Cedar Lake beats Georgetown 8-2 in Senior Little League (16s) Pool Play of state finals
	A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith 8-04-2009

Senior Little League (16s)
Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
CEDAR LAKE (13-5)	4	1	0	0	0	1	2	8	8	3
Georgetown (3-4)	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	7	2

Friday, July 31, 2009 - Pool Play at Senior Little League (16s) state finals at Osolo Little League, ELKHART, IN

WP - Aaron Bakker (2-0) CG, 3K, 0 walks (93 pitches)
LP - Joe Steinke (0-2) 6K, 3 walks (4 innings)

CEDAR LAKE (13-5)
Aaron Bakker (P) 0-for-2, 2 walks
Nic Sampognaro (2B) 1-for-3, walk
Nick Laing (CF) 1-for-2, Sac. Fly, walk
Mike Balich (C) 2-for-4, double, 2 RBIs
Josh Yaverski (1B) 1-for-3, walk, RBI
Jacob Hogge (RF) 0-for-3
Tim Evers (PH) 1-for-1
Billy Goff (SS) 1-for-4
Ryan Nelson (LF) 1-for-2, walk, RBI
Anthony Fekete (3B) 0-for-2
Danny Novitski (PH) Sac Bunt

(Fort Wayne) Georgetown (3-4)
Jake Hayden (SS) 2-for-4, HR, RBI
Joe Steinke (P) 0-for-4
Alex Sanford (CF) 2-for-4
Nick Becher (1B) 1-for-3
Brett Lochbihler (3B) 2-for-3
Conner Wilkins (C) 0-for-3
Zach Lara (2B) 1-for-3
Casey Jackson (RF) 0-for-3
Max Lawson (LF) 1-for-3


SENIOR LITTLE LEAGUE (16s)
Double-elimination - District II playoffs at Cedar Lake Little League

July 19: (Sun) Cedar Lake 10, DeMotte 0
(Sun) LOWELL 8, Wheatfield 7
July 20: (M) CEDAR LAKE 10, LOWELL 0 (6 inn.)
July 21: (Tu) Wheatfield 16, DeMotte 0 (5 inn.)
July 22: (W) Wheatfield 6, LOWELL 3
July 23: CEDAR LAKE 12, Wheatfield 6 (title)


SENIOR LITTLE LEAGUE all-stars
Pool Play (16s) State Finals at Osolo Little League (Elkhart)

7-29 (W) Seymour 9, CEDAR LAKE 8
7-29 (W) PORTAGE 12, Franklin Township 2 (5 inn.)
7-29 (W) Mishawaka 5, (Indianapolis) WDT 3
7-29 (W) (South Bend) Chet Waggoner 10, (Fort Wayne) Georgetown 0

7-30 (Th) Chet Waggoner 13, CEDAR LAKE 3 (5 inn.)
7-30 (Th) Seymour 7, (Fort Wayne) Georgetown 0
7-30 (Th) Portage 8, (Indianapolis) WDT 1
7-30 (Th) Mishawaka 14, Franklin Township 7

7-31 (F) Portage 6, Mishawaka 0
7-31 (F) (South Bend) Chet Waggoner 7, Seymour 2
7-31 (F) CEDAR LAKE 8, (Fort Wayne) Georgetown 2
7-31 (F) Franklin Township 9, (Indianapolis ) WDT 1

Single-Elimination Semi-Finals

8-1 (Sat) Portage (3-0) vs. Seymour (2-1) 10:00 a.m.
8-1 (Sat) (South Bend) Chet Waggoner (3-0) vs. Mishawaka (2-1)
8-2 (Sun) Indiana state championship game - 2 p.m.*

* Winner goes to 10-team Central States Regional in Columbia, Missouri on Aug. 6.

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ELKHART (7-31-2009) If you're not going to qualify for the semifinal round of the Little League state finals, you might as well win the last game.  And if it's your first time ever at the Little League finals, you probably need to win that last game.

"I don't know what else to say," said an emotional coach Alex Larocca after his team defeated Fort Wayne's Georgetown Little League all-stars 8-2 on the final day of pool play at the Senior Little League (16 and under) Indiana state finals Friday afternoon.

"I'm really proud of them.  To finish 1-2 is a lot better than 0-3.  We could have been 2-1 and moving on (to the semifinals), but we made a couple of mistakes."

"We played well today.  I'm proud of them for just being here and from this point on, I'm not going to expect any less of them."

Cedar Lake, loser 10-9 to Seymour and 13-3 to the eventual champion Chet Waggoner all-stars of South Bend, scored four times in the first against Georgetown and led all the way.  Aaron Baker, a 15-year-old on the 16-and-under team, pitched all seven innings, allowing seven hits and no walks.

"How any pitches did I have left," Bakker asked afterwards, aware of the Little League pitch count safety rules which limit a Senior League all-star to 95 pitches in any game.  "Two?  I was at 93?  I didn't know."

Mike Balich, another 15-year-old, opened the scoring with a two run double down the left field line in the top of the first inning.  Josh Yaverski and Billy Goff added RBI singles to give Cedar Lake a 4-0 first inning lead on an 80-degree summer afternoon.  Georgetown's Jake Hanlon lifted a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first, but Bakker pitched in and out of trouble the rest of the game, retiring the last three hitters with runners at first and second in the seventh inning.

"We were hoping for the best," said Nick Laing, after playing his final 16-year-old game.  "I think it worked out for the best.  We lost game one in the last inning, but overall, I think it was good for us."

"I think we're going to be 'Big League' (age 17-18) next year.  I think we're going to have a team in the state tournament."

Cedar Lake was 9-3 as a team during the regular Senior Little League season and their record carried over since this is the same team.  They were 4-2 in the post-season against true all-star teams.  Some Little Leagues have as many as 5-to-10 Senior League baseball teams.

"I think we did pretty well," said Billy Goff, "considering that this is just our team and the other teams are made up of the best players in their leagues."

The boys were aware that this is the first Cedar Lake all-star team to reach the state finals in the 50-year history of the Cedar Lake Little League.  They were also aware that this was one of those years when they did not have to play a best-of-three game qualifying series to reach the finals.  But Cedar Lake had never previously gotten by neighbor leagues Lowell, DeMotte and Wheatfield to get out of District II play.  There have been a couple of years when Cedar Lake couldn't even field a 16-and-under all-star team.  That's why it was a big deal that Cedar Lake exit their first-ever state finals with at least one win.  When Georgetown put the first two runners on base in the final inning, Larocca could be heard shouting out to his players.

"Finish this off.  Don't let down now.  You deserve to be here.  You deserve to be here!"

"We've always kinda choked in big games," he said later, "and I just didn't want that to happen here.  Maybe I got a little too emotional.  I just want them to believe in themselves.  I'm proud  of them.  They worked hard.  If they stop selling themselves short there will be many many more wins to come."

FINALS NOTES:  As far as anyone can tell, this was the first all-star team from the Cedar Lake Little League to reach the state finals at any level.  The irony of that is that this isn't an all-star team.  The Cedar Lake 16s who played last week are basically the only senior age (age 15 and 16) players in the Cedar Lake Little League.  Five of the Cedar Lake all-stars, including four who started Friday, are 15 years old and have another year at this level.  The other six move into the 18-and -under bracket, which, in the Little League baseball structure, is called 'Big League'.  Cedar Lake had no 'Big League' all-star team this season due to lack of players.

Cedar Lake manager Alex Larocca is in consideration for replacing Jim Nohos, who recently resigned after two seasons as the head coach at Hanover Central high school.  Larocca has been an assistant to Nohos the last two seasons, but he is not a teacher at Hanover, which works against him.

"We're hoping Alex will get it," said Nick Laing, who will be a junior at Hanover beginning this month.  The players obviously don't get a vote.  "I wish we did," Laing said.

Larocca suggested he is not the front runner for the job.

"I talked to Mr. Seils (HC athletic director Dave Seils) and I think it was a done deal (that the job would go to another candidate) before I spoke to him.  But once he heard me, I think maybe I have a chance.  If not, I'll still be here."