Team’s success belies its inexperience

The 14U Connie Mack amateur baseball league is well underway this summer, with Boulder City’s Southern Nevada Eagles advancing to 9-1 on the season following Monday’s 4-2 victory over Las Vegas High School affiliate LV Cats.

“I’m very pleased with how we’re doing this season,” head coach Matt Kilar said. “Honestly, I thought we would be around the .500 mark at this time of the season, but everyone has really stepped up and played great baseball. I’m proud of everyone’s efforts.”

Defeating their latest 4A classified opponent at Veterans’ Memorial Park after beating Cimarron, Green Valley and Valley earlier in the season, Isaac Tuenge and R.J. Kilar, who have been red hot all season for Southern Nevada, propelled the Eagles past the Cats.

Tuenge finished 4-for-4 with an RBI single in the second inning, while Kilar finished 1-for-3 with an RBI groundout in the first inning.

Kilar also pitched a complete game, allowing two runs on two hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings.

“It feels really good to contribute to our team’s success,” Tuenge said. “It felt really good to get a bunch of hits at the plate tonight.”

Tuenge, who leads the team in batting average (.689), runs batted in (17) and doubles (6), has been getting hits throughout the Eagles’ first 10 games, going 20-for-29 at the plate.

Kilar is sporting a .666 batting average (22-for-33) with 15 RBIs, six doubles and a triple. He also sits with a 2-0 record with 13 strikeouts.

Chase Calvez leads the Eagles with three wins and 16 strikeouts, while David Wagner has won two games while compiling eight strikeouts. Tuenge, Jeremy Spencer and Ben Schafler have each won a game for the Eagles this season.

At the plate, Wagner is batting .400 (12-for-30) with 13 RBIs. Calvez is batting .400 (12-for-30) with six RBIs and four doubles. Caleb Brown is batting .500 (7-for-14) with five RBIs and two doubles.

Currently sitting in first place in the American division, the Eagles are adjusting well to the Connie Mack League, despite featuring an inexperienced roster.

“I’m really proud of these guys for exceeding expectations,” Matt Kilar said. “A lot of these boys are fresh out of Little League, and we’re playing a lot of the teams that already have a few high school players on their roster. To be a team made up of middle school players and a few kids going into high school and compete at this level is pretty special.”

Heading into the second half of the season, the Eagles are hopeful to continue their winning ways when they travel to Heritage Park on Wednesday to take on Slam.

Results from the Eagles’ Wednesday, June 20, outing against Faith Lutheran will appear in next week’s issue.

Contact Robert Vendettoli at BCRsports@gmail.com.