Kilburg, Matt Carolan, Dutch Navigato, Jimmy O'Brien, Spike Gall, Nic Lissuzzo, TJ Nix and Joey Elza.