With a sweep of the Devils and Pirates this weekend the Orbitz have clinched a playoff birth in their first season in the South Side Wooden Bat League.  The Orbitz ended the regular season going 15-9, winning 10 of their last 12 ball games.

Playoff brackets, times and days will be posted once they are released.

The Orbitz Family is devastated by the loss of long-time teammate and friend, Jason Mueller.  Jason was tragically shot and killed early Sunday morning, August 10, 2008.

Jason was a two time All-Star, representing the Orange and Black in 2005 and 2006.  He was a lifetime .322 hitter, was among the team leaders in stolen bases every year, and fearlessly manned centerfield from 2004-2008.

The Orbitz Family would like to express our sincerest condolences and sympathy to Jason’s parents, regular fans at Orbitz games over the years and to the rest of his family and friends.  Jason was well-loved and will be missed greatly both on the field and off.

Jason Mueller's services will be held on Thursday, August 14 at Beverly Ridge Funeral Home - 10415 S. Kedzie, Chicago IL from 2-9 pm. Mass will be held on Friday, August 15 at St. Christina's Church -11033 S Christiana Ave, Chicago IL at 11:30 am.

The following article also appeared in the Southtown Star written by Stephanie Gehring. 

The Orbitz extended their season high winning streak to 4 games with two victories via the slaughter rule this past Sunday, posting scores of 13-3 and 15-5.

In game one Adam Morrow picked up his 3 victory of the season throwing a complete game, allowing only 4 hits and striking out 5.  After trailing 3-0 after the first inning, the O's got on the board for 4 runs, all scored with 2 outs on a 3 rbi double by Morrow and a single by Bill Arthurs.  They struck again in the 4th with three more runs with 3 consecutive singles by John Whittenhall, Eric Vickrey and Tim Dykes, a two out bases loaded walk to Arthurs, followed by a hbp to Dennis Martin to drive in another run.   In the 5th, the Orbitz put the game away by scoring 6 more runs on 4 singles by Lewitke, Whittenhall, Dykes and Skopik and took advantage of 2 Mammoth errors.

In game 2 the O's fell behind early again 4-0 in the first, but Todd Zasadil was able to settle in and pick up his 3rd victory on the year, going 5 innings, striking out 5 hitters.  Trailing 4-1 in the 3rd inning, the bats got going with singles by Bill Arthurs (4-5, 2b, 3runs), Heath Bishop (2-4, 2b) and Mike Skopik (2-4), as well as a two rbi double by Eric Lewitke, as the offense scored 4 runs this inning to take the lead for good.  4 more runs were scored in the 4th on singles by Morrow, Arthurs, and Vickrey (2-4, 2rbi), followed by 2 more runs in the 5th on a two out, two rbi single by Zasadil.  In the 6th, the O's had 6 hits and 4 runs on singles by Whittenhall (2-4) and Vickrey to start the inning, followed by an rbi single from Skopik, a two rbi single from Brian McCormick, a single from Arthurs and a double by Martin to plate McCormick to put the O's up by 10.

**Just announced, the Orbitz next game is this Sunday, August 3, 12pm, Pleasantdale Park in Burr Ridge vs. the Nuts**

The Orbitz would like to congratulate the 3 All-Stars Heath Bishop, Todd Zasadil and Dennis Martin for making this year's 2008 South Side Wooden Bat League All Star Game to be played at Shooter's Field in Oak Forest.  The Homerun Derby and Fastest man competition will kick the festivites off at 10 am, with the All Star game to follow. 

This year with be Heath Bishop's 6th All Star appearance, Dennis Martin's 2nd, and Todd Zasadil's 1st.

The Orbitz got back to their winning ways sweeping the Royals this past Sunday, pulling them back up to .500 at 7-7.  Game 1 had a final score of 12-8, while game 2 was 10-0.

In game 1, Adam Morrow picked up his 2nd victory of the season, throwing a complete game, scattering 7 hits, allowing 2 earned runs, while striking out 5.  Down by 2 going into the 6th inning, the Orbitz exploded for 7 runs to seal the victory.  The O's were led by Eric Lewitke (4-4, 2 doubles), John Whittenhall (2-4, 3 rbi's), and Heath Bishop (2-3, double).

In game 2, Aaron Cote made his Orbitz debut, and he didn't disappoint, throwing the 2nd no hitter in Orbitz history, while striking out 9 Royal hitters.  The top offensive contributors in game 2 were Bill Arthurs going 2-4 and Heath Bishop going 2-4 with a double and 2 rbi's.  

Upcoming games this weekend are against the 4-12 Mammoths, 12 pm at Pleasantdale Park in Burr Ridge.  Keep a look out for the make-up game schedule as the Orbitz have 8 games that have to be rescheduled due to rain outs.  The All-Star game is the weekend too, details should be sent out soon about this as well.

The Orbitz kept pace with the Seadogs to stay tied for 2nd place in the division, dropping the opener 4-1, and then taking the nightcap 1-0. 

In game one, the O's had Adam Morrow take the bump, who looked strong, allowing 4 runs (2 earned) throwing a complete game striking out 11 batters.  The Orbitz didn't offer Morrow much in run support as they scattered 6 hits and struck out 10 times.  The lone run was scored on consecutive 2 out doubles by Heath Bishop and Todd Zasadil.

In game two, the Orbitz got another strong pitching performance from Todd Zasadil, as he threw a complete game shutout, allowing 1 hit, losing his no hitter to the first batter of the 6th inning.  The Orbitz threatened to score multiple times in game two leaving the bases loaded in the 2nd inning, and in the 3rd had a runner cut down at the plate to end the inning.  After going down in order the 4th and 5th innings, they finally broke through in the sixth as John Whittenhall led the inning off with a double to left center.  On a 1-0 pitch, Dennis Martin laid down a sacrifice bunt that was bobbled by the pitcher, and thrown away allowing Whittenhall to come around and score the winning run.  The O's ended up stranding 2 more runners that inning, but the lone run was enough as Zasadil was able to finish the Seadogs off in the 7th.

The Orbitz improved to 4-2 on the year sweeping the Indians 4-2 in game one, and then 11-5 in the night cap, under the lights at Howie Minas Field on Sunday night.

Game 1 was a classic pitcher's duel, with some fantastic defensive plays, as the Orbitz sent Todd Zasadil to the mound to make his first start of the season.  Todd didn't disappoint, throwing a complete game, scattering 5 hits, and allowing only 1 earned run.  The Orbitz got on the board first in the bottom of the third inning with a lead off walk by Jeff Hendry, followed by a single from John Whittenhall.  Dennis Martin then sacrificed the runners over, but also reached on an error by the pitcher.  Two hitters later, Todd Zasadil helped his own cause driving in a pair of runs with a single up the middle to put the O's up 2-0.  The Indians came back with an unearned run in the next half inning to cut the lead in half.  The Indians threatened again in the 5th as they put the first two runners on with a single and a walk.  After Zasadil got the next hitter to pop out, Mike Skopik saved 2 runs as he tracked a down a fly ball with a running catch that was headed for the left field corner.  The Indians tied it up though in the 6th by getting the first two runners on again with back-to-back singles, but the damaged was limited by a nice double play on a ball that was headed up the middle, but was snagged by Eric Lewitke, flipped to Bill Arthurs who made a great turn at second to complete the twin killing.  With the scored tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 6th, Mike Skopik led off the inning with a single to right, and stole his team leading 4th base of the season.  Bill Arthurs then followed with an infield single (2-3, 1 run scored), moving Skopik to third.  Two pitches later, Arthurs advanced on a wild pitch, and then forced the Indians to intentionally walk Brian McCormick to load the bases.  Lewitke (2-3, 1 rbi) then drove in the go-ahead run on an infield single, followed by a walk by Jeff Hendry to add an insurance run.  Zasadil shut the door in the 7th going 1-2-3 to pick up his first victory of the season.

 In game 2, the Orbitz sent another rookie to the mound to make his debut, Michael "Sarge" Grantz, who picked up the the victory, allowing 2 hits, and striking out 7, while sending a record 30 text messages during the game.  Brian "Capt'n Jack" McCormick came in relief to close the game out striking out 2 batters, and not allowing a hit.  The Orbitz got the scoring going early in the top of the first as John Whittenhall led the game off with a walk and was followed by a double down the left field line by Dennis Martin.  Heath Bishop drove both runners home with a single to left center.  The Orbitz went down in order in the second inning, but then scored 9 in the third inning on 4 hits, 4 walks, and 4 Indians errors.  Martin got the inning started with a single, followed by walks to Bishop and Zasadil.  Skopik then drove in a run with a single to add to his team leading 8 rbi's.  Two batters later, Arthurs would add an rbi single.  After this the Indians defense seemed to be playing on their heels as they committed 4 straight errors, and allowed the Orbitz to open the flood gates to take the lead for good.

Next week the Orbitz have off for Memorial Day weekend, but return to the field on Sunday June 1st as they take on the Seadogs at 1:30 at Oak Forest.  The Seadogs are currently tied with the Orbitz with a 4-2 record. 

The Orbitz saw their record move to 2-2, dropping the opener against the Flyers 6-3 in a time shortened game, and then busting out the lumber in a 17-2 victory in game 2 called after 3 1/2 innings.

In game 1 the Orbitz sent Adam Morrow to take the mound for the 2nd time this season.  Morrow was cruising through the first 3 innings allowing an unearned run in the first, and had the O's leading 3-1 going into the bottom of the 4th.  The Flyers put together a 2 out rally in this frame that allowed 3 runs (2 unearned) to score and give the Flyers the lead for good.   Adam threw a complete game, allowing 5 hits and striking out 6 on the day.

The real story of the game was on offense as the Orbitz had baserunners on the entire game, but left 9 runners on base, including having the bases loaded in each of the first two innings, and only scoring 1 run in each frame.  Key contributors were John Whittenhall who was 1-2, with a run and rbi, Dennis Martin 1-1 with 2 hbp, and Rookie Billy "White Shoes" Arthurs who was 2-3 and scored 2 runs.

In game two, the Orbitz seemed to get some big hits, and take advantage of the Flyers three fielding errors, as they scored 17 runs on 13 hits.  Dave Goodwin picked up his first career victory in an Orbitz uniform allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, recording 9 ground ball outs.  Dave received all the run support that he would need in the first inning when the O's put up a 4 spot on 4 singles by Dennis Martin, Heath Bishop, Todd Zasadil and Mike Skopik (who had 3 rbis for the game).  In the second inning the game was busted wide open with 10 more runs.  This inning saw an rbi triple by John Whittenhall, an rbi single by Martin, a two rbi double by Zasadil,  an rbi single for Eric Vickrey, and a 2 rbi single by Heath Bishop (3 rbis in the game).  In the 3rd, the Orbitz tacked on 3 more with a lead off single by Eric Lewitke, a single by Bill Arthurs, a two rbi triple for Eric Vickrey (4 rbis for the game), and an rbi single for Brian McCormick. 

The Orbitz have the upcoming weekend off as their bye week to enjoy Mother's Day.  Next game is against the Indians at Howie Minus Field in Midlothian, with a 6pm start time on Sunday May 18th.  This will be the first 2 division games of the year.  The Indians are currently tied with the Orbitz with a record of 2-2.

The Orbitz split their opening double dip with two close games against the Naturals this past Sunday at Oak Forest, winning game one, 7-5 and then dropping the night cap 8-6. 

In game one, the O's got a strong pitching performance by Adam Morrow as he allowed 1 hit and 2 earned runs, striking out 7 batters in 5 and 1/3 innings, as he picked up his first victory of the season.  McCormick came in to finish the game and pick up his career leading 4th save.  The offense got the scoring early in the first as they put up 4 runs on 3 hits, including a double by Dennis Martin, a two rbi single by Mike Skopik, and a single from David Goodwin.  Skopik would provide some more offense in the 3rd inning knocking in two more runs with an rbi double to score Heath Bishop and Todd Zasadil, who led the inning off with a single and double respectively.  The O's added an insurance run in the 6th with a leadoff single by Skopik, and then a two out rbi pinch hit single by Bill Arthurs.

In game two, the Orbitz welcomed back David Goodwin to the mound, who hasn't pitched since early 2006 due to injury.  In his post game interview, Martin told reporters, "It was good to see him back on the bump, we have some high expectations from Dave this year.  I thought he threw the ball pretty well today."  On offense, the Orbitz didn't provide Goodwin with much run support, as they scattered 7 hits in the game.  John Whittenhall went 3-4 with 3 singles and a run scored, Eric Vickrey went 2-3 with a run scored and an rbi, Morrow had a 2 rbi single in the 5th inning, and Todd Zasadil was 1-2 with a double, 2 walks and a run scored. 

Next Sunday the Orbitz will take on the Flyers, who were idle this past Sunday, 1:30pm at Oak Forest.  For a complete listing, the schedule has been posted under the "Schedule Tab."

The Orbitz will make their South Side Wooden Bat League debut against the Naturals, as the first pitch will be thrown at 1:30pm, Sunday April 27 at Shooters Field in Oak Forest.  For directions, please check the Fields Link. 

Dennis Martin will be entering his 5th full year as the Orbitz GM and Manager.  He has compiled a 50-38 record since taking over the team in 2004.  When asked about the 2008 season, Martin had this to say, "We are looking forward to the new competition, and the switch over to wood.  I feel if we do the little things right this year, limit our mental mistakes, and play good fundamental baseball, we've got a chance to do some damage."

The Orbitz have 12 returning players this year, with the addition of 6 free agents, Bill Arthurs , Ryan Daniels,  Michael Grantz, Jeff Hendry, Eric Lewitke and Todd Zasadil.

The rest of the schedule and field locations should be updated soon.

In a press conference earlier this afternoon, Dennis Martin, the Orbitz General Manager announced the new 2008 captains, John Whittenhall and Brian McCormick.

John Whittenhall, a lifetime .399 hitter, is one of the three remaining original Orbitz from the 2002 season.  John enters the season as the starting catcher and is on the Orbitz top  three in the following categories: at bats (348), hits (139), runs (140), singles (106), doubles (29), triples (2), rbi's (69), stolen bases (leading the team with 75), walks (82), and batting average (.399), as well as a few single season records in hits (36), runs (41), doubles (9), stolen bases (30) and on base percentage (.611). 

Brian McCormick joined the Orbitz in 2004, and quickly became the go to guy on the hill.  Spicey has thrown a total of 171.33 innings in 4 years with the O's, and is the career leader in wins (14), saves (3), appearances (44), complete games (8), strikeouts (136), as well innings pitched.  McCormick enters the season at 3rd base, and should see a few innings on the bump as well.

Heath Bishop played primarily as a left fielder during his current career in the Midwest Suburban League from 2002-2007, playing for the Orbitz.   

Looking towards the 2008 season, the Orbitz will continue practices on Sunday February 10th 8:30-10:00 pm at Hersey High School.  Please check the Practice Link for complete details and directions.