Duneland All-Stars drops Crown Point 5-2 in Babe Ruth (age 14) area finals

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
CROWN POINT	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	3	3
Duneland	0	3	1	1	0	0	-	5	8	1

Babe Ruth age-14 area finals opener, 7-10-2003
68 degrees, cloudy at Rohrman park - Schererville
WP- Steve Patterson (2-0) 2K, 4 walks (4 innings)
Kyle Mamalos (Save) 0Ks, 0 walks (1/3 innings)

LP - Matt Ernest (2-1) 0K 3 walks (2.3 innings)
Tim Mummery (CP) 3Ks, 0 walks (3.7 innings)

CROWN POINT
HR, double, single
Nick Rodich (CP) Double, single
Matt Schweitzer (CP) HR, 2 RBIs

Duneland
HR, double, single
John Miller (D) Double, single, walk, RBI
Matt Deleon (D) Single, HBP, stolen base
Matt Jones (D) Double, RBI
Steve Peterson (D) Single, walk

SCHERERVILLE (7-10-2003) - If you lose the first game of a double-elimination tournament, you get to play on but you have already been eliminated. You just don't know it yet.

Crown Point, winners of four of five in first round play, faced the 'nightmare scenario' after a 5-2 loss to the Duneland all-stars from Chesterton in the Babe Ruth area finals for 14-year-olds last Thursday.

Dropping the opener to the District III runner-up, Crown Point, the District I champions, needed six wins in four days to qualify for the state finals.

"Yeah, I don't know where we'll get the pitching," said manager John Dallas. You've got to win a lot of games now."

After winning three in a row at Highland in the district finals, CP never looked like they would win in the opener at Schererville.

The 14s never led against Duneland (5-1), committing three errors and running the bases poorly. The CP boys also were held to just three base hits, one a two-run homer from Matthew Schweitzer in the fourth inning for the losers' only runs.

Chesterton took a 3-0 lead in the second inning. Ernest, who pitched a no-hit game against Dyer in the district playoffs, didn't have control of anything but his fast ball this time and gave up hits to Anthony Celebucki and Steve Peterson to start the second inning. One out later, Matt DeLeon lined an RBI single to right and Adam Hutnick grounded another run-scoring hit to left field. After Ernest and catcher Matt Schweitzer both made errors on pickoff attempts, Matt James' RBI double made it 3-0. Three runs usually isn't enough to win all-star games but it was this time.

"We really haven't hit the ball in any of the games so far," said Dallas, who pulled starting pitcher Matt Ernest after he walked three and allowed six hits in the first three innings.

"I didn't think their pitchers were overpowering at all. They have a good team but we should have hit them."

Crown Point got only two base hits and one of those was a questionable call on a bunt by Nick Rodich that relief pitcher John Miller could not field. Cody Dallas walked in the third inning but was doubled off base on a line drive to Duneland right-fielder Adam Hutnick. Joe Patrick and Dan Bouchee struck Out with a runner at third base in the second inning. But even with 3 2/3 innings of good relief pitching from Tim Mummery, CP never appeared to be in control of the game.
Dallas said, "We're better than we showed today."

RUTH NOTES: The Schererville grounds crew did a fine job to get the field ready for first round games Wednesday night when many other tournaments had to cancel. Even had they won the opener, CP would have had to win four games in four days to stay in the winner's bracket. For some reason, Babe Ruth tries to condense seven or eight team double elimination tournaments into six days at sites with only one field. Little League district tournaments do not schedule two games in one day and Babe Ruth should copy that. To require teams to win four games in two days in the loser's bracket invites injuries to pitchers.

The rain did not Affect the Schererville tournament which was on schedule through Friday. The championship round games were set for 6 p.m. Monday and Tuesday.

BABE RUTH (14s) All-Stars
double-elimination in Highland (Kane Field)
7-9-3 Hammond 13, Schererville 0
Harris Township 8, Munster 2
7-10-3: (Chesterton) Duneland 5, CROWN POINT 2
Hammond 00, Highland 00
7-11-3: Harris Township 00, Chesterton 00
Munster 00, CROWN POINT 00
7-12-3 Harris or Chesteron vs. Hammond or Highland - 5:30 p.m.
CP or Munster vs Hammond or Highland - 8 p.m.
7-13-3 (Sun) Loser's bracket game - 3 p.m.
Loser's bracket game - 5:30 p.m.
7-14-3 (Mon) Championship round game one - 6 p.m.*
7-14-3 (Tues) Championship round game one - 6 p.m.*

* Winner goes to the best-of-3 Babe Ruth state championship in Marion.