2005 American Legion Plymouth Regional

Baseball Tournament Preview

A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith

7-26-2005

2005 American Legion Plymouth Regional

19-and under at Plymouth's Bill Nixon Field - $4

7-29-5 (F) Highland (10-7) vs. CROWN POINT (21-11) 5 p.m.

7-29-5 (F) Plymouth (12-14) vs. Bristol (28-6) 8 p.m.

Saturday (July 30) games

7-30-5 (Sat) Winner's bracket – 12 noon

7-30-5 (Sat) Loser's bracket - 4 p.m.

7-30-5 (Sat) Elimination game - 7 p.m.

Sunday (July 31) games

7-31-5 (Sun) Championship game one – 12 noon

7-31-5 (Sun) Championship game two (If necessary) 4 p.m.

RADIO: WWCA (1270) AM : The Region Sports Network says they'll carry Friday night's Highland-CP game on tape delay and it is likely they will also air the 12 noon winner's bracket game Saturday involving the winner and the 4 p.m. game involving the loser. It's not certain whether WWCA will allow the RSN to broadcast Sunday's title game.

THE WINNER: The survivor here will probably face one of the state American Legion favorites, Lafayette Post 11 (21-5) in the first game of the state finals at the University of Evansville on Aug. 5. That sounds like a slow boat to China but actually, that immediate matchup will give the Plymouth winner time to confront one of the state's top-hitting teams with a full and rested pitching staff.

THE WEATHER: The dangerous 104-degree heat of sectional Sunday (July 24) will ease and daytime temperatures are supposed to top out in the low-80s Friday through Sunday in Marshall County south of South Bend. Night time temps should dip into the upper 60s by the end of play Friday and Saturday. Day games in sunshine will stress out the starting pitcher but this is typical Mid-July heat and nobody has any excuses.

THE STADIUM: Bill Nixon Field, the home Plymouth Post 27 and Plymouth high school's varsity, is one of the best non-pro facilities in the state. Nixon Field seats about 1,000 with bench style seating. The seating is raised and everyone has a good view.

Two flaws and only one will show up. There isn't a lot of parking at Bill Nixon Field but the crowds for these games will be very small except when Plymouth is playing. Summer baseball doesn't draw beyond parents and girlfriends because of the low media profile for American Legion baseball in this part of the state. Many won't know the game is played until they see the results in the daily papers. Even with one-town teams (Post 20 is basically CP high school, Highland is largely Highland high), many who might attend are on vacation or working summer jobs.

The other flaw to Bill Nixon is there is no roof on the grandstand. That won't matter at night but if you attend a day game, you'd better bring an umbrella or get ready to get toasted. These are nine inning games and if you choose to sit out uncovered, you can be grilled like an Omaha steak. Bring at least a hat or you'll wish you had.

The FAVORITE: Bristol Post 143 (28-6) - Plymouth is the defending state champ but Bristol is the clear favorite this weekend. The Elkhart-based team is has been a dominant team all season. With top players from Goshen, Elkhart Central and state power Elkhart Memorial, Post 143 has only one blowout loss, an 11-4 defeat to Mishawaka Post 161, which is no longer in the tournament. Bristol won three sectional games buy 10 runs or more and they beat Crown Point 12-8 at the CP Invitational in early July.

Memorial senior leadoff man Ryan Strausburger is a Division I prospect and Memorial grad right-hander Sean Stone throws in the low 90s. Young catcher Taylor Futterknecht has home run power and he hit a three-run homer in Sunday's 15-5 win over Osceola Post 308. Bristol hit seven homers in three playoff games last weekend totaled 44 base hits. If they appear short anywhere it is in left-handed pitching and CP Post 20's strength is left-handed hitting.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN: This appears to be about to boil down to a best of three-game series between Bristol and Crown Point.

Highland has lost 8-2 and 8-3 to Crown Point although Calumet lefty Greg Neely, who struck out six in a two-inning save of the Whiting Sectional title game against favored Hammond Post 168, did not pitch in either game. Gavit's Jake Galik figures to be bypassed for Neely against Post 20 because CP has three left-handed hitters in Vincennes College freshman Jake Pierce, Andrean grad Robb Barbauld and CPHS junior Nick Ullman at the top of the batting order. Ullman is batting near .500 and has been Post 20's MVP this summer.

Highland will probably face Kouts grad Joe Oezer, who pitched a complete-game 10-3 win over Cedar Lake last week. Post 20 found another pitcher last week when Barbauld struck out 10 in a 10-0 win over Valparaiso. CP manager Tony Samano says Barbauld is a momentum, player so you may see Barbauld again quickly this weekend if any starter runs into trouble early.

The matchup or Oezer, a right-handed side armer and Neely, an underrated lefty fast baller in the twilight, could be a highlight of this tourney. Highland could catch Crown Point looking ahead because Post 20 won both earlier meetings.

Plymouth won twice Sunday, 20-10 and 10-8, over South Bend Post 50 so there are questions of the defending American Legion state champs' pitching. But the offense is powerful with Purdue freshman Brandon LaFollette of Warsaw, who hit two home runs in the final game Sunday.

Plymouth's No. 9 hitter Joe Scott, a Plymouth high junior, reached base nine times in Sunday's two playoff games at the Plymouth Sectional. Plymouth has won four consecutive sectional titles. Bristol defeated Plymouth 8-7 on June 14 and beat them again 11-1 in five innings on July 10. Mishawaka did beat Bristol but Bristol also stomped on Mishawaka 7-0 on June 17, a game where Elkhart Central right-hander Jesse Bachman struck out 15.

This tourney isn't hard to call. Crown Point or Highland has to beat Bristol in the 12 noon game Saturday because they cannot fall into the loser's bracket which requires you to play two games Saturday and two more Sunday to win the title. If Bristol wins the first two games, they will eventually win the tournament because the other three teams do not have the five starting pitchers you need to survive the loser's bracket in a three-day double-elimination tournament involving nine inning games.

There's no way to bring back someone who pitched nine innings Friday in a 3 p.m. game Sunday.

CP has Oezer, Barbauld, Jimmy Wilson and Hebron's Mike Yankauskas and then question marks. It's one thing to say that you have guys who can pitch but the 5^th starter is going to have to pitch in a nine-inning winner-take-all regional championship game. Neither Highland, CP or Plymouth has anybody like that.

Bristol has Stone, Bachman, Memorial grad Jake Schofield, Memorial senior Derek Bryant and Concord grad Brandon Tepe. all of whom have started games this summer and were starters for their high schools. All except Bryant pitched for Post 143 in 2004 when the team was 25-13.

At home, Plymouth's shot is to win the 8 p.m. game Friday. Each days' home team will be decided by coin flips but that doesn't change the fact that Plymouth boys will be playing in their home park where they hit very well.

But even if Bristol loses the opener Friday night, the idea of nine inning games is that its a true test of a team's pitching and that's why Post 143 should come out of the loser's bracket. There's a reason a team is 28-5 against a schedule that includes six weekend tournaments against teams from four states.

Unless they win the first two games, Plymouth and Crown Point will run out of pitching. Highland is an upset winner that may have already reached their team goal. They have not faced Bristol and that's not a plus.

Bristol has pointed toward the state finals from day one. The 12 noon game Saturday will tell the tale but Bristol should win in four games.

REGIONAL NOTES: It was announced that the home of the 2005 state finals will also be the host of the 2006 Midwest regional. Braun Stadium at the University of Evansville will host the 2006 national regional. It will not be the host of the 2006 American Legion state title game unless no one in the north chooses to host the finals.

Crown Point Post 20, which will have a state champion 17-and-under team moving up, could host the 2006 state finals but they have expressed no desire to do so at this point. More than one American Legion watcher has suggested that a Lake or Porter County team host the state finals at the Steelyard pro stadium in Gary. That is a possibility but there is no one to spearhead that effort. A compromise site might be Loeb Stadium in West Lafayette after Loeb's successful hosting of the 2005 baseball state finals.

The 2005 Midwest regional is in Moline, Ill. and while Moline is three hours west of Lake County, Indiana on the Illinois-Iowa state line, it is actually closer to Crown Point and Highland than Evansville is down Route 41. Indiana American Legion baseball officials need to grasp the fact that Evansville is closer to Memphis, Tennessee than it is to Lake County. To hold the state finals on the Kentucky state line every other year does not help promote American Legion baseball.

REGIONAL PAIRINGS = JULY 29, 30, 31

Regional #1 at Plymouth

Game 1: Highland Post 180 vs CP Post 20

Game 2: Plymouth Post 27 vs Bristol Post 143

Regional #2 at Terre Haute

Game 1: Lafayette Post 11 vs Kokomo Post 6

Game 2: Greenfield Post 119 vs Terre Haute Post 346

Regional #3 Rockport

Game 1: (Not yet decided) vs Madison Post 9

Game 2: Rockport Post 254 vs Evansville Post 265

The 2005 State Finals will be held in Evansville at Braun Stadium on the campus of the University of Evansville August 5-7, 2005. It will be hosted by Post 265.

Game 1: Regional 1 vs Regional 2

Game 2: Regional 3 vs Evansville Post 265

The National Regional will be August 11-15, 2005 in Moline, Illinois. The 2005 American Legion World Series will be August 17-23, 2005 in Rapid City, South Dakota.