Lowell beats DeMotte 8-1 in Little League

District II Quarterfinals (age 12 and under)

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

(7-12-2005)

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
LOWELL (4-1)	1	0	4	1	1	1	8	8	2
DeMotte (3-2)	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	6	5

Little League 12s -Monday, 7-11-2005 - District II quarterfinals, 80 degrees at Highland Little League

WP – Matt Hilbrich (1-0) 2K, 2 walks

LP - John Sobierajski (1-1) 2K, 1 walk (4.7 inn.)

DeMotte (3-2)

Evan DeKock (1B) Triple, run scored

Justin Dexter (RF) Single, walks

Mike Gilley (2B) 2 walks

LOWELL (4-1)

Matthew Hilbrich (P) HR, double, 2 singles, 4 RBIs

Harris Rosenbaum (2B) Single, RBI

Jordan Juarez (SS-P) Double, RBI

HIGHLAND (7-11-2005) When you begin the Little League district playoffs, you hope to reach the championship game with your pitching reasonably intact.

If Lowell's 12-and-under all-star team reached the finals Wednesday night, that goal had been accomplished. That was the major benefit from Monday's 8-1 quarterfinal win over DeMotte at the Highland Little League.

No stress to the pitching staff.

“We've been going one, one and one' said manager Eric Henshilwood, of his habit of using pitchers for one inning to keep them eligible (Little League rules require any pitcher who pitchers more than one inning to miss the next game) throughout the tournament. ”Tonight we used Matt for three innings and then one-one-and one. So we have everyone but Matt tomorrow night.”

'Tomorrow' was a semifinal game against the winner of Monday's Griffith-Highland game. Highland had earlier handed Lowell a 3-1 loss in 'pool play' competition. Highland swept four pool play games while Lowell was 3-1 including wins over Robertsdale 3-0, Hebron 7-0 and Hessville 11-2 on three consecutive days.

The big force on this night was Lowell's least dangerous looking player. Pitcher and No. 3 hitter Matthew Hilbrich did just about everything he could to end DeMotte's stay in the all-star tournament.

Hilbrich pitched three innings, allowing just two hits and went 4-for-4 at the plate including a three-run homer over the centerfield fence. Hilbrich, whose cousin John Hilbrich is an all-star outfielder, had a hand in four different rallies with solid base hits.

“Matt hit the ball pretty well all year, “ said Heinshilwood. “He hit it hard all the time. He just swings through the ball well.”

Matt Hilbrich's single to left scored Cole Midgett to make it 1-0 in the first inning on a humid cloudy early evening.

Lowell (4-1) scored four times in the top of the third after two errors and Midgett's bunt single that filled the bases. Harris Rosenbaum scored a run with a ground ball before Hilbrich lifted a big fly over the center field fence to put Lowell up 5-0.

DeMotte had a runner on base in each of the last four innings but they scored only once against three Lowell relief pitchers. The game ended when DeKock hit a bases loaded sixth inning flyball to the center field fence where Lowell's Cole Midgett made the catch.

“I thought that if anybody was going to make the catch,' said Henshilwood, “that it would be Cole.”

If Lowell reached Wednesday's finals, they also benefited from a fluke District finals tiebreaker. Highland (4-0), won four times in pool play, outscoring four foes 40-1. Dyer (4-0) outscored four foes 55-1 at Whiting in first round action. But the tie breaker that slotted teams in the six-team single-elimination finals was runs allowed per inning.

Because Dyer won three games by the 10-run rule in four innings, they played just 19 innings. Highland played 22 innings and thereby gave up less runs per inning. Dyer was actually penalized for being the better team as Highland was named the No. 1 seed.

Fourth-seeded Lowell's victory over DeMotte drew the No. 1 seed and they were not unhappy it was Highland and not Dyer, which has won nine District II titles in the last 16 years.

“They only beat us 3-1,” said Henshilwood of Highland. “And it was on a three-run homer. One swing. We know we can play with them. We played our heart out.”

District II finals at Highland Little League

JULY 11: LOWELL 8, DeMotte 1, Munster 00, Griffith 00

JULY 12 (Tu) LOWELL (4-1) vs. Highland (4-0)

JULY 12 (Tu) DYER (4-0) vs. Munster (5-0)

JULY 13 (W) Distrrict II title game - 7 p.m.

Sectional (Best of 3) playoff series at Highland Little League

JULY 18 (M) District 1 vs. District 2 (game one) 7 p.m.

JULY 19 (Tu) District 1 vs. District 2 (Game two) 7 p.m.

JULY 20 W) District 1 vs, District 2 (game three) 7 p.m.

DISTRICT NOTES: Lowell has never reached the final game of the District finals and Lowell has never won a district title in the 12-and-under Little League baseball.

There was a difference of opinion Monday night on whether Highland or Dyer was favored to win the District II crown, but the winner will play the District I champion in a three-game series in Highland July 18-20.

The eight-team pool play state finals for 12-year-olds will be held at the Greenwood Little League beginning on Thursday, July 28. Highland is the defending state 12-year-old champion. Dyer is the defending 11-year-old champ.

Highland's new Little League complex is about an eighth of a mile southeast of Highland high school. The fences are 200 feet from the plate at all points. The grass is a little tall which helps bunting teams like Dyer and Lowell.

Austin Magley is the son of Lowell varsity basketball coach Mike Magley. DeMotte's Zach DeFries is the nephew of Hebron boys basketball coach Mike DeFries.