Cal Ripken District 6 Commissioner Dan Welch (right) hands the first-place plaque for the 12-and-under baseball tournament to Osawatomie coach Jack Davis following the team’s 12-2 win in four innings over Emporia on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by David Wolman)
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Marching On To State
Osawatomie 12-U Baseball Team Dominates District 6 Ripken Tournament
By David Wolman, davidwolman@miconews.com
It was a rather subdued celebration for the Osawatomie 12-and-under baseball team.
Part of it was the respect they had for their opponent, Emporia. The other part of it is knowing the task that lies ahead later this week — the Cal Ripken state tournament.
“We’ve got to play on down the road. I don’t like to see the kids get too carried away,” coach Jack Davis said. “(Emporia) came here to win, and they didn’t, so I don’t want to degrade them by getting too carried away.”
But Davis promised there will be at least some type of celebration this week, especially for the way his team dominated last weekend’s 12-and-under Cal Ripken District 6 Baseball Tournament.
“We’ll have some type of celebration, don’t you worry,” Davis said following his team’s 12-2 win in four innings over Emporia on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon at the Karl E. Cole Sports Complex.
Osawatomie advances to the 12-and-under state tournament, which will be played Friday through Monday in Lyons, Kan. They will open play in the double elimination tournament at noon Friday against Stevens County, the District 1 winner.
Osawatomie made its path to the state tournament look easy.
Following a first-round bye in the tournament, Osawatomie beat Fort Scott 21-0 in the second round.
That set the stage for Sunday’s championship game, and Osawatomie picked up right where the team had left off.
Devan Dozier led off the bottom half of the first inning with a single. He then stole second base before advancing to third on a wild pitch. He proceeded to score on an error for a 1-0 Osawatomie lead. Jordan Horstick added an RBI groundout later in the inning for a 2-0 Osawatomie lead after one inning.
Back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Mike Pursley and Dozier in the second increased Osawatomie’s lead to 4-0.
That was more than enough support for Horstick, named the Most Valuable Player of the game for Osawatomie.
He worked the corners of the plate well, baffling Emporia’s batters for most of the afternoon. He retired the first six batters he faced, including the last five by strikeout.
“He hits the target really well,” Davis said.
Horstick allowed only two runs and struck out 10 in a complete-game effort. Both of those runs he allowed came in the fourth and cut Osawatomie’s lead to 4-2.
Following that half inning, the Osawatomie coaches gathered their team in the dugout to get them refocused.
““We knew that if we kept hitting the ball, things would open up,” Davis said.
What followed resembled Osawatomie’s offensive display in their outburst against Fort Scott.
Osawatomie batted around in the bottom of third, scoring eight times to put the game out of reach.
After the first three Osawatomie batters reached base, an error allowed the first Osawatomie run of the inning to score. Drew Beckwith then hit a two-run triple over the head of Emporia’s left fielder. That made it 6-2 Osawatomie. A fielder’s choice, an RBI double, a two-run single and two errors later, Osawatomie had a 12-2 lead.
“We hit the heck out of the ball,” Davis said.
Members of the Osawatomie 12-and-under baseball team are Dozier, Cole Rayl, Devon Ayres, Horstick, Jordan Smith, Triston Davis, Luke Wilson, Beckwith, Mike Pursley, Jeramy Criddle, Taylor Serafin and Andrew Dees.
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Part of it was the respect they had for their opponent, Emporia. The other part of it is knowing the task that lies ahead later this week — the Cal Ripken state tournament.
“We’ve got to play on down the road. I don’t like to see the kids get too carried away,” coach Jack Davis said. “(Emporia) came here to win, and they didn’t, so I don’t want to degrade them by getting too carried away.”
But Davis promised there will be at least some type of celebration this week, especially for the way his team dominated last weekend’s 12-and-under Cal Ripken District 6 Baseball Tournament.
“We’ll have some type of celebration, don’t you worry,” Davis said following his team’s 12-2 win in four innings over Emporia on a picture-perfect Sunday afternoon at the Karl E. Cole Sports Complex.
Osawatomie advances to the 12-and-under state tournament, which will be played Friday through Monday in Lyons, Kan. They will open play in the double elimination tournament at noon Friday against Stevens County, the District 1 winner.
Osawatomie made its path to the state tournament look easy.
Following a first-round bye in the tournament, Osawatomie beat Fort Scott 21-0 in the second round.
That set the stage for Sunday’s championship game, and Osawatomie picked up right where the team had left off.
Devan Dozier led off the bottom half of the first inning with a single. He then stole second base before advancing to third on a wild pitch. He proceeded to score on an error for a 1-0 Osawatomie lead. Jordan Horstick added an RBI groundout later in the inning for a 2-0 Osawatomie lead after one inning.
Back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Mike Pursley and Dozier in the second increased Osawatomie’s lead to 4-0.
That was more than enough support for Horstick, named the Most Valuable Player of the game for Osawatomie.
He worked the corners of the plate well, baffling Emporia’s batters for most of the afternoon. He retired the first six batters he faced, including the last five by strikeout.
“He hits the target really well,” Davis said.
Horstick allowed only two runs and struck out 10 in a complete-game effort. Both of those runs he allowed came in the fourth and cut Osawatomie’s lead to 4-2.
Following that half inning, the Osawatomie coaches gathered their team in the dugout to get them refocused.
““We knew that if we kept hitting the ball, things would open up,” Davis said.
What followed resembled Osawatomie’s offensive display in their outburst against Fort Scott.
Osawatomie batted around in the bottom of third, scoring eight times to put the game out of reach.
After the first three Osawatomie batters reached base, an error allowed the first Osawatomie run of the inning to score. Drew Beckwith then hit a two-run triple over the head of Emporia’s left fielder. That made it 6-2 Osawatomie. A fielder’s choice, an RBI double, a two-run single and two errors later, Osawatomie had a 12-2 lead.
“We hit the heck out of the ball,” Davis said.
Members of the Osawatomie 12-and-under baseball team are Dozier, Cole Rayl, Devon Ayres, Horstick, Jordan Smith, Triston Davis, Luke Wilson, Beckwith, Mike Pursley, Jeramy Criddle, Taylor Serafin and Andrew Dees.