Saginaw North Defeats Bay Ciunty SWLL For Minor Little League Title

July 19, 2009
By: John Keuvelaar

And then there were two. The Minor Districts at Northeast Little League was down to undefeated Saginaw North and once beaten Southwest Little League. To capture the District title, SWLL would have to win twice. North made sure that didn't happen as the Northmen prevailed 9-2.

Both teams entered Thursday's play undefeated. SWLL jumped out to an early 6 run lead. A lead off single by Marcus Niller was followed by doubles off the bats of Max Wood, Jason Clark, and Austin Appold to propel them in front.

Saginaw North scratched out a single run in the third, making it 6-1. Southwest tallied four times in the top of the fourth, with Saginaw getting one back in the bottom of the inning, making it 10-2, Southwest.

Southwest added two more runs in the top of the fifth to take what looked like a commanding 12-2 lead. A walk and an error got Saginaw North started. Seven hits and nine runs later, North had pulled to within one, 12-11

North finished off the comeback in the sixth with two more runs on four hits to put themselves in the finals with a 13-12 victory.

Essexville-Hampton and Northwest squared off to keep their district hopes alive. EHLL's Logan Blossom held Northwest to five runs over four and two thirds innings. Meanwhile, Essexville-Hampton used a seven run fourth to power themselves to an 8-5 win.

Essexville-Hampton looked to keep the magic going as they took on Southwest. Southwest came out of the gates swinging as they put four on the board in the first.

Essexville responded with two of their own making it 4-2. But that was all Essexville could muster.

Joe Tany shut Essexville down while teammates chipped away, amassing thirteen runs to eliminate Essexville, 13-2.

This set up a rematch of Thursday's high scoring affair between Southwest and Saginaw North. Saginaw North started things off with two runs and three hits in the first inning. Southwest closed the gap by scoring one in the second, making the game 2-1 Saginaw after two.

Southwest continued to battle back, as they took advantage of fielding errors and combined them with offense to score another run in the top of the third inning, making it a 2-2 tie.

Saginaw seized opportunity in the bottom of the third. The Northmen pounced on Southwest for seven runs, off of six hits, including a three-run homer off the bat of Elyah Abenth. Both teams finished up the game with strong pitching. Saginaw held on to win districts with the final score 9-2. They move on to sectionals next week.