- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,245,340
- Reaction score
- 59
OTTUMWA — In both games, Ottumwa needed just one more batter to reach base to bring the tying run to the plate.
For the Ottumwa 10-year-olds, it was the last chance to keep any hopes of a state championship alive. The Ottumwa 12-year-olds, meanwhile, were simply looking to extend their final night of the season.
Both Ottumwa Little League baseball teams went down swinging on Wednesday, closing out pool play in the Iowa Little League State Tournament. Both Gantz Myers and Witt Stevens, looking for game and season-extending hits, grounded out to the pitching mound for the final out ending the season for Ottumwa's 10 and 12-year-old squads.
LeMars ended any hopes for Ottumwa to compete for the first Little League state baseball title since 1984 in the 10-year-old tournament, winning 6-2 in the first game of Wednesday's pool play action at Kirkland Field. The loss dropped Ottumwa to 2-3 in the 10-year-old state tournament, preventing Ottumwa from a win that could have potentially forged a three-way tie for second place in pool play with Grandview and Central Iowa, giving Ottumwa a chance based on tiebreakers to potentially face Davenport Southeast in Thursday state championship game.
Grandview ultimately secured the meeting with Southeast, winning 13-4 over Central Iowa in what amounted to a state tournament semifinal. Grandview improved to 4-1 in the state tournament and will meet 5-0 Davenport Southeast on Thursday night at Holder Field, the former Ottumwa Midwest diamond, for the 10-year-old Little League state title at 6 p.m.
Ottumwa's 10-year-old squad, made up of players that finished second in the nine-year-old state tournament last summer, officially finished in third place in this year's state tournament winning a tiebreaker between Central Iowa and LeMars for the fewest runs allowed between the teams. Riot Miller's two-run double in the fourth inning provided Ottumwa with the only runs of their final contest.
The Ottumwa 12-year-olds, meanwhile, put together another late comeback in their final state tournament game on Wednesday. Trailing 7-0 against LeMars, Ottumwa scored four times in the final two innings after cutting a six-run deficit against Urbandale on Tuesday down to 8-6 by the end of the contest.
Witt Stevens put Ottumwa on the board in the fifth inning with an RBI single to center, bringing in Kash Stuart pulling Ottumwa within 7-1 heading into the sixth. Four consecutive hits by Kameron Fager, Christian McElroy, Jespen Williams and Beckett Scott cut the lead of LeMars down to 7-2.
Baylen Sitzmann would get the final three outs, preventing Ottumwa from bringing the tying run to the plate. Run-scoring groundouts by Stuart and Conner Moore pulled Ottumwa within 7-4, moving Scott to third, before Sitzmann fielded a ground ball by Stevens and threw to first to end the game and the state tournament leaving both Ottumwa and LeMars with matching 2-3 records.
The Ottumwa 12-year-olds finished fifth overall in the state tournament. Grandview's 12-year-old squad also secured a spot in Thursday's state championship game against Davenport Northwest with a 10-3 win over Urbandale, which will follow the Davenport Southeast-Grandview 10-year-old state title game at Holder Field. The Davenport Northwest-Grandview winner will advance to play in the Midwest Regional Tournament in Whitestown, Indiana beginning on Friday, Aug. 7.
Continue reading...
For the Ottumwa 10-year-olds, it was the last chance to keep any hopes of a state championship alive. The Ottumwa 12-year-olds, meanwhile, were simply looking to extend their final night of the season.
Both Ottumwa Little League baseball teams went down swinging on Wednesday, closing out pool play in the Iowa Little League State Tournament. Both Gantz Myers and Witt Stevens, looking for game and season-extending hits, grounded out to the pitching mound for the final out ending the season for Ottumwa's 10 and 12-year-old squads.
LeMars ended any hopes for Ottumwa to compete for the first Little League state baseball title since 1984 in the 10-year-old tournament, winning 6-2 in the first game of Wednesday's pool play action at Kirkland Field. The loss dropped Ottumwa to 2-3 in the 10-year-old state tournament, preventing Ottumwa from a win that could have potentially forged a three-way tie for second place in pool play with Grandview and Central Iowa, giving Ottumwa a chance based on tiebreakers to potentially face Davenport Southeast in Thursday state championship game.
Grandview ultimately secured the meeting with Southeast, winning 13-4 over Central Iowa in what amounted to a state tournament semifinal. Grandview improved to 4-1 in the state tournament and will meet 5-0 Davenport Southeast on Thursday night at Holder Field, the former Ottumwa Midwest diamond, for the 10-year-old Little League state title at 6 p.m.
Ottumwa's 10-year-old squad, made up of players that finished second in the nine-year-old state tournament last summer, officially finished in third place in this year's state tournament winning a tiebreaker between Central Iowa and LeMars for the fewest runs allowed between the teams. Riot Miller's two-run double in the fourth inning provided Ottumwa with the only runs of their final contest.
The Ottumwa 12-year-olds, meanwhile, put together another late comeback in their final state tournament game on Wednesday. Trailing 7-0 against LeMars, Ottumwa scored four times in the final two innings after cutting a six-run deficit against Urbandale on Tuesday down to 8-6 by the end of the contest.
Witt Stevens put Ottumwa on the board in the fifth inning with an RBI single to center, bringing in Kash Stuart pulling Ottumwa within 7-1 heading into the sixth. Four consecutive hits by Kameron Fager, Christian McElroy, Jespen Williams and Beckett Scott cut the lead of LeMars down to 7-2.
Baylen Sitzmann would get the final three outs, preventing Ottumwa from bringing the tying run to the plate. Run-scoring groundouts by Stuart and Conner Moore pulled Ottumwa within 7-4, moving Scott to third, before Sitzmann fielded a ground ball by Stevens and threw to first to end the game and the state tournament leaving both Ottumwa and LeMars with matching 2-3 records.
The Ottumwa 12-year-olds finished fifth overall in the state tournament. Grandview's 12-year-old squad also secured a spot in Thursday's state championship game against Davenport Northwest with a 10-3 win over Urbandale, which will follow the Davenport Southeast-Grandview 10-year-old state title game at Holder Field. The Davenport Northwest-Grandview winner will advance to play in the Midwest Regional Tournament in Whitestown, Indiana beginning on Friday, Aug. 7.
Continue reading...
