[RICE LAKE, WI]- The Rice Lake Orangemen came up just short in their bid for a championship in the double A division of the North American Fastpitch Association in tournament play at Des Moines, Iowa August 19-22, losing to Keating Fitness Center of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 11-3 in the title contest. The Orangemen finished with a record of 7 wins and 2 losses in the 20-team field, including five wins in a row after falling into the loser’s bracket in round 3 play.
Pitcher Bryan Lathrop worked all nine games for Rice Lake until tiring in the 6th inning of the final game, giving way to reliever Sam Hall. For the tournament Lathrop hurled 59 2/3 innings, striking out 63 and posting an earned run average of 1.57. He was the easy choice as the tournament’s Most Valuable Pitcher.
The Orangemen opened tournament play with a 3-1 win over Franny’s Old Irish Pub of Springfield, Illinois, and followed with a 2-1 victory over the pre-tournament favorite Toros of Topeka, Kansas. The Rice Lake squad was then shut out 3-0 and bumped into the loser’s bracket by the Sioux Falls Sox. Consecutive wins over the Gamecocks of Ottumwa, Iowa, 2-1, Pickseed Bronx of Balcarres, Saskatchewan, 4-3, Cerro Gordo of Dawson, Minnesota, 6-0, Willkomm Mobil of Kenosha, Wisconsin 7-4, and 5-0 in a rematch with Sioux Falls propelled the Orangemen into the championship showdown with Keating.
A two run home run by Andy Mathews was the key hit in the opening round win over Franny’s. A sacrifice fly by Mathews provided the game winning RBI in the Topeka victory, a game in which Travis Thompson’s single drove in the other run and Josh Calleja was 2 for 3. Mathews and Joby Davidsavor had the only two Orangemen hits, both singles, in the loss to Sioux Falls.
Thompson was 2 for 3 with a double and Calleja 2 for 4 in the squeeker over Ottumwa. Tim Hall was 3 for 3 with a triple and drove in Aldie Halverson with the game winning run in the bottom of the 7th versus Balcarres Halverson was running for Mathews who had doubled. Keith Kuklinski chipped in a 3 for 3 performance and Lathrop was 2 for 2. In the Cerro Gordo matchup Adam Bayer had a pair of home runs in 3 at bats, Mathews 2 for 3 with a home run, Tim Hall 2 for 3, and Jeremy Andersen had a triple.
Bayer was 3 for 3 with a home run in the comeback win over Willkomm. Andersen, Davidsavor, and Mathews were all 2 for 3 and Tim Hall had a double. Nick Goodremote was 3 for 3 and Tim Hall, Davidsavor, and Jim Milkowski were all 2 for 4, Hall with a double. Bayer made the play of the game in left field by racing with his back toward the fence to make a diving catch. Bayer and Davidsavor both batted 2 for 3 in the championship game loss.
In addition to Lathrop, Orangemen Mathews, Calleja and Bayer were selected to the all-tournament team. The second place finish equals Rice Lake’s 2nd place finish in single A play in 2002 at Salem, Oregon.
The Orangemen also participated in the single A division, with Lathrop not allowed to pitch, and finished with a 3-2 record. Rice Lake lost the opening game 4-1 in 8 innings to IRC Militia of Indianapolis, rebounded with a 5-4 victory over Life of Iowa Insurance of Oelwein, rolled to a 10-1 triumph over the Hastings, Michigan Merchants, and edged Images of Ostrander, Minnesota 8-6 before bowing to Brittain and Sons Construction of Des Moines, 7-3.
Rice Lake scored a run in the 7th as Mathews singled in Milkowski to force the extra frame, but the Orangemen lost an inning later to IRC. Tim Hall had a double while Bert Ford was losing pitcher. Mathews homered, Milkowski tripled, and Andersen doubled to give Ford the relief win over Life of Iowa.
Ford again got the win in the trouncing of Hastings. Thompson was 3 for 3 with a 3 run home run, Tim Hall, 2for 2, Sam Hall 2 for 3, and Andersen 2 for 3 with a double. Andersen got the win in relief in the conquest of Ostrander. Calleja batted 3 for 3, Davidsavor 3 for 4 with a triple, Bayer 2 for 3, Tim Hall 2 for 4, and Thompson 2 for 4 with a double.
Thompson was 2 for 3, Milkowski 2 for 4, and Davidsavor doubled in the elimination loss to Des Moines.
51 teams competed in the single A tourney.
Champions crowned in addition to AA Keating Fitness were: Open Division, the Bar of Appleton, Wisconsin; AA-Major, Dirt Bags of Manor, Texas; A-Major, El Paso Steel of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico; 23-under, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan; and 18-under, Northwest Implement of Maryville, Missouri.