Crown Point defeats South Lexington, KY, 8-4 in Cal Ripken 11s to capture Ohio Valley Regional Baseball Title
A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith  (8-04-2010)

Monday, August 2, 2010 - Cal Ripken 11s Ohio Valley Regional title game, 81-degrees at Crain Field in LOGANSPORT, IN

WP -Mike Wathier (4-0) 5K, 1 walk (4 innings)
(Save) Tyler Wentz (CP) 4K, 1 walk (2 innings)
LP - Martin Gonzalez (3-1) 1K, 1 walk (1 inning)

South Lexington, Kentucky (11-2)
Luke Johnson (SS) 0-for-3
Bryson Boomer (RF) 1-for-3
Jacob Abbott (LF) 1-for-3
Harrison Fields (2B) 1-for-2, double, walk, 2 runs scored
Martin Gonzalez (P-1B) 2-for-3, double
Austin Shepard (3B) 0-for-3
Camerion Greenup (CF) 1-for-3
Carter Prewitt (C) 0-for-3
Brady Bowling (1B) 0-for-0
Caleb Armstrong (PH-P) 0-for-1, walk

CROWN POINT, Indiana (12-0)
Ben Ostrowski (LF) 1-for-3, walk
Justin Akers (C) 0-for-2, 2 walks
Mike Wathier (P-1B) 2-for-3, HR, HBP, 3 RBIs, 2 runs scored
Brandon Haczynski (1B-2B) 1-for-2, 2 RBIs, 2 walks
Ty Wentz (2B-P) 2-for-4
Joey O'Keefe (CF) 1-for-2, sac bunt, double
Charlie Patrick (RF) 1-for-3, RBI
Grant Miller (3B) 0-for-1, Sac. Fly, walk
Sasha Stefanovic (SS) 0-for-2,
 

Saturday, July 31, 2010 - Cal Ripken 11s Ohio Valley Regional at Crain Field in LOGANSPORT, IN

WP -Tyler Wentz (3-0) 9K, 0 walks (4 innings)
(starter) Mike Wathier (CP) 4K, 2 walks (2 innings)
LP - Mike Vandehey (2-1) 1K, 0 walks 2 wild pitches

Neenah, Wisconsin (6-2)
Austin Belot (CF) 0-for-3
Julian Donnelly (C) 0-for-3
Jack Kraus (SS) 2-for-3
Mike Vandehey (P) 0-for-1, 2 walks
Travis Hiogeson (3B) 1-for-3, double
Travis Trem (2B) 2-for-3, stolen base
Vic Kapusinki (1B) 1-for-3
Wesley Osterberg (LF) 0-for-1
Zach Parks (RF) 0-for-2

CROWN POINT, Indiana (8-0)
Ben Ostrowski (LF) 2-for-3, Sac. Fly, stolen base, RBI
Justin Akers (C) 1-for-4
Mike Wathier (P-1B) 2-for-2, 2 HRs, walk, 4 RBIs
Brandon Hacznski (1B-2B) 0-for-3
Ty Wentz (2B-P) 1-for-3
Joey O'Keefe (LF) 0-for-2, walk
Charlie Patrick (RF) 2-for-3, HR, RBI
Grant Miller (3B) 2-for-2, run scored
Sasha Stefanovic (SS) 1-for-2, sac bunt RBI


Cal Ripken Ohio Valley Regional
at Crain Field - Logansport pool play - July 30-Aug. 2

POOL PLAY
South Lexington, Kentucky - 3, South Bend East Side - 2
Neenah, Wisconsin - 8, Henderson County, Kentucky - 0
CROWN POINT - 12, Bloomington, Ind. - 3
Jasper County - 12, Batesville - 2
Vincennes - 5, Bay Port, Wisc. - 3
South Lexington - 16, Logansport - 5
South Bend East Side - 12, Clay County - 3
Bay Port - 14, Jasper County - 1
CROWN POINT - 8, Neenah, Wisc. - 4
Henderson County - 12, Bloomington - 0
Bay Port - 6, Batesville - 5
South Lexington - 12, Clay County - 2
South Bend East Side - 5, Logansport - 0
CROWN POINT - 5, Henderson County -2
Logansport - 4, Clay County - 3

Monday, Aug. 1
PLAY-IN: Henderson County, Kentucky 14, Logansport 0

Monday, Aug. 1
QUARTERFINALS
Henderson County, Kentucky - 10, South Bend East Side - 4
South Lexington, Kentucky - 16, Bay Port, Wisconsin - 3
Neenah, Wisconsin - 10, Vincennes, Indiana - 0
CROWN POINT - 10, Jasper County, Indiana - 0

Tuesday, Aug. 2 - SEMIFINALS
South Lexington, Kentucky - 13, Henderson County, Kentucky - 4
CROWN POINT, Indiana - 14, Neenah, Wisconsin - 0

Tuesday, Aug. 2 - CHAMPIONSHIP
CROWN POINT - 8, South Lexington, Kentucky - 4 (title)*

Click Here for USA-365 Photo Gallery (coming soon)
 

LOGANSPORT, IN (8-02-2010)  It wasn't really a fair question to ask TJ Pruzin.  Especially moments after his boys had won the Ohio Valley Regional for 11-year-olds late Monday night in Logansport.  But here it is:  Was it better to pitch and win the Little League state championship game in 1995 or manage the CP 11-year-olds all-stars to the Ohio Valley title 15 years later?

"That's so hard to say," said Pruzin, who struck out 17 in an eight-inning 1-0 win over Delta in the deciding game of the 1995 Little League state finals.

"I'd almost have to say this is. As a coach. To see these kids smiles. To see them win. This is a great bunch of kids."

Every town has its local sports heroes and the Pruzins are athletic royalty in their Crown Point community.  TJ and younger brother (by two years) Chad were both star Little League, Babe Ruth, Crown Point high school and American Legion Post 20 baseball players.  Sister Cassie was all-state in basketball and as a tennis doubles player at CPHS before she played on a Division III National championship basketball team at DePauw University.

But they are also sympathetic figures because of the sudden death of mom Karen Pruzin six years ago this week, while Cassie was still in high school.  TJ's own baseball career (he was 10-0 as a junior at CPHS) was shortened due to elbow problems.  All high school athletes probably subconsciously perform for their parents.  That was something TJ clearly missed.

"It's August 2nd," TJ explained.  "My mom's been gone six years.  I asked her for a little help tonight.  I know she was here because she was the ultimate Little League mom when me and Chad were playing."

"I coach because I live in the community and these kids are all from here.  And I'm trying to do the right thing.  But there's a little part of it that's for her.  This is pretty sweet."
 

Maybe.  But in steamy, 80-degree summer heat in Cass County, Crown Point (12-0) set a post-season city youth baseball standard that will never be broken.  CP teams will probably win the Ohio Valley Regional again.  This group has a chance to do it as 12 year olds in 2011.  But if anyone again wins every single all-star playoff game, they will only tie the 2010 Crown Point 11-year-old all-stars.

Most of these games were not close.  Crown Point swept the pool play phase with three wins and then rolled over Jasper County 10-0 Sunday afternoon and Neenah, Wisconsin 14-0 Monday afternoon to reach the Monday night title game.

Playing for the sixth time in four days, CP faced South Lexington, Kentucky, a team that also was 5-0 in the Ohio Valley Playoffs.

Crown Point had four-innings available from Wathier, their top right-hander, while South Lexington had three innings (in Cal Ripken ball, you cannot pitch more than a total of six innings in two consecutive games) from their No. 1 pitcher, Jacob Abbott.
 

Pruizin and coaches Joe O'Keefe and George Patrick, chose to start Wathier while South Lexington's coaches chose to save Abbott, a hard throwing right-hander, for the final three-innings.  It was a mistake.  CP scored five times in the first inning as Wathier hit a 1-2 pitch over the right center field fence for a three-run home run after a walk to Justin Akers and a single by leadoff man Ben Ostrowski.  CP's Charlie Patrick and Grant Miler added first inning RBIs.
 

Brandon Haczynski hit a two-run second-inning home run off relief pitcher Caleb Armstrong before Abbott came in and struck out four in the third and fourth innings.  South Lexington rallied in Wathier's final inning, but the lead was too large to overcome.

"I'd have started Abbott," said Pruzin of South Lexington's decision.  "That's why we started Wathier.  Momentum is everything at this level."
 

CP looked very good at the plate, collecting eight hits and seven walks, including three against Abbott in the late going.
 

"Confidence is everything," said George Patrick, Charlie's dad.  "Once they think they can do something, they're hard to stop.

The future may not be now, but it's certainly close for CP baseball, if this summer's youth baseball is any indication.  With the Crown Point 12-year-olds falling just two wins short of the Cal Ripken World Series, CP's 11-year-old all-stars went undefeated and grabbed Crown Point's first Ohio Valley Regional championship at any level.
 

"If you take five guys off this team and five guys off the 12-year-old team," said Pruzin, "and put them together at the high school."

This is the first Ohio Valley championship in the history of Crown Point Cal Ripken or Babe Ruth baseball.  There is no World Series for 11 year-olds in Cal Ripken baseball so what this team could have done will forever be speculation among those who were here.  The Crown Point 11s outscored 12 foes 116-23 and they dominated games all the way.

"We outscored our district opponents 34-3," Pruzin said.  "We thought that if we could hit, we'd always be in the game.  Akers (12s manager Tom Akers) brought his team together.  We ended up winning the whole thing.  These boys are good kids and they really believed in me, that I know what I'm talking about."

REGIONAL NOTES:  It isn't certain how well CP did offensively during the 12-game post-season run, although the final scores speak volumes.

"I'm not a stat guy," Priuzin said.  "I don't care how many hits a kid has or how many times he's struck out.  Our kids don't brag.  That's one thing I'm big on.  Because when you brag you put more pressure on yourself.  It's hard enough to play the game."

"When you've been around sports, you know.  What separates two teams with equal talent?  Their attitude.  Why are certain programs always successful?  They win because the coach and the players have the right attitude.  Steve Strayer does that at the high school.  We're 11 years old here, but we work on attitude all the time.  If you get good habits, it's only going to get easier as you get older."
 

With that said, Crown Point hit 14 home runs in the six Ohio Valley Tournament games and 20 in 12 Cal Ripken games overall.  Third baseman Grant Miller and outfielder Charlie Patrick hit their first career home runs.  Patrick hit two homers.
 

Most of the homers came from Mike Wathier, Brandon Haczynski and Ty Wentz.  Waczynski hit two home runs in the 10-0 quarterfinal victory over Jasper County.  Wentz hit two over the fence in the 14-0 semifinal win over Neenah, Wisconsin.
 

But Wathier is the eye-opener.  Twice at Logansport, he fouled off at least three pitches and then hit a home run.  Someone has clearly been working with these batters.
 

Cal Ripken Baseball
2010 CROWN POINT 11s

District finals
July 16: 10-0 Schererville - 4 inn.
July 18: 10-0 Schereville - 4 inn.
July 19: 14-3 Hammond - 4 inn.
State finals
July 23: 9-2 Logansport
July 24: 4-3 South Bend East Side
July 25: 13-2 Logansport (4 inn.)
Ohio Valley Regional
July 30: l12-3 Bloomington, Indiana
July 31: 8-4 Neenah, Wisconsin
July 31: 5-2 Henderson County, Kentucky
Aug. 1: 10-0 Jasper County - 4 inn. (quarterfinal)
Aug. 2: 14-0 Neenah, Wisconsin - 4 inn. (semifinal)
Aug. 2: 8-4 South Lexington, Kentucky (title)

Copyright © 2010 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: August 07, 2010.