Baseball Team Composed of Local Talent Qualifies for National Tournament

The Slammers-Coyote 15U baseball team, comprised of incoming sophomore baseball players at high schools throughout the North Shore and northwest suburbs, will be one of only 27 15U teams nationwide competing in the invite-only Perfect Game Super 25 Tournament in Georgia on July 30.

Based in Lake Forest, the Slammers-Coyote are a franchise owned by ex-MLB players, predominantly by Gary Bennett, a former catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Earlier this month, the team won the highly competitive Perfect Game Super 25 Qualifier in south suburban South Holland.

Coached and trained by Mike Horr, the Slammers-Coyote have shined all year, compiling a 22-3 record which includes a 14-game win streak.

“We are a family,” said Horr. “We take care of each other, pick each other up, good or bad, and we max out our potential every game.”

The Slammers-Coyote had to win three games on Championship Day to win the qualifier. A 4-3 win over a top tier team out of Chicago was followed by a 4-1 triumph over White Sox Academy and then a 2-0 shutout in the final over “Pound Town” from Wisconsin, a team Horr calls “a very good ball club.”

All three Slammers-Coyote pitchers tossed a complete game that day; Colin Fields in Game One, Austin Peterson in Game Two and Steven Sanchez in Game Three.

The result ensured the Slammers-Coyote will represent the entire Great Lakes Region in the Perfect Game.

The team is comprised of incoming sophomore project-able athletes from Libertyville, Stevenson, Mundelein, Grant, Lake Forest and Grayslake.

Here is the full roster:

2B/P Noah Shutan Highland Park HS

C/UT Luke Plunkett Libertyville HS

1B/C Benton Troehler Grayslake Central HS

1B Connor Horton Stevenson HS

RF/P Evan Kiah Stevenson HS

SS/P Andrew Gough Lake Forest HS

OF/P Micah Holzwarth Libertyville HS

OF/3B/P Nick Bonk Stevenson HS

P/3B Colin Fields Libertyville HS

OF Anthony Adams Buffalo Grove HS

CF/P Steven Sanchez Mundelein HS

P/MIF Shawn Riley Grant HS

2B Nico Calace Libertyville HS

P/1B Austin Peterson Chesterton HS, Chesterton, Indiana

The assistant coach is Byron Hazely. 

Ed Tolzien and Frank Berry serve as the operators.