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Dyer 12s defeat Highland, Munster to advance to 2006 Little League All Star State Finals |
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A
USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith
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Click Here for updated Little League State Tournament Brackets.
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Team (Record) / Inning |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
R |
H |
E |
|
DYER (6-0) |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
7 |
8 |
3 |
|
Munster (5-2) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
8 |
1 |
Friday, July 21, 2006 at DYER - District II championship game , 69 degrees, light rain
WP
- Stefano Belmonte (2-0) CG, 11K, 0 walks
LP - Scott Jerge (0-1) 9K, 3 walks (4 inn.)
DYER (6-0)
Marcus Rosselli (RF) HR, walk, 2 RBIs
Will Sasaki (2B) HR, singles, 3 RBIs
Stefano Belmonte (P) 2 singles
Jimmy McNamara (CF) Single, walk
Munster (5-1)
Cade Conner (SS) HR, double, RBI
Mark Strbjak (P-C) 2 singles
|
Team (Record) / Inning |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
R |
H |
E |
|
CROWN POINT (4-1) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
|
Munster (5-1) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
- |
6 |
7 |
1 |
Thursday, July 20, 2006 at DYER - District II semifinals , 76 degrees, damp
WP
- Cade Conner (2-0) 4K, 0 walks (5 inn)
SAVE - Ethan Flahaven (1 inn.) 1 run. 1 hit
LP - Allen Krause (0-1) faced 2 batters (error,
HBP)
Nick Gerolimos (SP) 1k, 1 walk (4 inn.)
CROWN POINT (4-1)
Casey Rapchak (SS) HR, single, RBI
Dan Stefanovic (1B) HR, walk, RBI
Ronnie Plesac (PH) HR, RBI
Zac Plesac (RF) Single, RBI
Munster
(5-1)
Chris Slivka (3B) Double, 2 RBIs
Cade Conner (P-SS) HR, RBI
Mark Strbjak (CF) Double, single, RBI
Ethan Flahaven (SS-P) Single, walk
|
Team (Record) / Inning |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
R |
H |
E |
|
Highland (5-1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
|
DYER (5-0) |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
- |
3 |
4 |
1 |
Thursday, July 20, 2006 at DYER - District II semifinals , 76 degrees, damp
WP
- Marcus Roselli (1-0) 5K, 0 walks (2 inn.) 38 pitches
LP - Jordan Minch (2-1) CG, 6K, 2 walks (101 pitches)
Highland (5-1)
Jordan Drach (C) 3 singles, RBI
Joe Heldt (1B) Double
Matt Knesek (SS) Single, walk
DYER (5-0)
Marcus Roselli (RF-P) HR, walk, RBI
Ryan Pachowicz (LF) HR, RBI
Taylor Lenhert (C) 2 singles, RBI
DYER
(7-21-2006) - Dyer didn't dominate
the Little League District II finals this week, and they didn't blow anybody
out. But nobody beat them. Nobody. No way. No how.
"Nobody beat you," manager Mike Burvan told his boys in the first base dugout after his boys had eliminated neighbor and rival Munster 7-4 in Friday's cool, rainy day championship game. "This team never beat you. Nobody in Lake and Porter County ever beat you."
What Burvan is referring to is
the fact that this group of Dyer Little Leaguers went undefeated in district
all-star play as 10-year-olds, 11-year olds and 12-year-olds. The Gary
Youth Baseball (GYB) all-stars (5-0), the District I champions, could beat
Dyer next Saturday at the 2006 Indiana state finals, but don't bet on it.
This is Dyer's 10th District II title in 20 years and this could be the best
team of all of them. Burvan isn't shy about telling anyone who will
listen that this group of 12-year-old boys is 96-6 in all-star baseball games
since they were eight years old.
"We're very confident," said Burvan, who always seems confident.
"We've got six pitchers on this team and in pool play, everybody uses
their No.1 pitcher first. I like our third and fourth guys better than
anybody else's."
Dyer was tested in the semifinals and finals of the district tournament. Highland pitched lefty Jordan Minch, the top pitcher in their league, who had struck out 26 batters in 12 innings before this week. Munster, which eliminated undefeated Crown Point in the district semifinals, had a 2-2 tie in the championship game in the fifth inning. With two on and two out, Munster right-hander Scott Jerge, who had baffled Dyer with curveballs, tossed a fastball that Noah Malm sliced towards Munster first baseman Scott Crilly. As baserunner Stefano Belmonte passed in front of the first baseman, the ball skipped past him into right field, scoring the go-ahead run. Then, on an 0-2 pitch, Ryan Pachowic hit another fastball to deep shortstop where Munster's Cade Conner made the stop, but did not have a play, as the 4-2 run scored.
Next hitter Mike Rogers, who did not start the game, feel behind 0-2 in the count and Burvan yelled something out to him.
"I told him to move up on the plate," said the manager. "If you move up, sometimes you can catch the curve ball before it breaks too much."
Rogers got whatever he was looking for and he hit a long fly ball far over the left center field fence towards the gas station on Route 30 north of the Dyer Little League Field. The no-doubt-about-it homer gave Dyer a 7-2 lead and enabled them to survive single Munster runs in the final two innings.
"We have bragging rights now," said Burvan, "and this is probably the best district. This was huge. We had two previous games that were very stressful and I think our kids adapted. Our kids stepped up in the fifth inning both times."
Belmonte, a 5-foot-10 right-hander, struck out six of the first eight batters to face him, but Munster scored single runs in four different innings, mostly on opposite field strokes. As dominant as their record is, Dyer wasn't that much better than the other three teams in the District semifinals. But Highland and Munster were powerful teams that won big in the first round of the tournament and Dyer may find the going easier in the pool play portion of the state finals in Merrillville. Unless the goal was to win that district title in front of hundreds of fans on their home field and the finals prove to be somewhat of a letdown emotionally.
"I know these kids really well," Burvan said. "They know what they have to do. I'm sure we'll be ready."
LITTLE NOTES: Nobody really likes a single-elimination format at the District finals, but it definitely jacks up the excitement level. And with the 'big-4' Lake County Little Leagues (Highland, Munster, Dyer and Crown Point) in the house Thursday night in Dyer, the 60th Little League state tournament almost changed dramatically. Those of us who wanted a Dyer-Crown Point final were left unsatisfied. Watchers who wished for a Munster-Highland championship also didn't get what they wanted.
But there could be no bad matchups here. And the semifinal night of play left very little to be desired. Munster rallied to beat Crown Point 6-4 and Dyer held off a challenge by defending District II champion Highland 3-2. Both games were long, drawn out battles worthy of major league playoffs.
"I really think that four of the top eight teams in the state were here tonight," said Dyer manager Mike Burvan after his team stopped Highland's quest to win three District titles in a row. "Any of these four teams could have won the state title. I really believe that."
"We knew this could happen," said CP 12s manager Joe Plesac. "We hit our home runs with nobody on base and they got big hits with men on base. These four teams here are all very good."
Crown Point lost despite hitting three solo home runs, including a sixth inning homer by CP league home run champ Spencer Rapchak that carried 100 feet over the wall in left center. But a four-run fifth inning by Munster against two CP relief pitchers erased a 3-2 Crown Point lead and sent Munster to the title game. An error by CP second baseman Joey Plesac started the four-run inning and Mark Strbjak's RBI single tied the game 3-3. Ethan Flahaven walked on four pitches to force in the 4-3 run and Chris Slivka's two-run double, that was almost caught by Zac Plesac in centerfield, upped the lead to 6-3. CP's Rapchak led off the sixth with CP's third solo home run, but relief pitcher Flahaven then retired the side with two strikeouts. Munster's Cade Conner led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run after Munster center fielder Strbjak reached up over the center field fence at Dyer to catch a potential homer by CP's Rapchak.
"They got some key hits with men on base and we didn't," said Joe Plesac after the game. "That's what happens. They got good pitching. One play here or there and they made all the plays. We hit some hard balls that might have been the difference in the game, but they made the plays. We played well. We had that one bad inning where we gave up four runs. It was 3-2 going to the fifth and 3-1 going to the fourth."
Some later questioned CP removing starting pitcher Nick Gerolimos after four innings with a 3-2 lead, but it was a text book move. Plesac wanted Allen Krause, a lefty, to face two consecutive Munster left-handed batters starting the fifth in a one run game. Unfortunately, the first batter reached on the error and Krause hit the second batter.
Starting Dyer right fielder Marcus Roselli hit a fifth inning home run and pitched two scoreless innings to boost Dyer over two-time defending District II champion Highland 3-2 Thursday night. Dyer took the early lead on Taylor Lenhert's RBI first inning single and Ryan Pachowicz' lead off home run in the second. But Highland left-hander Jordan Minch struck out six and walked two and his team rallied to tie the game in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Jordan Drach and a bases loaded wild pitch by relief pitcher Stefano Belmonte. But in the fifth, Rosselli hit a high fastball over the left center field fence for the winning run.
Two of the Plesac boys (Ron and Zac) are 11-years old and can return to the all-star squad in 2007. The District II champion will again get a bye through the sectional round because District II will host the 2007 state finals at the Highland Little League.
Dyer manger Mike Burvan was especially pleased with the victories because he thought that his team may have been disadvantaged by the 2006 change in state Little League rules which moved the eligibility date for Little League players up from August to April. The change allowed boys who had birthdays in April and turned 13 to play as 12-year-olds.
"We've built this team from when they were eight years old," he explained. "And the year they're 12, that's when they change the rules. Some of these teams here had guys who were 13. All our guys are 12 because this is the team we've had all along. I'm just glad the two pitchers who pitched in the championship game were both 12 years old."
2006
Little League State Tournament
MAJORS
- DISTRICT PLAYOFFS - age 12 and under - July 12-21, 2006
POOL A - CROWN POINT
LOWELL 12, Irving 2 (5 inn.); CP 11, Hebron 0 (4 inn.)
Hebron 10, Irving 0;
Highland 2, LOWELL 0
CROWN POINT 8, LOWELL 1, Highland 10, Irving 0
Highland 5, Hebron 0; CP
14, Irving 0 (4 inn.)
CP 5, Highland 0;
LOWELL 10, Hebron 0
POOL B - DYER
DYER 14,. CEDAR LAKE 1; Whitng 5, Hobart Twsp. 2
DYER 19, Whiting 0; Munster
17, CEDAR LAKE 6
CEDAR LAKE 8, Hobart Twsp. 3; DYER 3, Munster 1
Munster 21, Whiting 2; DYER 9,
Hobart Twsp. 5
Munster 15, Hobart Twsp. 2; CEDAR LAKE 16, Whiting 6
POOL C - (Hammond) Robertsdale
Hessville 10, Robertsdale 1; DeMotte 3, Roselawn 2
Robertsdale 16, DeMotte 4; Roselawn 7, Hessville 6
Hessville 9, DeMotte 2; Roselawn 4, Robertsdale 1
District II Finals at DYER (single-elimination)
7-19 (W) Munster 12, Roselawn 1;
Highland 8, Hessville 1
7-20 (Th) Munster 6, CROWN POINT 4; DYER 3,
Highland 2
7-21 (F) District II championship game -- DYER 7,
Munster 4
LITTLE LEAGUE 12s - Indiana state finals
at MERRILLVILLE (pool A)
Round 1 (Thursday, July 27):
Game 1 - DYER (6-0) versus New Castle (Field 1 - 5:30 p.m.)
Game 2 - Section 1 Champions versus Gary (5-0) (Field 1 - 8:00 p.m.)
Round 2 (Friday, July 28):
Game 3 - Section 1 Champions versus DYER (6-0) (Field 2 - 5:30 p.m.)
Game 4 - New Castle versus Gary (5-0) (Field 2 - 8:00 p.m.)
Round 3 (Saturday, July 29):
Game 5 - Gary (5-0) vs. DYER (6-0) (Field 1 - 5:30 p.m.)
Game 6 - New Castle versus Section 1 Champions (Field 1 - 8:00 p.m.)
at MERRILLVILLE (pool B)
Round 1 (Thursday, July 27):
Game 1 - Wabash versus Section 6 Champions (Field 2 - 5:30 p.m.)
Game 2 - Section 3 Champions versus Terre Haute South (Field 2 - 8:00 p.m.)
Round 2 (Friday, July 28):
Game 3 - Section 3 Champions versus Wabash (Field 1 - 5:30 p.m.)
Game 4 - Section 6 Champions versus Terre Haute South (Field 1 - 8:00 p.m.)
Round 3 (Saturday, July 29):
Game 5 - Wabash versus Terre Haute South (Field 2 - 5:30 p.m.)
Game 6 - Section 6 Champions versus Section 3 Champions (Field 2 - 8:00 p.m.)
Championship
Round - Sunday
7-30
(Sun) State semifinal game one - 1 p.m.
7-30 (Sun) State semifinal game two - 1 p.m.
7-30 (Sun) 2006 Indiana state championship game. 5:30 p.m.
(Winner advances to Central States Regional in Indianapolis on Thursday,
Aug. 6)
