Munster holds off LOFS 17-12

in Sectional Playoff 'classic' (age 10 and under)

A USA-365.com Special Report By Mark Smith

(7-26-2005)

Team (Record) / Inning	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
MUNSTER (7-2)	6	0	3	3	1	4	17	12	7
LOFS (6-3)	3	4	0	0	0	5	12	12	3

Little League Minors (age 10) - Sunday, 7-24-2005 - Sectional Playoff game, 94 degrees & humid at Crown Point

WP – Nate Bubacz (3-0) CG, 7K, 2 walks, 116 pitches

LP - Zack Slicker (2-1) 5K, 5 walks, (3 inn.)

MUNSTER (7-2)

Mike Mueller (1B) Double, single, RBI

Mike Poulos (LF) 2 singles, walk, 2 RBIs

Nate Bubacz (P) 2 singles, 2 RBIs

Chad Mateja (SS) 2 doubles, 2 RBIs

Alex Del Rio (Catcher) 2 singles, 2 walks, HBP

Danny Kotfer (2B) 2 singles, walk

LOFS (6-3)

Max Everaert (P-SS) 3 singles, RBI

Tommy Burton (P-SS) Double, single, RBI

Zack Slicker (P-1B) Double single, walk, RBI

Kyle Erickson (3B) Double, single, 3 RBIs

Dean Hill (Catcher) 2 singles, 2 RBIs

Sectional I MINORS (Age-10) Championship Series

7-22-2005 (Fri) Lakes of the Four Seasons (LOFS) 10, Munster 5

7-23-2005 (Sat) Munster 6, Lakes of the Four Seasons (LOFS) 0

7-24-2005 (Sun) Munster 17, Lakes of the Four Seasons (LOFS) 12

CROWN POINT (7-24-2005) In 10-year-old Little League, it's not always the best team that wins, it's the one that survives.

How can the 10-year-old Munster all-stars team selected after the first 10-year-old Munster all-star squad, lead 17-7 in the sixth inning of the final game of the Sectional One playoff series?

How can Lakes of the Four Seasons, down 10 runs, rip off five hits in a row, score five times and come within striking distance? Did I say that this was 10-year-old Little League?

The wildest division in all of baseball lived up to its billing late Sunday as underdog Munster beat double underdog Lakes of the Four Seasons 17-12 in game three of the Sectional championship Little League series at the Crown Point Little League.

Munster's No. 2 10-year-old team, the team selected after Munster's top team was picked, advances to pool play in the 2005 state finals in Monticello Thursday (7-28-2005) afternoon.

“They say that maybe we should play the No. 1 team,” smiled Munster manager Marty Del Rio. “But I don't think that's going to happen. This just goes to show that it's not all ability. We just bunt and play good defense.”

LOFS manager Brian Hill lauded Munster's hitting and their pitcher, Nate Bubacz, who went all the way on a 94-degree evening.

“They won the game with their bats,” said Hill. “They didn't make an error the first two games but tonight, we couldn't stop them. And after we got those seven runs (in the first two innings), he (Bubacz) started throwing a lot of junk. In our (District I ) game against State Park (Chesterton), all their guys threw hard. He (Bubacz) did what he had to so.”

Munster, which lost 10-5 to LOFS in game one of the sectional playoff series on Friday, scored six times in the first inning. But LOFS, who lost 6-0 in game two Saturday, rallied to lead 7-6 after two innings.

Though Munster made seven errors, the biggest moment of the game could have been a LOFS' error. With runners at second and third and two out, Munster's Cory Soto hit a hard ground ball to the right of LOFS second baseman Jake Wright, who could not stop it. The bouncing ball also escaped LOFS right fielder Brandon Barnes. By the time the ball got back to the infield, two runs had scored and Munster led 9-7.

Munster, which lost a first round pool play game to Dyer, added three more two out runs in the fourth inning on a hit by Nate Bubacz and bases loaded walks to Mike Poulos and Danny Kotfer.

Bubacz, who gave up the seven early runs, settled down to shut out LOFS in the third, fourth and fifth.

“I think that was the key to the game,” said manager Del Rio. “when we shut them down for three innings. He wasn't coming out. They hit him but he hung in there. He wasn't walking any body. We just didn't make some plays.”

This was a wonderfully twisted playoff series that LOFS dominated in game one, Munster ruled in game two and ended only after 29 runs had scored in the classic old Crown Point Little League Sunday night.

The true spirit of the Little League came out with the score 17-7 and only three outs left. The LOFS followers cheered as Tommy Burton singled to center and Zack Slicker singled off the short stop's glove. The noise got louder and louder as Alex Nickla slapped an infield hit and Dean Hill grounded an RBI single to center.

When Kyle Erickson lined a two-run double to left field, the score was 17-11 and it appeared that if the No. 8 and No. 9 hitters could reach base, that the CP sister league could mount an impossible comeback.

“I thought so, too,” said Hill. “I don't think they had anybody else to (pitch) go to.”

But Bubacz struck out Cole Cooper and Jason Sawa before Max Everaert grounded an RBI single to center. Jake Wright reached base on Munster's seventh error, but Burton was called out on strikes to end the 2 ½ hour game.

“We finally got them to lay back on the ball,” said Hill, as his team played on the CP Little League field throwing ice around after the game. “Have you ever seen a team this happy after a loss? We had fun and that's what we wanted to do.”

Munster had just as much fun and they hope to let the good times roll this weekend in Monticello. They don't have the one hard-throwing pitcher who typically dominates the Little League state finals but they are sound defensively (despite the error total Sunday) and they can bunt the ball.

“We did a lot of fundamental things,” said Del Rio, whose older son Adam was a Little League and a football star for Munster high school. “We bunt a lot and we steal bases. And if we can catch you sleeping, we take advantage it.”

SECTIONAL NOTES: Lakes of the Four Seasons draws from the southeast portion of Crown Point and a slice of northwest Porter County.

“We're one of the smallest leagues,” said Hill. “We're basically Four Seasons and we get a few from just around the perimeter. Most of our kids are Porter Township (Boone Grove high area) guys.

Two of the LOFS players are only nine years old (Max Everaert and Brandon Barnes) and can be named 10-and-under all-stars again in 2006.

Munster, which stole seven bases Sunday night, has never won a Little League title at any level.

Tommy Burton's older brother is a sophomore wide receiver at Andrean.