Members of the 1998-1999 middle school baseball team, Adam Tallman (left) and Pete Visintin Jr. (right), “pass the torch” to the 2016 team after they were the first team to reach the state tournament since 1999. (Photo/Gillespie Middle School)
The excitement from the extended season of the Gillespie Middle School baseball team is starting to conclude after the team was honored during an assembly in front of the entire student and faculty body Friday afternoon.
The school honored the 2016 baseball team with a ceremony comprised of speeches by coaches, a presentation of the fourth place trophy to the school, introduction of the players, season photos and a “passing of the torch” expression by Adam Tallman and Pete Visintin Jr., members of the 1989-1999 middle school team that competed at the state level.
After winning their regional and sectional, this year’s middle school baseball team advanced to the IESA class 2A state baseball tournament in Peoria where they ended their season as fourth place victors following three games over a two-day stint.
Gillespie started the state tournament with an 11-1 short-game victory knocking Beecher out of the tournament and advancing to the final four.
In final four action on Saturday, Gillespie suffered their fourth loss of the season Saturday morning to Teutoplis 2-10 who went on to win the state championship for the fourth consecutive season. The loss put the Indians in the third place game against Winoma Fieldcrest on Saturday afternoon where they lost 8-9 from a walk-off hit in the last inning of play.
The loss ended the Indians’ season with a 14-5 record and a fourth place overall finish, which was the first time a middle school baseball team competed at the state level since the 1998-1999 season where they also recorded a fourth place finish.