Tinley Park Bulldogs Baseball Team 2021 Champions

TINLEY PARK, IL — The Tinley Park Bulldogs 13U baseball team struck a win earlier this month when the team became the champions of the 2021 Missouri Heat Classic on Aug. 3.

The games took place at the Ballparks of America in Branson Missouri over the course of six days. The competition included 20 teams representing seven different states.

On July 30, player Brayden Kennedy won the Home Run Derby competition, beating out 39 others.

"That literally set the tone for the rest of the boys, as everyone on the complex knew who the Tinley Park Bulldogs were," Coach Michael Seropian told Patch.

Other Bulldogs coaches include Matt Daniels and Brian Martello, who are both of Tinley Park. According to Seropian, the team went 3-1 in pool play, only losing to a top ranked team out of Michigan called USA Prime, who won the Michigan world series two weeks prior to the event.

"Prime beat our boys 3-1 on Sunday afternoon Aug. 1 in a double header we played," Seropian said. "Game one of that double header was against a team out of Colorado called the SCBC Grinders, which we beat 12-4. Bracket play started Tuesday morning Aug. 3, we played three games that day beating a team out of Minnesota then a team out Grand Rapids Michigan called the flames."

Seropian told Patch the championship game took place around 9:45 p.m. Aug. 3 against a team Texas team called Lightning Elite. Player Joseph Seropian pitched a complete game, going seven innings with 10 strikeouts, only giving up two hits. In the end, the team won the championship 5-0, according to Seropian.

"It was an amazing experience for the boys, with memories to last a lifetime," Seropian said. "They all became heroes that night."