top collegiate finished--diamond sports heads to Northern

Woodly,
Thanks again for all the hard work you, Tim, your staff and coach Martel put into this event. The Longshots had a great time! It wasn't easy with high school summer playoffs coming up Monday to pitch 7 games but some how we made it. Congratualtions to Coach Johnson and his Bloomington team. You guys are class all the way and have a very impressive team. The way you guys hit the ball is intimidating to say the least and your semifinal win was as exciting a game as I've seen this summer.

Congrats to the Longshots 17U on winning the tournament. Given the difficulty of trying to find pitching on the eve of the high school state playoffs the coaches and kids did a masterful job of pushing the right buttons and getting contributions from everyone on their roster to win the tournament. A great effort!

I'll second the congrats to the Longshots. Was very glad I got to see Hirsch pitch against the Bullets. His family is originally from the Peoria area and his grandfather had told me a lot about him. A very impressive prospect to be sure. His battery mate, Dan Shephard, was also quite impressive. Easily the best catcher in the state that I have seen.

And, as usual, it was always good to see our good friends the Sparks and Bullets. Two of the classiest organizations around and they are always willing to give me advice on how to improve our organization.

Finally, a giant thanks and kudos to Mike VanHorn and Tim Brownlee. I know Timmy was just about beside himself trying to keep up with the weather, but he managed to pull it off despite Mother Nature's refusal to cooperate.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in DeKalb this weekend. And good luck to those who are headed to the Connie Mack Regional in Ottawa as well.