Dyer 12s blank New Castle 3-0, advance in 2006 Little League State Finals
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith Revised: 7-29-2006

Friday, July 28, 2006 - state finals 12s - pool play at Merrillville Little League, 93 degrees, sunny
WP - Stefano Belmonte (3-0) CG, 15K, 2 walks, 88 pitches
LP - Devin Nickelson (2-1) CG, 9Ks, 0 walks, 70 pitches

DYER (7-0)
Stefano Belmonte (P) HR, 3 RBIs
Jimmy McNamara (CF) Single, run scored
Marcus Rosselli (RF) Single, run scored

Friday, July 28, 2006 - state finals 12s - pool play at Merrillville Little League, 93 degrees, sunny

WP - Madison Foster (3-0) CG, 14Ks, 2 walks, 83 pitches
LP - Marquis Wells (2-1) CG, 9Ks, 0 walks, 111 pitches

LEBANON (8-1)
Madison Foster (P) Double, walk, RBI
Jack Day (3B) Walk, run scored
Travis Herrin (SS) Single,walk

GARY (6-1)
Travis Norman (3B) Triple, 2 RBIs

LITTLE LEAGUE 12s - Indiana state finals - at MERRILLVILLE (pool A)
7-28 (F)  DYER 3, New Castle 0,  7-28 (F) Lebanon 3, Gary 2
7-28 (F)  New Albany 3, Wabash 1,  7-28 (F)  Terre Haute South 2, South Bend Southeast 1

Round 2 (Saturday, July 29):
7-29 (Sat)  Game 3 - Lebanon (8-1) vs. DYER (7-0) (Field 2 - 5:30 p.m.)
7-29 (Sat)  Game 4 - New Castle (5-1) vs. Gary (51) (Field 2 - 8:00 p.m.)
7-29 (Sat)  South Bend Southeast versus Wabash (Field 1 - 5:30 p.m.)
7-29 (Sat)  New Albany versus Terre Haute South (Field 1 - 8:00 p.m.)

Round 3 (Sunday, July 30):
7-30 (Sun)  Gary (6-1) vs. DYER (7-0) (Field 1 - one p.m.)
7-30 (Sun)  New Castle (5-1) vs. Lebanon (8-1) (Field 1 - 4 p.m.)
7-30 (Sun)  Wabash vs. Terre Haute South (Field 2 - one p.m.)
7-30 (Sun)  New Albany vs. South Bend South East (Field 2 - 4:00 p.m.)

Championship  Round -  Monday, July 31
7-31 (Mon) State semifinal game one - 4 p.m. 
7-31 (Mon) State semifinal game two - 4 p.m.
7-31 (Mon) 2006 Indiana state championship game. 8 p.m.

(Winner advances to Central States Regional  pool play and meets the Illinois state champion in Indianapolis on Friday, Aug. 4 at 6:00 p.m. EDT)

MERRILLVILLE (7-28-2006) - I don't know if Dyer was the favorite before the Little League state finals this week in Merrillville, but it's safe to say they are after the opening day.  While there are some tradition rich Little League teams represented at 94th and Mississippi this weekend, Dyer (7-0), the 11-year-old champions in 2005, were the leaders after the first few laps.

Dyer's Stefano Belmonte struck out 15 and hit a three-run homer as the District II champions no-hit New Castle 3-0 in a game completed Friday night.  The win meant that Dyer needs a victory either Saturday or Sunday to advance to Monday's championship round.

Belmonte hit a three-run homer Thursday night when the eight-team pool play tournament started and then, after rain stopped play after 2-1/2 innings, Belmonte and New Castle's Devin Nickelsen pitched shutout ball for the rest of the game.  With every team required to use their No. 2 and No.  3 starters in the next two days of pool play games, you almost were required to win the opener to have a real chance to reach the four-team semifinals Monday afternoon at 4 p.m.  But beyond that, if the top pitcher in your league is defeated on the first day of pool play at the state finals, odds are good you are going home for good at the end of the tournament.

"Everything went okay today," said manager Mike Burvan.  "It gets a little intense.  I knew that New Castle had won their sectional games by a lot of runs.  So, I thought their coaches would take them back to the hotel (during the extra day caused by the postponement)  and adjust.  I knew they'd be smart enough to do that.  It gave their team time to calm down, but we didn't give up any hits, so the defense was good."

After the first seven New Castle boys struck out against Belmonte before the rain delay, they did get two walks and a hit batter in the fourth before the 5-foot-7 12-year-old right-hander settled things down with a bases-loaded strikeout of New Castle pinch hitter Keith Riggs.

Nickelsen struck out nine Dyer batters, more than they lost on strikes in any game in the District II playoffs, but nobody shows up for the first day of the state finals and has any decision to make on the starting pitcher.

"The great thing about this day (opening day of the state finals)," said Burvan, "is that everybody throws their No. 1 and you usually see good games.  We've been in the state tournament (as 10 and 11 year olds) twice and we've probably been in 20 tournaments since they were eight years old.  They're used to it."

Dyer's three-run lead was a constant Friday, but three runs is less in the Little League than it is in other forms of baseball.  Despite the no-hitter, there wasn't the certainty that Dyer would win that there was in some earlier District II games.  And the heat made the excitement level much less than it was at the District finals.

"They're used to it," said Burvan.  "I get all fired up because I see them not fired up at the start of a game.  But this group of kids has a quiet confidence.  They play better when they're nonchalant."

Dyer (7-0) was to face  Lebanon Saturday in the second round of pool play contests.  Lebanon (8-1) edged the Gary Youth Baseball (GYB) all-stars 3-2 Friday, as a wild pitch scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning of Friday's second pool A game.  In front of maybe 400 fans, including probably 300 from Gary, GYB's Travis Norman erased a 2-0 deficit with a two-out third inning triple into the right field corner off Lebanon ace lefthander Madison Foster.

But three consecutive wild pitches by Gary right-hander Marquis Wells allowed the winning run to score in the top of the sixth.  Foster struck out 14 while Wells, a 5-foot righty, struck out nine and walked six.  The story of this game was the crowd, as GYB, a consolidation of Gary leagues Midtown, Junedale Gary West Side and Gary East Side placed a Gary team in the state finals for the first time in 18 years.  The large Gary crowd tried to urge their side to victory.  But Foster, a 6-foot-1 lefty, just didn't let the GYB stars put the ball in play very often.  On the opening day of the Little League state finals, all-star teams tend to start the league's top pitcher, which explains the high strikeout and low run totals.

LITTLE NOTES:  Due to Thursday postponements, Sunday and Monday state finals' times have been changed again.  The matchup of Gary and Dyer is now set for 1:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon.  Monday's semifinals are set for 4:00 p.m. and the Indiana state championship game is now set for 8:00 p.m. Monday night, July 31.

The field at Merrillville was not in peak condition Thursday night, but it was much improved Friday.  Before the game Friday, workers had to repair a hole behind home plate under the screen on the main field.  Clumps of mowed grass were clearly visible in right field.  But after Thursday's heavy rains wiped out play, the field looked better Friday night, the excess grass was gone and workers had the dirt portion of the infield in perfect condition.

The reason for the time changes for the final pool play games Sunday was to allow teams that do not qualify for the semifinals to get home some time Sunday.  Everybody here is a parent and virtually everybody has a job to go to Monday.

Before the rain, the semifinals would have ended Saturday night with 5:30 and 8:00 p.m. games.  Tourney officials decided not to play Sunday night, moving games up to 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.  Monday's semifinals will be played at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Heat will be a major factor as temperatures slide towards 100 degrees in NW Indiana Sunday and Monday.  Teams are required to use all their substitutes, however, so several boys will get a break during the games, which are only six innings anyway. 

This is a tradition-rich field.  Dyer has won District II 10 times in 20 years and won state titles in 1993 and 1997.  South Bend East Side has won District III 23 times in 36 years.  One of the two New Albany teams won the district title 11 times in 12 years.  Like Gary Youth baseball (GYB), New Albany Township and and the new Albany City Little League consolidated this year and reached the state finals under the new name New Albany Youth baseball.  A consolidation of this type reportedly has worked well in areas like East St. Louis, Illinois.

Oddly, in Gary, two of Gary's Little Leagues, Miller and Black Oak refused to join the city-wide consolidation into Gary Youth baseball.  It is likely they will be asked again to join because there are plans for a multi-million dollar Little League Complex at a site yet to be determined.  Part of the Gary Southshore Railcats pro baseball team's Stadium deal was that they would build a state-of-the-art Little League Complex for the city, which badly needs community facilities.

One proposed site is 25th and Harrison, near Gary Roosevelt high school.  Another is the old Gilroy Stadium land, a little further south.  Over 500 Gary kids played Little League  baseball or softball this year, numbers that are notably up from the late 90s.  A lot of this is just talk at this point, but the money is contracted to be there.

Copyright © 2006 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: July 29, 2006.