MONTAGUE, Mich.---The Delta County Junior Boys (age 13-14) scored seven runs in the third inning and cruised to a 9-4 win over Kalamazoo Parchment in the Junior Baseball State Tournament Friday in the western Michigan town of Montague.
Delta County used six pitchers to get through the seven innings, with all of them throwing 20 pitches or less.
Jake Peterson, Hunter Garling, Justin Popelka, Nick Aird, Logan Lamb, and Brandon Punzel all took to the hill for the Upper Peninsula champions.
That allows all of them to be eligible for pitching on Saturday, when the boys play a doubleheader to see if they will advance to Sunday's semifinal round.
"This pitch count stuff is pretty serious when you end up doing 20-20-20 all the way through," Delta County Manager Tony Punzel said. "It worked for us. Rizzo (Peterson) pitched almost three innings with his 20 pitches. That was great to see."
Parchment also played the 20 pitch game, throwing five pitchers of their own.
"We had some excellent plays on defense," Coach Punzel said. "The kids came ready to play today. We had ten hits. Not bad. And the kids exercised some plate discipline. They did what they needed to do."
The best play on defense was turned in by Peterson, who was playing his third position of the game in the sixth inning: left field. With two men on base, Peterson chased down a line shot that would have driven in two runs for Parchment. He laid out completely for the ball and caught it, landing on his belly in the outfield grass.
"Well, we came back from out little meeting in the outfield," Peterson laughed, as the three outfielders didn't realize that Brandon Punzel had started pitching and they stood there talking. "I don't know, I just kind of ran to it and I got lucky, I guess."
And for the record, Peterson said that they were talking about having fun later that night at the water park at the hotel.
Another good defensive play was turned in by Hunter LaMarch at shortstop as Logan Lamb pitched in the fifth inning. A line drive came at him a few inches above the ground and he reached down and made the catch for a big out.
"It had some back-spin so I thought it was gonna spin backwards," LaMarch said. "Then I was just gonna get in front of it, and it just went into my glove."
Offensively, Delta County grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Sean Bissell singled, stole second, and scored on a hit by Garling.
Parchment tied the game in the third inning on an unearned run, but the Delta County boys had a big bottom of the third inning to all but clinch the victory.
Peterson had a two-run double during that inning. LaMarch had an RBI double, Popelka got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and the DC boys pulled off a double steal in the old first-and-third situation. A wild pitch also scored a Delta County run.
So, how are the boys enjoying their state tournament experience so far?
"The trip down was a super long," LaMarch said. "But everything is going good, and we have two games tomorrow, so hopefully we can do the same."
Delta County has two tough opponents on Saturday. First, the boys play Taylor out of suburban Detroit. Then, they will play Western Grand Rapids.
WCHT-AM (600) will broadcast both games live, starting at 12:00 noon and then at 4:30. The games will also be streamed live on www.rrnsports.com.
Friday, July 27, 2012
D7 Richmond 9, D12 White Lake 8
D14 N. Saginaw Township 35, D8 Boyne City 9
D10 Delta County 9, D2 Parchment 4
D5 Taylor North Central 7, D9 Western Grand Rapids 2
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see a bunch of photos and videos from the game, and to listen to audio highlights and interviews from the game. Thanks to Kammie Burks for takling all of these photos and videos!
Delta County used six pitchers to get through the seven innings, with all of them throwing 20 pitches or less.
Justin Popelka was determined.
That allows all of them to be eligible for pitching on Saturday, when the boys play a doubleheader to see if they will advance to Sunday's semifinal round.
"This pitch count stuff is pretty serious when you end up doing 20-20-20 all the way through," Delta County Manager Tony Punzel said. "It worked for us. Rizzo (Peterson) pitched almost three innings with his 20 pitches. That was great to see."
Parchment also played the 20 pitch game, throwing five pitchers of their own.
"We had some excellent plays on defense," Coach Punzel said. "The kids came ready to play today. We had ten hits. Not bad. And the kids exercised some plate discipline. They did what they needed to do."
Rizzo Peterson diving catch
Chilling out between innings.
And for the record, Peterson said that they were talking about having fun later that night at the water park at the hotel.
Another good defensive play was turned in by Hunter LaMarch at shortstop as Logan Lamb pitched in the fifth inning. A line drive came at him a few inches above the ground and he reached down and made the catch for a big out.
"It had some back-spin so I thought it was gonna spin backwards," LaMarch said. "Then I was just gonna get in front of it, and it just went into my glove."
Offensively, Delta County grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Sean Bissell singled, stole second, and scored on a hit by Garling.
Parchment tied the game in the third inning on an unearned run, but the Delta County boys had a big bottom of the third inning to all but clinch the victory.
So, how are the boys enjoying their state tournament experience so far?
"The trip down was a super long," LaMarch said. "But everything is going good, and we have two games tomorrow, so hopefully we can do the same."
Delta County has two tough opponents on Saturday. First, the boys play Taylor out of suburban Detroit. Then, they will play Western Grand Rapids.
WCHT-AM (600) will broadcast both games live, starting at 12:00 noon and then at 4:30. The games will also be streamed live on www.rrnsports.com.
Friday, July 27, 2012
D7 Richmond 9, D12 White Lake 8
D14 N. Saginaw Township 35, D8 Boyne City 9
D10 Delta County 9, D2 Parchment 4
D5 Taylor North Central 7, D9 Western Grand Rapids 2
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see a bunch of photos and videos from the game, and to listen to audio highlights and interviews from the game. Thanks to Kammie Burks for takling all of these photos and videos!
