Two Buffalo Grove Teams Win at Memorial Day Slugfest

A baseball tournament was held over the Memorial Day weekend in honor of .

Members of the Hinkle family threw out the first pitch Thursday night to start off the .

“Dalton played T-ball and was always around the parks and always had a big smile on his face; his four older brothers have played in baseball leagues for a long time and his father, George, is the vice president of parks for the BGRA,” said Gregg Winter, vice president of travel and tournament director for the Buffalo Grove Recreation Association.

Eight different divisions were at play in the tournament, which included 9- through 14-year-olds. 

The teams, which traveled from across Illinois and Wisconsin, played at fields throughout Buffalo Grove including Emmerich Parks — north and east — and at Kilmer, Longfellow and Cooper Parks, as well as nine others.

The tournament officially began Friday and ran through Memorial Day. When the championships were finished, two Buffalo Grove teams had won their respective divisions.

Buffalo Grove Coyote Gold, a team of 9-year-olds from the U9 Division, took first place, while the Bearcat Gold team of 13-year-olds won their U13 Division championship. 

The Silver Slugger Award went to Collin Callahan, who hit two homeruns over the fence. The tournament MVP honor went to Connor Thiessen. Both boys are from Buffalo Grove.

“When we came up with this idea, it was just natural to start a tournament in Dalton’s honor that would last for years and years to come,” Winter said.

For more information about the Buffalo Grove Recreation Association, visit its website at www.bgrabaseball.org.