CRNLL Coon Rapids National Little League: All Stars 11's
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BRACKET
First bracket game 7-17 at 8;00 VS Crystal. Win 7-1
The Nats came into this game well rested and with a desire to get out in front early, and stay there. Noah Koss started the game picking up the first two of his 9 strikeouts of the game. A throwing error allowed one run, but that was all Crystal could manage against a much improved defense that only allowed one hit on the evening, and permitted runners to be in scoring position twice. The crazy legged fireman, Mason Price, came in to relieve Koss in the 6th after he ran out of pitches. Price got in a bind with bases loaded and two outs, but flipped a come-backer over to first for the final out.
On the offensive side, the Elevens got off to a fast start with Jaret Cleveland and Noah Koss getting doubles in the first, and Tyler Wojciechowski bringing them both in with a hard single to center field. Zach Benson got stranded on base in the second after his single, and then the base paths got crowded in the third. Jaret Cleveland swatted a single to left, and was brought in with another Noah Koss double to right. A miss played fly to left field got Tyler Wojciechowski on, and was followed by a patient Michael Elson being granted a walk, which allowed Aric Pask to pick up a 2 RBI single. Hunter Johnson, unable to lay down a bunt on his previous attempt, opted for the long ball to left for a double. The fourth inning saw Noah Koss hit his second homer of the post season over the center field wall, while Tyler Wojciechowski added another single. This concluded the offensive show for the evening, as the fifth inning saw the National batters make a hasty exit.
Second bracket game 7-18 vs Chanhassen . Win 7-6
The Elevens looked to claim their second victory of tournament play by facing a very good, fundamentally sound Chanhassan squad. Andrew Fedge started the Nats off on the mound, but found the going rough, and never found his spot on what appeared to be an ever expanding and contracting strike zone. Fedge allowed four quick scores, including a dinger to the third batter. He was soon replaced by ace reliever Mason Price, who pitched a workman like 4 innings, giving up one run on two hits. Price’s final two innings were nail biters, highlighted by back-to-back bases loaded scenarios. Daniel Jacob took over in the 5th, allowing an additional run, but keeping the ball on the ground and letting the defense do their job. Tyler Wojciechowski closed the game, while striking out one and getting some help from his defense.
The Nat’s offense made a late start of it, perhaps affected by the unseasonably cold weather. But two innings produced just 2 hits, a double by Noah Koss and a single by Zach Benson, and nothing to show for it on the score board. But the bats got going in the 3rd, Noah Koss dropped a dieing quail to center, just over the second baseman, moving Tyler Brick to third. Tyler Wojciechowski hit a deep single to left center, bringing in Koss and Brick. Daniel Jacob followed up with a double, but Wojciechowski was thrown out at home to end the rally. The 4th inning was quiet, although Hunter Johnson demonstrated his bunting technique for the only hit of the inning. The 5th inning found the Nats loading the bases after singles by Wojciechowski and Daniel Jacob. Patience at the plate paid off as the next two batters were walked, resulting in a score. But with the Elevens down by 3 going into the final inning, patience was no longer an option. Jaret Cleveland started the hitting with a gapper to left for a single. Noah Koss picked up a suspicious walk on his next at bat. Tyler Wojciechowski fell victim to a questionable call for the second out of the inning, leaving Daniel Jacob with the task of bringing Cleveland and Koss home. Jacob watched as the failing Chanhassan pitcher tossed two balls, waiting for his pitch. And that’s what he got, putting one up and over to knot the score at 6 a piece. With the pressure off, next up was Tate Andrews. After sitting on three balls and dispatching four foul balls, Andrews reached out and touched somebody with a walk off homer, well past the fence, to end the game and advance to a Monday night game.Third bracket game 7-20 6:30 vs Robbinsdale . Win 9-4
The Elevens were looking forward to exact some revenge on Robbinsdale after falling to them earlier in pool play. Tyler Wojciechowski started on the mound, and almost pitched a complete game. Despite giving up a home run to the first batter, and a total of 3 runs in the first inning, Wojciechowski was unfazed. He worked through the next 2 innings, facing 9 batters, thanks to some solid pitching and an aggressive defense that even managed to turn a double play! The fourth inning resulted in one run, but Wojciechowski picked up his 3rd K of the night, as well as tagging out a runner on a passed ball at the plate. The 5th inning saw Wojciechowski sit down two more batters, but the pitch count continued to climb as the inning ended. By the 6th inning, Tyler had 11 pitches and 3 batters remaining. He faced 3 batters, but a full count walk of the second batter, sandwiched by K’s, meant the closing duty would fall to someone else. Daniel Jacob came in with two outs, walked the first batter while shaking off some rust, and pitched the final batter into a routine ground ball to end the game without incident.
The Nats were eager to get their offense in gear, and proceeded to bring Noah Koss in to score on a Tate Andrews single, but a tag at home on Tyler Wojciechowski ended the inning. The second inning produced a three up and three down scenario, as the Nats fans became anxious to mount a serious threat to a potent Robbinsdale offense. Those anxieties were eased in the 4th, as Noah Koss stroked a double to right field, moving Jaret Cleveland to third. Tyler Wojciechowski caught the short stop sleeping, dropping one in behind him, and scoring Cleveland. Daniel Jacob hit a nice gapper to left, scoring Koss. A patient Michael Elsen got the bases loaded with a walk. Zach Benson stepped to the plate, looking forward to the opportunity to collect the first Grand Slam of the tournament for the Nats. And collect he did, as he bashed a rainbow far over the left-center field fence, and dashed around the bases, simultaneously dashing the hopes of the Robbinsdale team. Mason Price followed with a single, but the opposing pitcher had no intention of allowing this inning to go on. The 4th inning passed in a blink of an eye, as the Robbinsdale pitcher tossed just 5 pitches to end the inning. The 5th inning got off to a good start, with a single by Daniel Jacob, a walk by Tate Andrews, and another single by Zach Benson, making the bases loaded. But Mason Price hit a come-backer to the pitcher for a quick out at home, and Hunter Johnson got hit by a pitch, but apparently not hard enough to earn a trip to first, only to be robbed by an outstanding catch by the second baseman to keep the runners at bay. With two outs, and the bases loaded, Jacob Lewer came to the plate, hoping to replicate Zach Benson’s earlier performance. But a pop up, behind the short stop and a mile high, proved to be too difficult to handle, as Elson and Benson crossed the plate before the ball hit the ground, resulting in two runs. Jaret Cleveland took a hard fast ball to the kidney that’s sure to leave a mark, to get the bases loaded again, unfortunately an outstanding play by the right fielder took away a would’ve-been foul ball from Noah Koss. But those two runs, along with the 7 previous runs, were enough to put the Nationals out of reach and into Wednesday night’s championship game.
Championship Game Wed 7-22 6:30 vs Robbinsdale Lost 22-10
Championship Game Thur. 7-23 6:30 vs Robbinsdale
POOL
First pool game 7-10 8:00 vs CR American Win 5-2
The Eleven’s began the tournament facing cross-town foe CR American on a warm evening with storms threatening in the distance. Tyler Wojciechowski took the mound to start the game, racking up the first two of his 10 strike outs of the night. Solid pitching, and a tight defense, kept hopes of a shut out alive through five innings. An error plagued 6th inning yielded 2 runs for CR American, but it was too little, too late.
On the offensive side, the Elevens got off to a slow start in the first, but posted a crooked number with 2 runs as a result of some smart and aggressive base running by Daniel Jacob and Zach Benson. Things were quiet for the next two innings, as CR American played some tight defense of their own. But the bats came to life in the 5th, adding 3 more runs, thanks to singles by Jake Kellner, Tate Andrews, Tyler Wojciechowski, and a perfectly laid bunt by Hunter Johnson.
Second pool game 7-11 1:30 vs Blaine American Win 15-2
The Saturday matinee game pitted the Elevens against the team on the other side of the river, Brooklyn Center. Hunter Johnson took the mound in what would be a run shortened game. Pitching 3-1/3 innings, Hunter collected 4 strikeouts on 45 pitches, giving up 2 runs until being relieved by Mason Price, who sat down the last to batters with a couple of K’s of his own.
But the story of this game was the offensive explosion by the Elevens, with 10 hits and 15 runs, the score book had more black diamonds than a Colorado ski resort! The first inning produced only one run, a Tyler Wojciechowski double that brought in Noah Koss after a double of his own. The second inning featured an abundance of runs, with almost everyone getting two at bats, and the boys either hitting or being hit. The highlight was a home run by Noah Koss, the team’s first of the tournament. Andrew Fedje and Daniel Jacob each had a single, Zach Benson added two, while Aric Pask had a double, Tyler Wojciechowski had a couple of two baggers, as did Noah Koss along with his homer.
Third pool game 7-12 9:30 vs Robbinsdale Lost 11-15
The Sunday morning special featured the Elevens facing their perennial rival, Robbinsdale. Noah Koss started off on the mound for the Nats, pitching to a Robbinsdale team that wasn’t afraid to swing the bat, giving up two homers resulting in 4 runs in the first inning, before settling down in the second. The next three innings featured some shoddy fielding and resulted in 10 more runs, including 2 homers, before Koss ran out of pitches, being replaced by Daniel Jacob with one batter to go in the 5th. Jacob finished the game with the team giving up one more run.
But the Elevens had some offense of their own. Tyler Wojciechowski had a two run single that scored Jaret Cleveland and Noah Koss in the first inning. Robbinsdale played stingey defense in the next two innings, before falling apart in the 4th. Hunter Johnson got things going, laying down what has now become one of his trademark bunts for a single. Two more hits were added by Tate Andrews and Mason Price, but 2 walks and 3 errors resulted in 6 National runs. The 5th inning produced 3 more National scores, with a single by Zach Benson, and doubles by Noah Koss and Daniel Jacob. Being down 15 to 11, and one inning to go, the Nats were eager to step up to plate and make something happen, but Keenan Kuhn took the mound for Robbinsdale and set the last three batters down with some help from his team and 5 pitches.
Fourth pool game 7-14 6:00 vs Upper Tonka Win 12-8
The Elevens were bound and determined to prevent a repeat from the previous days game, and looked to score early and often against a feisty Upper Tonka team. Andrew Fedje hurled the first 4 innings, and most of the fifth, stymieing the Upper Tonka batters through four, holding them scoreless. But an error filled fifth gave the Tonks a much needed 7 runs to get back in the game. Tyler Wojciechowski came in to relieve a frustrated Fedje, tossing five pitches to end the inning. But his work wasn’t over, as the Tonka bats came to life, getting 3 hits and 2 runs in a hurry. Mason Price got the nod then, and picked up a strike out, gave up another hit, but ended the game with a routine grounder to short.
Jaret Cleveland scored in the first on what was one of the many Upper Tonka errors in the game. The second inning saw a patient Nats team turn two walks into runs as Hunter Johnson poked a double into center field. And Andrew Fedje brought him in on his next at bat. After a quiet third inning, the Elevens got things going in a big way, starting with a Hunter Johnson signature bunt. Jacob Lewer brought in a two of his 5 RBIs on the day, while Noah Koss picked up a single and a RBI of his own. Jake Kellner added an RBI double to the onslaught as the inning came to an end. But while the 5th inning belonged to Upper Tonka, the Nats added some runs of their own. Andrew Fedje hit a single to deep center, putting Hunter Johnson in scoring position. But even Jacob Lewer didn’t know he was in scoring position as he stood at home plate, waiting to hit his first 4-bagger of the post season on a long shot over the center field fence. With the offensive show over, the Elevens took their foot off the gas, and coasted the rest of the way home, much to the chagrin of their coaches!
