Lowell 14s respectable in 5-4 loss to eventual Junior Little League State runner-up South Bend Southeast
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith 8-07-2010

Junior Little League (14s)
Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
LOWELL (5-2)	0	0	0	4	0	0	4	6	1
South Bend Southeast (7-0)	1	0	3	0	0	1	5	6	4

Saturday, July 31, 2010 - 69 degrees, 14s state finals at Lowell Little League, LOWELL, IN

WP - Adam Zachary (1-0) 1K, 1 walk (1.3 inn.)
SAVE - Adam Wiezicerek (1/3 inn.)
LP - Jordan Hansen (1-1) 3K, 2 walks
(starter) Billy Barker (LOWELL) 3K, 5 walks (4 inn.)

LOWELL (5-2)
Alec Shurman (SS) 1-for-4
Logan Schiessle (CF) 1-for-3, walk
Aaron Hamm (C) 0-for-3, walk
Nick Kopka (3B) 0-for-4
Jordan Hansen (1B) 2-for-3, walk, 2 RBIs
Billy Barker (P) 1-for-4, stolen base
Seth Anderson (RF) 0-for-3, RBI
Jared Koczur (2B) 1-for-3
Joey Nowocin (LF) 0-for-4

(South Bend) Southeast (7-0)
Tim McMahon (CF) 2-for-3
Adam Zadery (SS) 1-for-2, HR, 2 RBIs, walk
James Salmon (C) 1-for-2, HR, 2 RBIs, walk
Adam Wiezicerek (3B-P) 1-for-2, sac bunt
Luke Godbury (1B) 1-for-2, walk
David Salmon (2B) 0-for-3
Jared Henry (RF) 0-for-1
Sam Hosinski (LF) 0-for-2, walk
Travis Kolczar (P) 0-for-2, walk

Junior Little League (14s)
Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
LOWELL (5-1)	6	1	1	2	4	0	1	16	13	4
Brownsburg (0-3)	2	0	0	2	2	1	1	8	15	6

Friday, July 30, 2010 - 78 degrees, 14s state finals at Lowell Little League, LOWELL, IN

WP - Alec Shurman (1-0) 0K, 1 walk (5 inn.)
LP - Tyler Westrich (0-1) 1K 7 walks (3.7 inn.)

LOWELL (5-1)
Alec Shurman (2B) 3-for-5
Logan Schiessle (SS) 1-for-4, walk
Aaron Hamm (C) 2-for-5
Mitch Finigan (CF) 0-for-4, walk
Nick Kopka (2B) 1-for-2, 2 walks
Joey Koczur (RF) 0-for-1, walk, RBI
Jordan Hansen (1B) 1-for-3, 2 walks, RBI, stolen base
Billy Barker (LF) 0-for-2, HBP
Kenny Hughes (3B) 2-for-4, RBI

Brownsburg (3-5)
David LaPerle (CF) 4-for-4, double, 2 stolen bases
Tyler Westrich (P) 2-for-4
Aaron Sorgius (3B) 1-for-3, walk
Nick Wilde (C) 1-for-3, Sac. Fly.
Todd Clark (SS) 1-for-4
Ryan Lane (LF) 2-for-3, double, 2 RBIs
Jake Shelly (1B) 1-for-3
Austin Jones (2B) 0-for-3, walk, RBI
Tyler Issacs (RF) 0-for-2

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LOWELL (7-31-2010) When it became obvious that Lowell was not going to reach the semifinals at the Junior Little League (14 and under) state tournament last weekend, the question was: What would the finish be like for the home team?

The Lowell 14s lost the first of three pool play games by an 18-7 score but they rallied for a 16-8 win over Brownsburg, which went winless on the weekend.  Finally, with almost any chance of advancing to the semifinals gone (the tie-breaker was runs allowed) Lowell faced South Bend Southeast, a team which hadn't lost.  Some of us were worried that this might not end well.

But late Saturday night, short-handed by two, the Lowell 14s closed on a high note, with the tying run on base in a 5-4 loss to Southeast.

"That was great," said coach Scott Koczur after the rain-delayed game ended at 10:00 p.m. Saturday.  "To play this well against this kind of team?  It couldn't have been better.  Yesterday we won, but it was nowhere near the game we had tonight."

Lowell trailed Southeast 4-0 on the backs of home runs by Adam Zadery and James Salmon but right-hander Billy Barker allowed just five hits in four innings.  Lowell then rallied after Jordan Hansen's one-out single cut the lead to 4-2.  After an error, Seth Anderson's ground-ball out scored Lowell's third run.  With two out, Jared Koczur's hard smash got through South Bend third baseman Adam Wierczoek to tie the game.

In the bottom of the fifth, Hansen came on in relief of Barker and struck out Luke Godbury and David Salmon with runners at second and third to keep the score tied.  For Lowell to be competitive here was a small step forward.  In the opening game, Greenwood scored 15 runs in the first two innings and won by 11 runs.  The Brownsburg team Lowell defeated was a watered down squad that was outscored 43-16 in three state finals games.  Lowell's win over that team wasn't impressive.

But this late Saturday one-run contest was the first time all weekend Lowell looked like they belonged on the same field with some of the state's top teams.

"Our starting center fielder Mitch Finigan (family reasons) was gone," said Koczur, who seemed relieved to have his team play really well.  "Our third baseman (Kenny Hughes), who was great last night, isn't here today.  Shurman injured his side at home plate yesterday."

Had Lowell defeated South Bend Southeast, they would not likely have gone to the semifinal round because Lowell, Southeast and Greenwood would have finished with 2-1 records in their pool.  The No. 1 tie-breaker is head-to-head competition but, had Lowell won, all three teams would have been 1-1 in head-to-head play.  The next tie-breaker is "runs allowed" and Lowell had given up 27 runs in their first two games to just four for Southeast.  The Lowell coaches knew going into the final game they had virtually no chance to reach the semifinals.

"We just told them to go out there and play their best game," said Koczur.  "Play your butt off and have fun.  And that's what they did.  We showed what we could do."

There also was a little bit of a "what if" concerning the Lowell performance.  The Lowell 14s were hardly a dominating team, but they were 4-0 in district play before they sat out two weeks prior to the state finals.

In the first game on Thursday against the Greenwood all-stars, Lowell looked like a team that hadn't played for awhile.  The Lowell team that started the tournament didn't look worthy of the state finals.  But the one that played the third game did.

"We pitched Billy (Barker) because he was one of two pitchers we had left," said manager Bill Shurman.  "We needed a center fielder so we moved Logan (Schiessle) from shortstop to center fielder.  We moved our second baseman to first.  For as short-handed as we were, I thought we did a great job."

Koczur looked at the sign on the Lowell press box commemorating the Senior Little League state champions of 2004.

"I've been involved in this league for 11 years," he said.  "I saw that team play.  But if they were here today, they'd have said 'wow.'  We were really good today."

"We did a wonderful job," said coach Mark Schiessle.  "I can't complain about anybody or anything we did tonight.  This was our best game.  Against Brownsburg, the other team threw the ball around.  This was a test of character and we passed it."

FINALS NOTES:  There were four games every day in pool play at the Junior League finals and all four days ran long.  Saturday's games were pushed back due to heavy rain Friday night, but all games seemed long due to the constant pitcher changes required by the Little League pitch count rules.  Managers limited their pitchers to 25-30 pitches because anything over 30 required the pitcher to stay off the mound for one day.  In a four-day tournament, you can't lose a good pitcher for a day.  The finals seemed to go well at Lowell.  Unusually cool July weather was a blessing during pool play, although the things heated up Sunday.

The ballpark was decorated with balloons and canopy-covered tables.  Parking problems were not severe.  Some teams stayed at hotels as far away as Merrillville, but there were not many complaints.

Jeffersonville went 5-0 to win the state title with a 9-5 come-from-behind win over South Bend.  Jeff had defeated defending state champ Greenwood 5-4 in the semifinals.  This team played in the Little League World Series as 12-year-olds in 2008.  Jeffersonville has won two of the last three Junior Little League state championships.  Drew Ellis hit five home runs in five games for Jeffersonville.

Junior Little League (14s) State Finals
at Creek Side Little League - Lowell (District II)

Thursday, July 29
Greenwood 18, LOWELL 7
Jeffersonville 14, Wabash - 1
(South Bend) SouthEast - 18, Brownsburg - 4
Franklin Township - 9, Portage - 4

Friday, July 30

Franklin Township - 2, Wabash - 1
LOWELL- 16, . Brownsburg - 9
Jeffersonville - 7, Portage - 0
(South Bend) Southeast - 2, Greenwood - 0

Saturday, July 31

Portage - 4, Wabash - 1
Greenwood - 9, Brownsburg - 3
Jeffersonville - 5, Franklin Township - 1
(South Bend) SouthEast - 5, LOWELL - 4

Sunday, Aug. 1

(SB) Southeast over Franklin Township
Jeffersonville 5, Greenwood - 4
Jeffersonville - 9, South Bend Southeast - 5 (title)