Darien Youth Baseball Team is Picture of Team Play

Baseball has been tough to watch recently if you’re a fan of the Cubs or the White Sox. The Cubs have been abysmal all year and the White Sox have underachieved.

Fans of the Darien Perfect Swing Panthers, however, have plenty to cheer about. The 11u team came together and pulled off a string of victories at the end of season, carrying that momentum in the playoffs. It culminated in their win over the St. Charles Crush in the WSBL National League Championship. 

Charley Lombardo, who has been a coach in youth baseball for seven years and a coach for this particular team for the past three years along with coaches John Madden, Dave Rickert and Jim Valenti, was confident heading into the season.

“Going into this past season, all of the coaches were excited about taking the next step as a team,” Lombardo said in an e-mail. 

The biggest change, according to Lombardo, was finding confidence that they had previously lacked.

“The previous year our team was a .500 ball club and often struggled. It took a couple of weeks and a 5-1 start for the boys to realize that they were a good team and they could play with anyone,” he said.

The boys certainly did just that. Buoyed by a deep, versatile pitching staff, the Panthers placed in 2 out of 3 tournaments for the season and went into the playoffs with a seven-game winning streak. Momentum, as any coach will tell you, is key going into the playoffs and the Panthers had plenty of that on their side. 

“Going into the playoffs, we all thought we were as good as anyone in the tournament,” Lombardo said. 

The Panthers came together as a team and rode their way into the final against St. Charles with pitching and defense—the two essentials needed to win a title. 

The bats, however, proved to be the catalyst in their final game. After a pair of runs by the Crush in the top of the 1^st, the Panthers responded with five in the bottom half of the frame and never looked back.

Starter Samuel Hanson pitched three innings for the Panthers to set the tone. On offense Jaxon Herchenbach helped break the game open with a three-run homer. Later, JR Rickert hit a grand slam in the 18-6 win over the Crush. 

While the pro teams continue to languish and disappoint, the Panthers exemplified team play. They have a bright future ahead of them.

“To see the boys work hard during the off-season and see positive results from their efforts pay off is especially gratifying, as these are lessons they will carry forward with them as teenagers and young adults,” Lombardo said.