Story - The Meade County Messenger


Vol. 115 No. 31	July 30, 2008

Madness earn ‘Final Four’ spot in Ohio Valley Regionals!

By SCOTT NOVAK, Niles Daily Star
and
SAM MORRISON, Messenger Staff

NILES, MICH. – The Ohio Valley Regional was down to its version of the Final Four as press time approached July 28. Harris Black, Schererville, Meade County and Southeastern Lexington were set to battle it out for the right to play for the regional title with the Meade County Madness, 9-year-old all star team, facing Harris Black.

Pitcher Jacob Crase struck out six and allowed just one hit in Meade County’s win over L’anse Creuse.

The 15-team regional championship in Niles, Mich., consisted of pool play for the first three days and tournament play beginning July 26.

The Madness played their first game July 24 against L’anse Creuse, Mich. Good pitching and strong hitting clinched a 12-2 win against the Michigan all-stars.

Meade County took a 1-0 lead in the bottom half of the first inning; however, L’anse Creuse scored a run in the second and the top of the third to grab a 2-1 lead.

Jacob Crase struck out six and allowed just one hit in picking up the victory for Meade County.

Levi Hurt had three doubles, a single and two RBIs for Meade County, while Crase had two doubles and a run batted in.

Tyler Haynes and Cody Lee both singled twice and were credited with an RBI.

Austin Poole and Bryce Mattingly both had a single and an RBI.

Next, the Madness took on a strong Harris Black, Ind., team. To the coaches’ surprise, the all-stars played very sloppy and uninspired and lost 12-1.

Harris scored two or more runs in each of the three innings they batted. The third and final at-bat for Harris Black produced seven runs.

Meade County’s only run came in the top half of the third inning.

Meade County had four hits in the game, including a double and an RBI from Austin Poole. Jacob Crase, Ethan Miller and Austin Sanders also had hits.

“They’re a pretty good ball team,” Coach Ammons said. “We didn’t pitch well and gave up 10 walks. Harris only had nine hits, but every time we walked somebody, that batter that was walked found a way to score.”

Shaking off their first loss in a while, the Madness stepped up the intensity and took down their next three opponents.

Brownstown 2
Meade County 7

Meade County built up a 5-0 lead on Brownstown after four innings and made it stand, eliminating the Indiana team from the tournament. Jacob Crase and Bryce Mattingly combined on a three-hitter with five strikeouts. Cody Lee had three hits and an RBI for Meade County, while Crase had two hits and two RBIs. Levi Hurt contributed a single and a double with teammates Austin Poole, Austin Sanders and Mattingly all getting hits. Mattingly also drove in a run.

Meade County 15
Lake Cumberland 3

Meade County turned a short-to-third-to-first triple play to end its game against Lake Cumberland July 26. However, the game was long over before that play. Meade County scored six runs in the first and four runs in both the third and fourth innings. Lake Cumberland scored a run in the second and a pair of runs in the fourth to account for its offensive output. Austin Poole struck out five and scattered eight hits to earn the victory for the Madness. Cody Lee, Case Medley and Jacob Crase all doubled and drove in two runs, while Poole had a triple and two RBIs. Blake Price had a double and an RBI. Also picking up a hit and an RBI for Meade County were Bryce Mattingly, Garrett Ammons and Zack Prather.

Meade County 13
St. John 3

Crase had two singles, a triple and three RBIs to help pace Meade County to the win. Lee finished with a single, a double and three RBIs, while Mattingly had two hits and two RBIs. Ethan Miller doubled and drove in two runs for Meade County, which also got two hits from Hurt. Crase and Hurt struck out a combined six hitters and allowed just four hits.

“They really picked their heads up and got back to what made them successful,” Ammons said. “I’m really proud of how they bounced back and took care of business.” Ammons said they “pitched a lot better and hit the ball extemely well” on the way to a 3-1 finish in pool play and a spot in the Final Four at the Ohio Valley Regional Championship.

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