Ground Sloths Advance to KCL Championship

Author:Joey Yelenick

NORMAL, IL – Saturday evening marked the final day of Kernels Collegiate League action in 2024, and the Ground Sloths and Blue Caps kicked things off with the winner playing the Merchants for the title.

Ground Sloths pitcher Nicholas Currie got the start for the semi-final game, and he started things off by putting down the Blue Caps in order. Gage Wolfe, batting in the two spot, smashed a line drive out to left center, but Sloths center fielder Blake Crancer made an incredible diving catch to prevent any first-inning damage.

Alec Bergman started on the mound for the Caps, and he went through an up-and-down first that saw Sloth third baseman Shea Zbrozek reach on an infield single, and then get caught in a pickle trying to steal second.

The Caps took the lead in the second as Jake Morrill hit a rocket down the right-field line that scored Cal Darling, but Morrill was a little too greedy as he rounded second and was thrown out trying to go for the triple. Trey Blanchette also singled in the frame, but the score stayed at one entering the bottom of the second.

Jimmy Anderson gave the Sloths a good start with a lead-off walk. Charlie Graham then came up and drilled a ball to left over the wall to give the Sloths a two-one lead. Will Applegate followed that up with a single up the middle and got into scoring position on a passed ball. Nate Cooley hit a chopper to AJ Weller, and the shortstop made a great barehanded play to throw out Cooley at first. Bergman pulled through to end the inning, striking out two as he kept Applegate stranded at third.

Currie made quick work of the Caps in the third, getting a ground out and a pair of flyouts as he walked one in the frame. The Sloths added to their lead in the bottom half though, as Bergman started the inning by allowing back-to-back baserunners. Caden Addis then entered the game for Bergman, and he got three straight outs but not before allowing Zbrozek to score on a sacrifice fly, making it a three-one game.

The Caps responded in the fourth with a run of their own, as Kannon Kleine brought home Darling on an RBI single to left. With two on and two out, Andrew Pyszka hit a ball to shallow center that looked to be trouble, but the center fielder Crancer again made an outstanding diving catch that ended the inning.

The Ground Sloth bats really heated up in the fifth, as Crancer and Mateo Casillas singled to get two on with one out. Illinois commit Luke Landrus lined a double to left, scoring Crancer, and Anderson followed that up as he brought home two on a single down the left-field line.

With the Sloth lead at four and only six outs to go, the Blue Cap offense needed to start to turn things around against Currie, and Trey Blanchette answered that call. He led off the sixth with a massive homer down the left-field line, cutting the lead to three. Currie answered back though, as he got two straight outs, then got Wolfe swinging to end the inning with an exclamation point.

Blake Crancer knocked in an insurance run as the speedy Dalton Hobick went from second to home on a single to the shortstop.

After Currie walked John Shuey to start the seventh, he was finally pulled after six great innings of work. Lucas Frank came in to relieve him, and coaxed two straight productive outs that scored Shuey. Jake Morrill tried to keep the game alive for the Caps, hitting a line drive to right field, but Mateo Casillas made an excellent diving grab to secure the win for the Ground Sloths.

Succeeding the conclusion of the first game, the following awards were presented to KCL players and staff for their contributions this season.

KCL Awards


Most Valuable Player: Shea Zbrozek, Infielder, Ground Sloths, DACC
Zbrozek was dominant throughout the 2024 season, as he finished top five in most offensive categories while playing third base or shortstop. Zbrozek led all of KCL in slugging (.634), hits (35), finished second in batting average (.427), triples (4), and finished third in RBI (20), OPS (1.097), and doubles (6).

Pitcher of the Year: Braden Alexander, Bobcats, Coe College
Alexander was named the top arm in the Kernels Collegiate League on Saturday. He pitched 26 innings in 11 appearances, holding a 2.36 ERA on the year. Alexander struck out 15 batters and also had a 1.16 WHIP. Opponents only batted .214 against the right-hander, the third-best mark among pitchers with at least 20 innings this summer.

Manager of the Year: Dave Lingle, Blue Caps
Lingle picked up Manager of the Year honors as his Blue Caps won the KCL regular season title. The Blue Caps finished with the best record in the league, 15-12, despite having the lowest run differential in the league, a -11 mark. Lingle’s Blue Caps allowed fewer runs than any other KCL team this summer.

Ground Sloths Take Home KCL Championship

The Merchants and Ground Sloths faced off for the KCL Championship on Saturday night, capping off what has been an exciting season of baseball at the Corn Crib.

Luke Weber got the start for the Merchants, entering tonight’s game with a 4.50 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched. Weber got things started by just allowing one hit in the first inning, a single to league MVP Shea Zbrozek.

Braden Vanderheydt started for the Sloths, and had a slightly rocky first inning, allowing a single and a walk to get a runner in scoring. Sloth manager Peyton Dillingham made the call to intentionally walk Daniel Bastidas after a wild pitch from Vanderheydt, and it paid off as Jake Stewart popped out to end the inning with the bases loaded.

The Sloths’ offense excelled in the second, as Jimmy Anderson led off with a double, and Charlie Graham followed that with an infield single. Carter Selk put the Sloths on the board first with a sacrifice fly, but they weren’t done yet. They loaded the bases with a walk and single, then their two top hitters, Zbrozek and Casillas, cleared them up as they both hit RBI singles to make it a four-run ballgame early.

The Merchants’ Nate Reed willed the Merchants on the scoreboard, as he hit a double to right, but on a poor throw from Dalton Hobick, Reed was waved around to home to put the Merchants on the board, reducing the lead to three. Vanderheydt allowed a single and a walk in the rest of the inning but got out without a score.

Weber went one-two-three in the third, his last inning of the game. Luca Morelli doubled to left to lead off the third for the Merchants, but he couldn’t cut down the lead as Vanderheydt coaxed a grounder, popout, and flyout to end the inning.

Mason Walker, the lefty from Sauk Valley, entered the game for the Merchants in the fourth, as he tried to keep them in the game. Despite hitting a batter in the fourth, he did well as that was his only baserunner of the inning.

The Merchants couldn’t produce any offense in the fourth, same story in the fifth. Carter Selk made a great play after the Merchants got one on in the fifth, the left fielder making a diving grab in foul territory.

In the sixth, the Sloths added two more, as Blake Crancer brought home Applegate and Selk on a two-RBI single, increasing their lead to five.

Hope for a comeback continued to wane for the Merchants as they only had one baserunner in the sixth, again failing to bring him home.

The Sloths looked to keep adding insurance runs in the seventh, as Jimmy Anderson hit a triple to deep right. Merchant right fielder Noah Company, who was maybe 20 feet in front of the outfield wall and 10 feet from the foul line, nearly gunned down the speedy Anderson with an incredible throw that was perfect to third base, but he was maybe a half-second too late. Anderson scored on a wild pitch, making it seven-one. 

Braden Vanderheydt, who had been excellent all night, returned to the mound for the seventh, looking to get a complete game in the championship. He struck out Luca Morelli to start the inning, then Daniel Bastidas singled to right. After walking Stewart, coach Dillingham met with Vanderheydt, as it looked like he would be pulled, but Vanderheydt stayed out to face Brooks Neuhoff. Neuhoff hit a sharp grounder to third, which Zbrozek grabbed, got the forceout at third, and threw to Casillas at first, who made the grab, sealing the championship for the Sloths. Vanderheydt launched his glove into the air as Sloth players ran on to the field to celebrate, and raised the Mike Brown Memorial Trophy as they celebrated their KCL Championship.

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