RALPH WILSON/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Members of Clarendon Hills, Illinois participate in the parade of champions at the Little League World Series.

Clarendon Hills, Illinois faced a daunting task when Hamilton, Ohio defeated it at the Great Lakes Regional Tournament. Rather than running from the challenge, Clarendon Hills embraced it.

It already had slayed one giant earlier in the summer, and it never doubted it could do so again. A team hardened by a District 11 championship loss a year ago against Naperville lost to its rival again earlier this summer.

Turns out the boys from Clarendon Hills are every bit as resilient as they are good.

Because here Clarendon Hills has been, competing at the Little League World Series. The Great Lakes champions worked for rematches against both Naperville and Ohio and dominated those games. Doing so helped them make history as the first 12U Clarendon Hills team to win a state championship and reach the Series.

“Bouncing back and beating both teams shows them that they have terrific perseverance. They never get down and know they can always come back,” Clarendon Hills manager Brian Herold said. “When we lost to Ohio, we had a three sentence comment afterward: ‘Remember Naperville.”

This journey began when most players were eight years old, but it was against Naperville last year where it may have reached a turning point. Clarendon Hills had excelled since coming together and won the league’s first state championship, period, at 10U.

The train seemed to be building momentum for a potential run to South Williamsport, but it was knocked off track at 11U. There, Naperville ended Clarendon Hill’s repeat state title dreams. It was frustrating but it was how Clarendon Hills responded which helped point the way to achieving its ultimate dream.

“That was a really tough pill to swallow, but it was a big lesson for the kids that there are teams working really hard and that are capable of beating us,” Herold said. “The coaches had a great vision of what to do from there to recapture districts and the kids committed to embracing that vision and made it happen.”

“Losing at 11-years-old lit a fire under the boys and got them focused and they realized what it takes to get to where we’re at right now,” Clarendon Hills assistant coach and league president Brian O’Malley said. “All the credit goes to them wanting to work and be good teammates and good stewards for the town.”

Naperville certainly did its best to keep the team off course. It again defeated Clarendon Hills at districts last month, defeating it, 7-1. The team had worked too hard and sacrificed too much to simply fold there. Instead it refocused, barreled through consecutive opponents and earned a coveted rematch against Naperville.

Given a second chance, Clarendon Hills cashed in, romping to a convincing, 8-2 victory. That served as a springboard and Clarendon Hills overpowered a strong field at states, outscoring six teams, 60-9 and earning that elusive first 12U state title.

One goal achieved, another one beckoned and, again, Clarendon Hills showcased its toughness. Trailing its opener against Indiana, 3-0 in the fifth inning, it stormed back and won, 4-3 when Connor Lazar hit a two-run, walk-off single. A day later, however, Ohio again had Clarendon Hills a defeat from its summer ending, winning, 11-1.

No doubt, Clarendon Hills would have preferred winning every game, but the previous loss against Naperville might have served as a blessing. The coaches’ message rang true and every player did remember Naperville and how it seized the day when given another opportunity.

Clarendon Hills made quick work of Kentucky and earned its rematch against Ohio, an undefeated team which had outscored three regional opponents, 25-1. But the focus was not on Ohio, it was on itself and what Clarendon Hills could do. So ready were the players that they needed no words before taking the field.

“We felt like we needed a big speech before the game and the coaches had something prepared and the kids said, ‘We know what we have to do. We’re going to go out and make the plays,'” Herold said. “The kids are performers. They execute. I just get out of the way and let them play.”

Oh, how Clarendon Hills played in that championship. It scored two first inning runs and cruised from there, building a nine-run advantage and winning the crown, 9-4. The victory was a microcosm of the team’s entire summer run with every player contributing and different ones stepping up when the starting pitcher was injured early.

Clarendon Hills already lost its staff ace to injury earlier this summer and played without two key players at states. But this gutsy team never flinched. It just kept moving forward. That carried it exactly where it always planned on going.

“They never give up. They continue to play defense, they kept grinding and they had their opportunity and they took it,” O’Malley said. “They went one pitch at a time like we preach. It’s their want and their grit that goes a long way for this group.”

And those are qualities which could help those 12 players continuing surging no matter what field they pursue going forward. This team chartered a course toward South Williamsport but both excellent opponents and other obstacles kept trying to knock it far off the path.

Clarendon Hills never lost sight of the target. How it did so to live this dream will forever mean as much to the coaches and community as that they achieved it.

“That’s a testament to these boys refocusing and wanting to get better and be better teammates and grow as individuals. We preached that this is a family and we all have become a family,” O’Malley said “If you don’t face adversity in life, some of the goals you want to achieve can’t be reached. You need some adversity in life to refocus and see what you’re about. How they have done that so well truly makes us happy.”