OYA/Warriors Tournament raises $1,000 for Veterans

OYA Inaugural Weekend Warriors’ 10U Rumble Tournament. Presented by DEKAYO Mechanical to support Wounded Warriors, Veterans. Closing Ceremony held Sunday May 7, 1:30 pm, Field 1 near the Orland Pool

Orland Park-The Orland Youth Association (OYA) and the Orland Park Warriors’ hosted its Inaugural Weekend Warriors’ 10U Rumble Tournament from May 3rd to May 7th, 2017 at Centennial Park (Fields #8 & 9) located at 15600 West Avenue, Orland Park, IL. The tournament featured ten (10) teams from the South Suburbs and surrounding counties.

The tournament honored the Wounded Warrior Project and a portion of the registration fees were donated to this great cause. The project serves veterans and service members who incurred a physical or mental injury, illness, or wound, co-incident to their military service on or after September 11, 2001 and their families.

The Orland Park Warriors won the 10-team championship in a final play-off game Sunday morning May 7 held at Centennial Park, defeating the Tinley Park Bobcats 6 to 3. Luis Gutierrez, who organized the competition, said that the five-day little league baseball series that featured 10 regional baseball teams raised more than $1000 which was donated to the Wounded Warriors Project.

The members of the winning team are Gavin O’Brochta #1; John McAuliffe #8; Ryan Tomczak #11; Paul Downey #14; Anthony Shelton #24; Cal Riemen #27; Ryan Evoy #34; Justin Barley #44; David Gutierrez #45; and Kyle Richardson #46.

The Orland Park Warriors won the 10-team championship in a final play-off game Sunday morning at Centennial Park defeating the Tinley Park Bobcats 6 to 3. Luis Gutierrez who organized the competition said that the five-day little league baseball series that featured 10 regional baseball teams raised more than $1000 which was donated to the Wounded Warriors Project. (Photos courtesy of Gerardo Lopez)

“This was an excellent opportunity for our young players to test their skills against the best teams in the area and support the Wounded Warrior Project”, stated OYA President Chris Kusper. “The goal of OYA programs is to enhance the quality of life for the youth of our communities, by striving to provide quality baseball, good sportsmanship and say thank you to our veterans.”

Each team played a minimum of two games and a playoff during the weekend.

The Championship game was held at 12:00pm on Sunday, May 7th, 2017 at Centennial Park. The check for $1,000 was presented to the Wounded Warrior Project during the closing ceremonies, immediately following the Championship Game.

A special thank you to our tournament sponsor DEKAYO Mechanical for being the best HVAC company on the Southside and supporting our young players.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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