Lowell Little League juniors (14 and under) dominate Hebron 16-1 in five-inning game

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
HEBRON (0-1)	0	1	0	0	0	-	1	1	3
LOWELL (1-0)	4	6	3	3	-	-	16	14	0

7-5-2003   - 86 degrees, sunny at Creek Side Little League - Lowell
WP -     Cap (1-0) CG, 6Ks, 5 walks
LP -   Peter Owen (0-1) 1K, 6 walks (2 innings)

Hebron (one single, 5 walks)
Andrew Schrum (Hebron) Single, RBI

LOWELL (9 singles, 3 doubles, 2 HRs)
Cap (L) Double, single, 2 walks
Tyler Overdorf (L) 3 singles, 2 RBIs
Harker (L) 2 doubles, 2 RBIs
Nathan Korth (L) HR, single, 3 RBIs
Kyle White (L) HR, RBI

LOWELL (7-5-2003) - Lowell's junior and senior all-star teams are so comfortable at the Creek Side Little League, it's hard to imagine somebody beating them twice in a week's time.

Lowell's 14-and-under squad opened the junior Little League double-elimination District II playoffs Saturday with a no contest, five-inning 16-1 win over Hebron. Kyle White and Nathan Korth lifted home runs over the left field fence and right-hander Cap easily pitched over five walks to stop Hebron on one hit in 85-degree heat.

So let's say nobody beats the Lowell 14s twice and they win the district II title. Do they know what that means? Because District I is the host of the state finals and gets a guaranteed slot, and because District II's annual opponent in the state tournament is District I, the District II champion goes directly to the state finals later this month.

Do they know what that means?

Because District I includes Gary, the Gary South Shore RailCats have agreed to allow the junior Little League to use the new 6,200-seat RailCats' Stadium for the state finals.

So, if Lowell wins the district, they go directly from the Creek Side Little League to the 40 million dollar RailCats' U.S. Steelyard Stadium. Do these 14 year old boys really realize that?

"No," said manager Paul Hoffman after the runaway win Saturday, "I don't think they do. And I'm not going to tell them. That's the goal. It would be huge for our boys and for our league."

The Lowell boys clearly aren't in a state finals mindset yet. After jumping to a 10-1 lead after two innings and laughing their way through the 90-minute game, the boys threw ice water on their coaches after the game and just had a good time.

"Everything went well," said Hoffman, who saw his team score in every inning and use only one pitcher. "That was the plan. There wasn't much wrong with this game."

After Tyler Overdorf and Josh Kuiper keyed a four-run first inning with RBI hits, three Hebron errors gave Lowell a start on a six-run second. Harker had the biggest hit, a line drive two-run double that hit the right field fence on the fly.

In the third inning, Overdorf's two-run single sparked a three-run third. In the fourth, Korth and White hit back-to-back home runs off relief pitcher Huettner.

Cap has good velocity but he'll have to work out some control problems if he's pitching in Thursday's winner's bracket championship game, which would be his next start.

"His stretch at times will get a little wild," said Hoffman. "We don't know why. When he's wild, he's really wild. But from a wind up he's fine. Cap showed a flash of what he could do when he struck out the final two batters of the game to get his side off the field."

If Lowell won the first three games in this tournament, the 14s would be in the dominant position, then having to lose two games in one day to be eliminated. As long as Lowell is home by the creek, that doesn't seem likely.

LITTLE LEAGUE NOTES: Lowell still hopes to acquire the old stands from Lowell high school to put around their outfield. Lowell high is renovating the athletic complex and they are buying new stands. The old stands would be set behind the wooden blocks that surround Lowell's Creek Side junior and senior Little League field. The extra seating would probably be in right field and it would make the park a little more comfortable. Because of the creek close behind home plate, there is little seating on the first base side.

The Creek Side Little League has a lot of charm as a ball park, especially for a place that was a swamp 10 years ago.

While other Little League and Babe Ruth tournaments were delayed by overnight rains prior to Saturday's play, the junior Little League games went off on time at Lowell.

Hebron's Huettner played first and pitched even though he has just one functioning hand. Huettner would throw the ball and then stick his hand into his mitt and be ready on defense. He caught three pop ups as a pitcher and handled every chance without an error at first base.

JUNIORS (ages 13-14)
District II double-elimination (7 teams) at Lowell's Creek Side Little League
At LOWELL   - Saturday, July 5
CEDAR LAKE   11, Wheatfield 7
LOWELL 16, HEBRON   1 (5 innings)
Whiting   00, Roselawn 00

At LOWELL   - Sunday, July 6
CEDAR LAKE vs. DeMotte 12 noon
LOWELL vs. Whiting

At LOWELL   - Monday, July 7
Hebron vs. Roselawn - 5:30 p.m.

At LOWELL   - Tuesday, July 8
Wheatfield vs. LOWELL or Whiting 5:30 p.m.

At LOWELL   - Wednesday, July 9
Loser's bracket elimination game: 5:30 p.m.

At LOWELL   - Thursday, July 10
Winner's bracket final game: 5:30 p.m.

At LOWELL   - Friday, July 11
Wednesday's winner vs. Tuesday's winner: 5:30 p.m.

At LOWELL   - Saturday, July 12
Thursday's loser vs., Friday's winner: 2 p.m.

At LOWELL   - Sunday, July 13
Championship round game one: 2 p.m.
Championship round game two:   5 p.m.

(Sunday, July 13 winner goes directly to the eight-team double-elimination, 2003 state junior Little League finals, hosted by
the District I champion at the RailCats Stadium in Gary)