Dyer exits Little League all stars playoffs in 17-2 loss to Munster Majors (age 12 and under)

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith 

(7-12-2004)

Saturday, July 10, 2004 - Little League Majors (12 & Under) District II all-star playoff quarterfinals

DYER (7-10-2004) - Dyer's boys probably aren't going to waste much time blaming themselves for the 2004 exit from this year's Little League state tournament. No one play made the difference on this summer day. Winners of nine sectional titles in 15 years, Dyer made a four-inning exit from the District II all-star playoffs Saturday with a 17-2 quarterfinal loss to powerful Munster.

The all-stars from the tradition-rich host league were never in the game after an eight-run Munster second inning. Dyer committed nine errors and got only three base hits, one a two-run homer by Derrick Bremer. Munster pitcher Kevin Watterson, a 5-9 right-hander, did not allow a run or walk a batter in three innings as Munster's 12s (4-0), who were state finalists as 10-and-under all-stars in 2002, coasted to an easy win. Munster knew they had a good team but manager Wes Lukoshus was surprised.

"With the great reputation Dyer has," he said. "No, we never expected anything like this. This is an athletic group. They went to the Little League state finals two years ago and they were state basketball champions in fifth grade and were third in the state in sixth grade."

Dyer committed four errors to make all eight runs in the second inning unearned. But the highlight of the day was substitute Michael Erwin, 5-4 Munster infielder. Erwin pinch hit for starter Matt Brozovic and hit a three-run homer to make it 8-0 in the second inning. Brozovic re-entered the game according to Little League rules, but with the score 14-0, manager Lukoshus batted Erwin again and he hit another three-run homer. The score was 17-0 before Dyer scored on Bremer's opposite-field home run in the late afternoon sun at the old Dyer Little League field.

"He's a good hitter," said Lukoshus when asked why Erwin didn't start. "They're all all-stars."

Dyer split four games in all-star play, losing 3-2 to the Highland squad that was expected to meet Musnster Monday night (7 p.m.) for the District II title. The last time Dyer was eliminated at the district level was in 2002, when Munster won the championship. Munster advanced to the state finals at both the 10 and 12 year-old levels in 2002.

LITTLE NOTES:  The right-handed hitting Bremer's home run hit his fathers' truck which was parked just beyond the right field fence. The odds of that occurring in an all-star game are so high you can't even calculate them.

Munster and Dyer should not have been meeting in a quarterfinal game because neither should have been seeded that low.

"It comes down to runs allowed per innings played," said Munster manager Wes Lukoshus, who certainly was not complaining about his team's fate after pool play ended.

"We beat two teams in four innings (slaughter rule) so we played less innings (15) than some teams. That, actually hurt us," said Lukoshus.

Fourth seed Dyer allowed four runs in 18 innings while fifth seeded Munster allowed five runs in 15 innings. DeMotte allowed five runs,

but played 17 innings. That got them a higher seed even though they didn't play as well. Lowell allowed two runs in 17 innings and claimed the top seed as a first-round bye in the seven team finals. Lowell was in the same pool as Munster but didn't play the same three opponents and the two teams did not meet.

"I'd like it the way it used to be," said Lukoshus, referring to the old double-elimination format. "But you have to beat everybody eventually anyway."

2004 Little League  All-Star Playoffs

MAJORS (ages 11-12)  Pool play

District II Finals

MAJORS (ages 11-12) at DYER -Single-elimination

Sectional playoff series - Best of 3 games - at East Chicago

Majors STATE FINALS - Ages 11-12 - 8 teams

Copyright © 2004 USA-365.com and Meyer Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp.  All rights reserved.
Revised: July 12, 2004.