Championship Sunday at The Rock Summer Classic was an exciting and eventful one. Despite dealing with some inclement weather that shelved our games for a few hours, we still saw a ton of young talented athletes and a handful of close championship games. Read all of our Championship Sunday highlights below.

13U

+ An organizational semi-final matchup between GRB Rays White and GRB Rays Yellow got our championship day started early Sunday morning. GRB’s White team drew first blood, scoring two runs in the first inning. GRB’s Yellow team responded to the early adversity well, throwing up a seven spot in the bottom half frame. They put up five more runs in the next two innings, leading 12-3 going into the fourth innings. With the game seemingly out of reach, GRB White battled back and put up seven runs in the fourth inning, but missed a big opportunity, failing to score with the bases loaded and just one out. A booted ball or two later, the GRB Yellow team added a handful of insurance runs the following inning. GRB White’s Graeme Pelton (2025) doubled over the left fielders head in the fifth inning, cutting the Yellow squad’s lead to just three runs. Joseph Tunzi (2025) followed up his teammate with a two-run double of his own, bringing GRB White one run away from tying up the ballgame. RHP Caleb Liggon (2025) dug deep and struck someone out, stranding the tying run while securing a 15-14 GRB Rays Yellow victory. The aforementioned Liggon went 2-for-3 with two barrels and a double. Boden Frosch (2025) has done nothing but hit all tournament and he did so today, going 2-for-3 batting right in the middle of Yellow’s order. OF Ezra Liggon (2025) got on base in each plate appearance for the third game in a row, driving in a run on a line drive single to right field. GRB Rays Yellow advances to the championship game at 10 AM against PTA White.

+ The championship game in the B division featured two of the top seeds in the bracket: PTA White and GRB Rays Yellow 13U. RHP Caleb Liggon (2025) closed out the semi-final game for GRB and got the starting nod in this one. He threw three innings of one-run ball, allowing just one hit and striking out five. Dom Sunderlage (2025) barreled one up threw the infield and into the left-center gap for a two-run double, giving GRB a 2-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. A huge reason why GRB ended up winning this game was the pitching performance they got from LHP Mason Roe (2025). Roe relieved Liggon in the fourth and put the team on his back, tossing four no-hit innings, closing the game out. GRB didn’t lose a game all weekend and swept their way to the 13U “B” division championship.

+ From the first pitch, RHP Chase Peterson (2025) was in full control of arguably the best pitching performance we saw all weekend. Peterson got the nod for Revolution Baseball in their semi-final victory against STiKS White. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning until a single squeaked past the left side for a base hit. Regardless, Peterson pitched a complete game shutout, striking out nine and walking just one. Led by his masterful performance on the bump, Revolution Baseball won this game 5-0 and strolled into the championship game.

+ The Revolution Baseball squad wasted absolutely no time jumping on the scoreboard in the 13U “A” Division title game, scoring six runs in the first inning. They calmed down a bit before tacking on another run in the third and another six in the fifth, scoring a total of 13 runs. Several players contributed to this offensive explosion, but none like the aforementioned Peterson. He went 3-for-3 at the plate with all three going for extra bases and also drove in five runs. His first knocks were line drive doubles into the gaps, but the third one was certainly the loudest. Peterson took a middle-in fastball and didn’t miss an inch of it, hammering this ball over the 20-foot fence in left field for a grand slam, putting the game out of reach. Jalen Moraga (2025) had himself a strong tournament and capped it off by going 2-for-3 today with two runs scored. RHP Scotty Szafraniec (2025) was comfortable throughout his entire outing, tossing five innings of one-run ball and quieting a tough Mokena Blaze lineup. A relatively new organization, Revolution Baseball certainly turned heads this weekend and put themselves firmly onto our radar.

14U

+ In a semi-final matchup over at the 14U level, ISA Stars Black took down the number one overall seed and secured their spot in the B division championship. The Stars struck early and often, scoring nine runs in the first inning. Corey Riesop (2024) led the team offensively, going 3-for-3 with two doubles and drove in one. Two runs scored on Alex Tornio’s (2024) lone hit of the game. Ian Plaster (2024) started on the mound for ISA going three innings, allowing one run, on four hits and striking out three. Brandon Bates (2024) closed the game out, tossing one scoreless inning with two strikeouts. ISA advances to the championship game at 4 PM.

+ RHP Donatello Badalamenti (Pulaski, 2024) got the nod for ISA Stars Royal in their semi-final game against Milwaukee Hitmen. He looked sharp from the beginning, striking out the side in the first inning. He concluded his outing with nine total strikeouts through four innings - a dominant performance from the Team Wisconsin Junior Future Games invitee. ISA scored their first runs in the third inning and didn’t stop, putting up an eight spot to take a commanding lead. They added two more runs the following frame, ending the game and cementing their spot in the 14U “A” division championship.

+ After a brief rain delay that impacted game times quite a bit, the 14U “B” Division championship game between ISA Stars Black and the Midwest Gamblers kicked off. ISA entered the game with some confidence offensively after scoring 13 runs in their first game, but Gamblers’ starting pitcher Landen Hidden kept them at ease for a majority of the game. Riding the momentum from the start they got, the Gamblers offense did just enough to sneak by ISA and win this 5-3 ballgame.

+ A heavyweight matchup between two extremely talented teams capped off our summer circuit with a bang. ISA Stars Royal and Coamo Legends, the two top seeds in the 14U “A” Division standings, squared off against each other with championship hopes in mind. The Stars trotted out physically advanced 3B/RHP Colton Angell (Oshkosh North, 2024) to the mound and he didn’t disappoint one bit. Angell allowed just one earned run in six innings, striking out seven and allowing just two hits. His performance on the mound played an integral role in the Stars’ success, but it was RHP/C Donatello Badalamenti that would’ve ultimately been the game MVP had there been one. After an impressive pitching performance of his own earlier in the day, Badalamenti came up to bat with the bases loaded in the third inning and stroked a line drive into the right-center gap that scored two runs. He clutched up again in the fifth, sending a fastball back up the middle for an RBI single and giving the Stars a comfortable two run lead heading into the final inning. Angell overcame an infield error and struck out two in the sixth, closing the door and securing the championship for the Stars. This ISA squad is a young, talented roster that was certainly one of the more well-rounded squads we saw this summer and they ended their season on a high note.

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