Hebron beats Lowell 11-8 in wild Junior Little League contest
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith 7-18-2009

Junior Little League (14s)
Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
HEBRON (2-0)	2	4	0	3	2	0	0	11	14	4
LOWELL (2-1)	0	0	0	1	7	0	0	8	9	4

Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - 85 degrees, Winner's bracket at Lincoln Township Park, ROSELAWN, IN

WP - Jeremy Briggs (1-0) 4K, 1 walk (4 earned runs)
Kyle Joyce (Save) 1K, 3 walks (2.3 innings)
LP - Jake Fontanez (1-1) 1K, 2 walks (4 earned runs)

HEBRON (2-0)
Mike Upchurch (CF) 1-for-4, double, 2 RBIs
Cory Cox (PH) 0-for-1
John Moneta (C) 3-for-5, 2 RBIs
Billy Weaver (1B) 2-for-4, walk, 2 doubles, RBI
Jeremy Briggs (P) 2-for-4, 2 RBIs, 2 stolen bases
Spencer Sheets (3B) 1-for-4,
Austin Riese (2B) 0-for-1
Jason Reick (PH) 1-for-2, stolen base
Cole Ryder (LF) 0-for-1
Blake Wallace (PH) 1-for-2, walk
Kyle Joyce (SS) 0-for-2, walk, HBP

LOWELL (2-1)
Jake Fontanez (P) 2-for-4
Ryan Blankenburg (2B) 1-for-3, walk
Brian Thomas (SS) 2-for-3
Spencer Kersey (1B-P) 1-for-3, walk, double
Luke Ison (C) 0-for-3, walk
Wes Harden (3B) 12-for-3, HR, 2 RBis
Tyler Trueblood (PH) 0-for-1
Cody McTaggert (CF) 1-for-3
Josh DeGrauwe (PH) 0-for-0 walk
Alec Sherman (LF) 0-for-1,
Brian Addlesburger (PH) 0-for-3
Brendan White (RF) 0-for-1
Dillon Cohls (P) 1-for-3

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JUNIOR LITTLE LEAGUE
Double-elimination District II playoffs (14s) at Roselawn Little League
7-12-2009 -  HEBRON 12, Roselawn 5
7-12-2009 - LOWELL 14, DeMotte 4
7-13-2009 - LOWELL 7, Wheatfield 4
7-14-2009 - DeMotte 18, Roselawn 9
7-15-2009 - HEBRON 11, LOWELL 8
7-16-2009 (Th) Wheatfield vs. DeMotte - 5:30 p.m.
7-17-2009 (F) LOWELL vs, Wheatfield/ DeMotte - 5:30 p.m. 
7-18-2009 (Sat) HEBRON vs. LOWELL/DeMotte/Wheatfield - 12 noon (championship round)

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ROSELAWN (7-15-2009) The wildest level of baseball.  Perhaps the wildest level of organized sports is the 13-year-old Babe Ruth and Junior Little league payoffs.  No lead is safe.  No defense is solid.  No pitcher is unbeatable.

The 14-and-under all-stars from Hebron and Lowell showed that again late Wednesday when they got together for nearly three hours of all-stars action in the wide open sunset of the Roselawn Little League in north Jasper County.  And when the dust settled, Hebron was in the championship round after holding on for an 11-8 victory over their Route 2 rivals.

The prevailing feeling after the game was that Lowell had underestimated Hebron 14s.  Lowell had four teams in the Junior Little League (age 14 and under) level while Hebron had only one.  But the future Hawks jumped to an 11-1 lead before the shell-shocked Lowell boys regrouped and made a mighty rally in front of about 100 noisy fans in mid-summer heat near the junction of Route 55 and Route 10.

"I think we just thought we'd roll over them," said Lowell manager Jeff White.  "We won the first two games and I think the boys thought this would be easy.  We weren't ready to play at the state and that's my fault.  These are playoff games and you can't just assume you are going to win."

Lowell's teams had all faced Hebron during the junior Little League season.  Hebron had only one junior Little League squad this summer.  But clearly Lowell hadn't met the full Hebron squad.

"This is our one team and we narrowed it down to 12," said manager Mike Reick.  "This is our one team.  We had 15 (players) and we narrowed it down to 12.  We just ran the bases like we always do."

The Hebron 14s aren't just trying to impress Lowell.  They need 'street credibility' in their own neighborhood.

"The boys need something to cheer about," said Reick.  "The girls (softball) have been to state the last four years.  Maybe this is the boys chance."

The difference between the two teams was Hebron's base stealing (they stole six including stealing home on double steals twice) and starting pitcher Jeremy Briggs, who led 11-1 before he tired in the fifth inning.

"We didn't hit their first guy," said White.  "We didn't hit like we can until later in the game.  But we just can't fall that far behind.  We gave them a lot of runs."

"We just tried to be smart runners," said Reick.  "Just make contact and keep it going."

Hebron scored two runs in the first-inning on a double steal, a throwing error by Lowell catcher Luke Ison and a wild pitch.  The Hebron 14s scored four more in the second-inning on a two-run double by Mike Upchurch and RBI singles from John Moneta and Billy Weaver.

A run scoring error and a two-run singe by Jeremy Briggs upped the lead to 9-0 in the fourth inning before Lowell finally scored on a fourth inning wild pitch.  In 85-degree heat, Hebron built the lead to 11-1 on Moneta's RBI single and a throwing error in the fifth inning.

At this point, Hebron right-hander Jeremy Briggs needed only three outs for an 11-1 five-inning 'slaughter rule' win.  But a one-out wild pitch cut the lead to 11-2 and RBI singles by Ryan Blenkenberg and Brian Thomas cut the lead to 11-4.  Lowell had a runner thrown out at home on Spencer Kersey's double, but Wes Harden's two-run homer eventually cut the lead to 11-8.

Hebron right-hander Kyle Joyce came in from his shortstop position and retired the last batter of the fifth inning and he escaped a base-loaded problem in the sixth to earn the save. Joyce retired the last two Lowell batters with two men on base in the seventh to end the two hour, 45-minute game.

Boys at the Junior Little League all-star level traditionally go through mood swings in the long frustrating July games.  Lowell's boys looked fatigued and worn out when they were down 11-1.  But when they trailed 11-8, suddenly the boys look revived and fresh.

"It's all mental," said White.  "We weren't tired.  We just have to be ready to play.  That won't happen again.  We have to get to Saturday and beat them twice.  But we were fine at the end of the game today.  That's how we have to play."

LITTLE NOTES:  The word is that Hebron pitcher Jeremy Briggs, who had a one-hitter until the fifth inning, will attend Andrean this fall.  That's not good news for Hebron and coach Larry Samano, who had to play mostly freshmen and sophomores this season.  Briggs would certainly have seen varsity playing time at Hebron as a freshman.

The Hebron Little League had a strong showing this spring, reaching the final four in District II age-10 Little League and now reaching the district finals in age 14 all-star baseball.

The Roselawn Little League (just south of the intersection of Route 10 and Route 55) does not have lights so only one game can be played per night.  Much cooler temps and cloudy skies are scheduled for Friday night.

The Junior Little League state finals are in Portage so the winner at Roselawn advances directly to the eight-team pool play finals.

Lowell's 10-and-under all-star team was eliminated from the 10-and-under District finals 16-12 by Hebron in a game that ran parallel to the Lowell 14s loss in Roselawn.  The 10-year-old team defeated Highland in district play in Dyer.

The sun was a significant factor in right field late Wednesday.  The first baseman and right fielder were somewhat blinded at times as the sun set in the west at the wide open Roselawn Little League complex at Lincoln Township Park.