Delta County Junior Boys Eliminated At Regionals
FORT WAYNE, Ind.---In the end, one bad game cost the Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) a chance to advance to the knock-out rounds of the Junior Little League Baseball Regional Tournament in Ft. Wayne, Ind. No, not the team's 6-3 loss to LaGrange, Ky., on Tuesday. It was the 17-11 fiasco against North Canton, Ohio, on Monday that did the team in. The loss to Kentucky did knock the boys down to a 2-2 record in pool play, and that put them into a tie with several other teams. But when it came down to tiebreakers, Delta County's 28 runs allowed in four games were worse than the run total of Urbandale, Iowa.
Jake Peterson started on the mound.
And so the team that hit more home runs than any other team at this 11-team event was going home early, without a chance to play in the quarterfinals and beyond. Delta County Manager Tony Punzel knew that backing in with a 2-2 record would be tough, so he put all of his pitching eggs in one basket on Tuesday. He started Jake Peterson, who has been the team's most consistent pitcher all summer long. But Peterson has also been bothered by a back back all summer, and he struggled in the first inning on Tuesday. Peterson got the leadoff batter (Brennan Byrd) to hit one on the ground right back to the mound, but he bobbled the ball and the runner was safe. Then he threw a four-pitch walk. With two on, Seth Russell hit a double but the throw to the plate was in time to get Bryd. The reprieve was a brief one though, as Russell later scored on a wild pitch and Jason Lashley lauched a two-run homer to left field. So the Kentucky State Champions from North Oldham Little League had a quick 3-0 lead.
Nick Aird catches the pop up.
Two errors in the inning didn't help, and they allowed #3 hitter Griffin McLarty to get to the plate in an RBI situation. He smacked a two-run single to make it 5-0, and then clean-up hitter Lashley hit a sacrafice fly to make it 6-0. Logan Lamb put the DC boys on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run, and then Punzel came up in the fifth inning and launched a long home run to left field. The boys were within 6-3, and Sean Bissell followed with a base hit. But Bissell was thrown out trying to steal and the DC boys never did get another hit. In the seventh inning, Hunter LaMarch drew a leadoff walk and he was on second base when Nick Aird hit a looper to center field. It looked like a sure base hit to cut the lead to two, with Punzel coming to the plate. But the LaGrange center fielder make a shoestring catch, with the ball barely staying in his mit, and the game was over.
Bryant Beem beats Travis Faith to the bag.
And so, the DC boys were eliminated, and finished seventh in the 11-team event. Peterson took the loss, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits in one inning. Punzel allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits and six walks. Aird did a nice job in relief, throwing two innings of hitless ball. He fanned three. One less run allowed in any of the four games, and DC would have moved on. Delta County finished the tournament with ten home runs in four games. Punzel led the way with four, while Lamb hit two, and Hunter Garling, Bissell, Bryant Beam, Jack Valentine all had one round-tripped apiece. The boys finished All-Star season with an 11-4 record, and district, sectional, and state championships. Congratulations to the DC boys on a great tournament run. Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos, video clips, and listen to audio highlights. Thanks again, Kammie Birks! |