05/19/2026
The Avon Lake 12U Maroon Shoremen are your 2026 Wayne Lindemann Tournament Champions!
What a weekend for the Shoremen, battling through a loaded 12-team field and playing 5 games over Saturday and Sunday to bring home the title! And they did it in every possible way — explosive offense, aggressive base running, dominant pitching, and defensive plays that looked more like an ESPN highlight reel than 12U youth baseball.
By the end of the weekend, the Shoremen piled up 56 hits across 5 games while continuing their hot streak, now winners of 8 of their last 9 games.
• Quinn Buher led the charge, catching absolute fire at the plate. Buher racked up 11 hits, including 2 for extra bases, posting a staggering .783 batting average with 9 RBI and 14 stolen bases on the weekend, while also contributing heavily on the mound and at Shortstop. Quinn’s hot streak vaulted him into the team lead in both OBP (.592) and slugging percentage (.683) for the year.
• Toby Metzger delivered an all-around performance with 6 hits, 2 for extra bases, and 7 RBI. On the mound, Toby took the team home by sitting down 7 hitters on his way to 3 saves, when he wasn’t busy throwing out 3 runners trying to steal from behind the dish.
• Jack Illenberger continued to anchor the pitching staff, allowing just 4 earned runs over 7 innings pitched and striking out 6, while delivering 5 hits for a .500 tournament average, and adding an all-out diving play in LF to the highlight reel. The ace remains the season leader in strikeouts (23).
• Trevor Dunn stayed dialed in at the plate, posting 6 hits, 2 of them launched for extra bases, with 5 RBI and 8 stolen bases. The slugger continues to lead the team’s 2026 campaign in batting average (.523), hits (23), extra-base hits (5), RBI (20), and runs scored (23).
• Ben Zaborowski reached at a .462 OBP, swiped 8 bags, and pitched 7 of the weekend’s biggest innings, with six of them coming in the semifinals and championship game. Ben struck out a tournament team-high 8 batters while flashing multiple Gold Glove-caliber defensive plays across the weekend.
• Griffin Lewis frustrated opposing pitchers all weekend with multiple 10+ pitch ABs, delivering 5 hits for a .455 tournament average, tossing 2 scoreless innings from the rubber and playing multiple positions at a high level.
• Michael Offenbacher delivered 6 hits on his way to a .429 weekend average, knocking in 6 clutch RBI, when he wasn’t busy making solid plays all weekend at third base.
• Williams Rustad stuffed the stat sheet with 6 hits, a .400 average, .471 OBP, 7 runs scored, and 8 stolen bases, while turning in multiple big-moment web gems roaming the outfield.
• Ryan Smalley continues to come through with a .462 OBP on the tournament, smoking 2 doubles and turning center field into a no fly zone for opposing hitters.
• Brady Evans with a .417 tournament OBP clip and giving up just 2 earned runs over 3 innings pitched, was even more jaw-dropping with his speed on the bases, swiping 9 bags, tied with the season team lead (20).
• Sam Siefert’s hard hitting and plate discipline came through with a team weekend-high 5 walks, giving him a .417 OBP, while playing lockdown defense throughout the weekend at second base.
• Marshall McCormick continued his steady all-around work with a .441 OBP on the year, while contributing on the mound and in the infield for the Shoremen.
The Shoremen are right back at it this Thursday and Friday as CVBA league play resumes.
