Like many Little Leagues, standout baseball players from those organizations often enjoy continued success at the next levels.
That’s the case for four former Arlington Little League players, currently receiving significant playing time for Division I college teams, as league president Adam Balutis recently said.
“We are proud to be any part of the proliferation of high-skilled baseball opportunities here in Arlington,” Balutis told the GazetteLeader. “It’s leading to a real boon of success for individuals and teams on the diamonds at high levels across the country.”
The former Arlington Little Leaguers Balutis pointed out are freshman pitcher Henry Hultquist at Davidson College, sophomore outfielder Elijah Lambros at the University of Maryland, freshman pitcher Jack O’Connor at the University of Virginia and freshman pitcher A.J. Russell at the University of Tennessee.
• Through eight appearances this season, Hultquist had pitched 13 innings with nine strikeouts. Hultquist was a top pitcher for the Arlington Post 139 American Legion baseball team last summer. He was the starting and winning pitcher in a key District 17 Legion tournament playoff game.
• Lambros was batting .296 with 13 home runs, seven doubles and 39 RBI through April 30 action. He had started 41 games and played in 44. He went 4 for 4 with two home runs and three RBI in Maryland’s April 30 contest against Indiana, and went 3-6 with a double the game before.
• Russell had a 1-0 record and 0.53 earned run average in 14 appearances through April 30 action. In 17 innings, Russell had 25 strikeouts, just three walks and had allowed one earned run.
• O’Connor owned a 4-3 record and 4.25 ERA through April 30 games and 11 appearances, all starts. His 53 innings pitched were the second most on the team.
O’Connor had 52 strikeouts and 22 walks.
O’Connor was a standout for the Bishop O’Connell High School baseball team. None of the other three played high-school ball in Arlington.
