| Team (Record) / Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
| DYER (7-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| New Albany Twp (11-0) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | - | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| Team (Record) / Inning | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
| (FW) Elmhurst (7-3) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 3 |
| DYER (7-2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | - | 11 | 11 | 3 |
Little
League (age 11-12) State Finals - Pool Play, 7-26-2003
78 degrees at Wabash Little League
WP- Matt Philbin (3-0) CG, 9Ks, 2 walks
LP - Ronnie Williams (3-1) CG, 6Ks, 7 walks
(Fort
Wayne) Elmhurst
7 singles, double,
HBP
Sean Musi (E) Double, walk
Brooks Doak (E) Single, walk
Ronnie Williams (E) Single, RBI
DYER
3 doubles, 2
singles, 2 HBPs
Danny Manick (DYER) Double, 3 RBI
Matt Philbin (DYER) Double single, 2 RBIs
Kyle Sheffel (DYER) 2 walks, HBP
Jimmy Wanda (DYER) Double, single 3 RBIs
WABASH
(7-26-2003) - Dyer did not reach the championship game of the 2003 Indiana
State Little League tournament over the weekend but, in the years to come, they
will feel like they did.
Reaching the semifinals against undefeated New Albany Township, the Dyer 12s met
their match figuratively and literally, losing the state semifinal 2-1 at the
Wabash Little League.
Throughout the state tournament, Dyer had been the best team on the field. Even when Crown Point rallied from a 5-1 deficit for a 6-5 win in the District II finals, or when Anderson's Brooklyn all-stars rallied from a 9-2 deficit in the opening state finals game for a 10-9 win, you knew Dyer was the better team.
That was not the case Saturday.
New Albany star Rolondan (Duece) Finch was overwhelming, striking out 11 and holding Dyer's high powered offense to just three hits in a classic state finals confrontation.
In front of small but noisy cheering sections from opposite parts of the state, Finch and 6-1 Dyer right-hander Danny Manick battled on even terms until Jason Dome's long flyball dropped in right center field for a double and Ethan Cook followed with a long home run into the parking lot beyond left field.
Manning no-hit New Albany (11-0) the rest of the way, but three Dyer rally attempts fell one run short in a battle of right-handed power pitchers that had onlookers guessing that they were watching the real state finals.
"We knew it would come down to us and them," said Dyer manager Dave Wanda. "We'd been talking to their coaches all week and they knew they'd eventually see us."
That was the state (title) game right there. Danny pitched a great game. But you are going to have to have some quick hands to hit him."
'Him' is Finch, reportedly the future of prep sports in New Albany, a suburban Louisville town in deep southwest Indiana's Floyd County. The 5-9, 170-pound 12-year-old, a four sport (baseball, basketball, track and football) phenom overpowered Dyer's hitters with sinking and rising fastballs to end the Lake County boys bid for their league's third state 12-and-under championship.
Finch was extremely intimidating for the Little League level. He may have thrown one breaking ball among his 91 pitches. Everything else was a hard fastball. Most pitches that were not strikes were very close and, other than Matt Philbin (an RBI single and two walks), nobody from Dyer could do any damage.
As scary as Dyer's 6-1 Manick and Philbin were to region foes, in Finch, they met someone who was even more physically impressive. Finch, at times, raced around the infield on bunts and high hoppers, fielding everyone's position. And baseball is not his primary sport.
"Some people would say basketball," Finch said later.
Dyer might differ. This was the only pitcher they didn't hit in 10 state tournament games. In an early Saturday evening game in humid conditions, New Albany manager John Schuler hinted he moved Finch up to face Dyer. The right-hander pitched three innings in New Albany's first state finals game on Thursday and was being held for the title game.
Manick had pitched in Dyer's opening finals' game, a 10-9 loss to Anderson's Brooklyn Little League. The Dyer 12s led 9-2 in the fifth inning of that game before collapsing on defense. In pool play, that loss was not crucial. Dyer rallied to smoke West Terre Haute 13-1 and Fort Wayne Elmhurst 11-4 to reach the semifinals as the second-ranked team in their pool.
Dyer had to play New Albany in the semifinals instead of the finals but that may have been irrelevant because, once Brownsburg was eliminated, all signs pointed to a matchup of these two leagues, separated by almost five hours of I-65.
New Albany swept pool play including an opening 4-2 victory over four-time state champion Brownsburg, a game won by Finch. New Albany rolled over 2001 10-year-old champion Middlebury in their third pool play game.
Dyer
lost 10-9 to Brooklyn, a game Wanda called, 'The most shocking I have ever been
involved in in 10 years as a coach.' But Dyer responded with must-win
victories over West Terre Haute Friday and (Fort Wayne) Elmhurst Saturday
morning.
Dyer had out scored nine all-star foes by a combined score of 97-30, but Finch
struck out six of the first nine hitters he faced. The third inning told
the tale for the winners. With one out, Jason Dome lifted a fly ball back near
the fence in right center. Dyer's Steve Stepnoski ran towards the ball but
seemed to shy away from the fence and wasn't able to grab it. Cook's home
run may have carried 300 feet to straight-away left.
Dome's
ball was probably not one that Stepnoski should have caught but it was one he
could have caught. Whether that would've made a difference in how Manick
pitched Cook is unknown.
Schuler said, "Danny told me he just got a pitch up too high. He's
not a '2' hitter. Sometimes if you don't move the good hitters up in the order
they'll only get two or three at bats."
The real story was Finch against Dyer's batters. In the second time through the order, Finch struck out four and Dyer got a bunt single from Joey Dicco. In the sixth inning, with the pitches mounting for Finch. Dyer appeared to be closing in.
Danny Manick sliced a hard grounder directly to New Albany first baseman Brendan Quinkert for the first out. Philbin lined a solid single that got past center fielder Ethan Cook, putting a runner at second base. Niel Koricanac sliced another ground ball to Quinkert at first base for the second out. Tim Shanks, who pitched a complete game victory and hit a two-run homer in Dyer's 13-1 win over West Terre Haute, chopped a high bouncing ball 20 feet in the air. Finch roamed back off the mound and collided with second baseman Jordy Martin. Philbin scored from third base to make it 2-1.
But Finch struck out Michael Schneider on three swinging strikes to end the game.
"We were trying," Wanda said. "It was just one pitch that bat us. And, actually, if we catch that ball in center field, we tie it up in the sixth. And then the managers have to make a decision."
No pitcher can go more than six innings in a Little League all-star game. Both teams would have had to go to a pitcher who has not pitched more than one inning in the previous two games and that probably would've meant a pitcher who hadn't pitched in the finals.
"We
tried," said Wanda. "If one of those balls (the sliced grounders to
first) hits the base in the sixth inning, we're still playing."
LITTLE NOTES: Due to the awkward hurry-up format, the final
pool play game and the semifinals occurred on the same day. Dyer beat Elmhurst
11-4 in a game that ended at noon and drove 40 minutes to their hotel in
Warsaw. "There was no place we could stay in Wabash," said Wanda.
"The places we could stay were not in good condition. I don't think the format hurt us. We had about an hour to relax."
Nobody liked the two games in one day format. "I don't think it's legal," said a Brooklyn coach. Little League rules say you can only have two games in one day on the final day of the tournament and that goes back to the old double-elimination format."
"This tournament ran you out of pitching," said a New Albany coach. "The two guys (starting pitchers) you used today (Saturday) are out for the championship. And the guy you used (started) yesterday is also out. You're playing for the state title with your fourth starter."
In the Little League, anyone who pitches more than one inning, is out of the next game and, in a new rule instituted this year, anyone who pitches more than three innings is out for one game and two days.
"A lot of us managers have to do a lot of things we don't want to," said Schueler.
Finch is reportedly one of the state's best 7th-grade basketball players.
New Albany high school, a traditional basketball power would be overjoyed if they were sure that Finch was coming there.
"I don't know where I'm going," Finch said. "There are some private schools I'm interested in."
Clarksville Providence and Graceland Christian are nearby.
Four-time defending state champion Brownsburg screwed up in their bid for a fifth. They held their best pitcher out of game one, used him only for an inning in game two, lost both games and were eliminated.
Brooklyn is a consolidation of three Little Leagues (Franklin, Erskine and Meadowbrook) in Anderson and this was the leagues' first state finals.
In 1997, the team Dyer met in the championship round of the then-double-elimination state finals, was New Albany.
"My shortstop (Graham Brown), his dad was the manager of that team," said Schueler. "His older brother was the star pitcher on that team. Dyer gave them their first loss, they beat Dyer in the championship round and then Dyer turned around and beat them in the final game."
This very Dyer team, as 10-year-olds in 2001, swept their pool in the state finals in Dyer before New Albany popped up again.
"We beat them 5-0," said Schueler, "and then Middlebury beat us in the title game."
Dyer's 10-year-olds moved within one win of the league's fifth state title in the 'minors' (10 and under) division with a 3-1 win Saturday over Seymour.
In pool play, Dyer had beaten Terre Haute South 15-6, (Fort Wayne) Times Corner 4-3, and (South Bend) Chet Waggoner 11-1. Dyer was 11-0 going into Sunday's championship game, a rematch with Times Corner.
"Cody Dykema did a great job," said Dyer's 10 coach Bill McDermott. "He was fantastic today. The boys were in a close game and I don't think they liked it."
In the earlier game with Times Corner, McDermott said, "We led 4-1 in the sixth inning and they got a couple of cheap runs after I put in some substitutes. I think we're in good shape."
MAJORS
(ages 11-12)
SECTIONAL
2 Playoff series in GRIFFITH (game one) July 18
DYER 4, Hobart 3
SECTIONAL 2 Playoff series in GRIFFITH (game two) July 19
DYER 10, Hobart 0 (4 innings)
DYER goes to
the 56th Indiana state finals at the Wabash, Ind. Little League)
POOL
PLAY - 2003 State finals
Round
1 (7-24-3) in Wabash
(Anderson) Brooklyn 10, DYER 9
(Fort Wayne) Elmhurst 9, West Terre Haute 5
New Albany 4, Brownsburg 2
Middlebury 5, Hartford City 1
Round 2
(7-25-3) in Wabash
DYER 13, West Terre Haute 1
Brooklyn 11, Elmhurst 3
New Albany 11, Hartford City 7
Middlebury 2, Brownsburg 1
Round 3
(7-26-3) in Wabash
DYER 11, Elmhurst 3
Brooklyn 7, West Terre Haute 3
New Albany 10, Middlebury 6
Brownsburg 5, Hartford City 0
Semifinals
(7-27-3) in Wabash
Brooklyn
4, Middlebury 2
New Albany Township 2, DYER 1
State
Championship (7-28-3) in Wabash
New
Albany (11-0) vs. Brooklyn (8-0)
* Winner advances to the six-team Great Lakes Regional at the Central States
Little League complex in Indianapolis on Thursday, July 31
Indiana
State Champions, 1990-present
2003
- New Albany Township or (Anderson) Brooklyn
2002 - Brownsburg
2001 - Brownsburg
2000 - Brownsburg
1999
- Brownsburg
1998 - Terre Haute North
1997 - DYER
1996 - Time Corners
American (Fort Wayne)
1995 - CROWN POINT
1994 - Anderson
Shadyside
1993 - DYER
1992 - South Bend South
East
1991 - Time Corners
National (Fort Wayne)
1990 - George Rogers
Clark National (Jeffersonville)
Copyright © 2003 USA-365.com and Meyer
Multimedia Services, a division of Meyer Broadcasting Corp. All rights
reserved.
Revised: July 10, 2004.