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"Is this heaven?"
"No, its Wisconsin."
"Is there a heaven?"
"Oh yes...that's where dreams come true."
Those lines were spoken in the baseball movie "Field of Dreams" only Iowa was substituted for Wisconsin. But last Sunday a group of young baseball players from Sauk and Dodgeville found the place that dreams come true with an unheard of host team win at the Ohio Valley Regional. Now they are scrambling to get things ready for a trip to Klamath Falls Oregon for the World Series.
Yes...the WORLD SERIES.
This is the frosting on the cake, the gravy on the potatoes and the sprinkles on the ice cream. This is everything good and everything great.
In the history of Babe Ruth baseball very few host teams have ever advanced out of the Regional to the World Series. This group did the near impossible and will face other 16-18 year old Regional winners in a week long event near the border of Oregon and California.
It took one game for the team to gel and that was their only loss in the tournament which featured the cream of the crop from Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois and Wisconsin. West Virginia, Ohio and Michigan did not send teams. The loss was to Fern Creek, KY.
The light switch flipped on and the team started to roll. They beat Steger (northern Ill) 5-2 and Logansport (northern Ind) 10-3 to finish pool play. For their 2-1 record they received the fourth seed in bracket play.
The started out with a convincing win over Porter County Storm (northern Ind) 10-3 then met undefeated and Wisconsin state champion Ashland which had two scholarship players on their team.
The Sauk/Dodgeville team rolled over Ashland 5-1 to set up a meeting with Blue Lick, Kentucky, a 5-3 winner over Wisconsin state runner-up Fond du Lac.
Dodgeville junior Jordan Larson got the call and did nothing less than throw a shutout over Blue Lick 4-0.
And that was it.
Next came the awards, a celebration and a ride through Sauk on the fire truck.
GAME WRAPS
Fern Creek took advantage of four walks and seven hits to pull out a 7-4 win in the first game over Sauk/Dodgeville.
Cole Sullivan started on the mound and worked into the fifth before Keith Kramer took over and finished.
Trent Jones scored one of the four runs and was 1x2. Jordan Olson was 1x2 with an rbi. Jordan Larson was 1x3.
Levi Nagel got the start in centerfield while Olson caught, Jones played third and Larson first.
Sauk's Ben Lenerz doubled to drive in a run and also scored once.
The game was knotted at three after three but a pair of two run innings gave the nod to Fern Creek.
Sauk/Dodgeville got their first win to start their run with a 5-2 win over Steger.
Sauk's Conner Leister pitched the win.
Lenerz doubled and scored and Nagel drew a walk and scored. Jones was 2x2 and scored the first run of the game.
The Sauk/Dodgeville team finished out pool play with a 10-4 win over Logansport. Larson pitched the win, spacing nine hits, striking out four and walking one.
Logansport got to him for three runs in the first then he settled in for five shutout innings before giving up one in the seventh.
But by then the S/D team had 10 runs on the board.
Nagel doubled and scored twice. Jones was 2x3 with a double, walk and a run scored. Olson was 1x2 and walked twice while scoring once. Larson was 3x4 and scored once. Sullivan was 1x3 with a run scored.
Nagel's double brought in two runs in the sixth. Jones's double sent in Nagel, also in the sixth.
In the bracket game opener, seven runs in the sixth iced the win over Porter County, 10-1.
Keith Kraemer pitched the win with Jones coming in to seal the deal in the fifth.
Nagel had two hits including a double and a run scored. Olson was 1x3 with a run scored. Larson was 2x3 with a double.
One of the most impressive teams in the Regional was Wisconsin state champion Ashland who had won their pool and had the top seed.
None of that mattered to the S/D team as they sent Ashland home with a 5-1 win.
Leister pitched the win.
Nagel singled and scored in a three run first on an rbi single by Jones.
Olson singled in the seventh in the win.
The win set up the championship game between the S/D team and Blue Lick.
Larson got the starting call and went the distance for the win. He walked five and hit one while striking out one and spacing five hits. Every time Blue Lick threatened the S/D defense answered.
S/D jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. Lenerz doubled and Nagle singled him in. Kramer's double plated Nagel and Olson singled in Kraemer.
The S/D team scored its final run in the 4-0 win in the third. Olson singled in Elijah Jorgenson who had singled to open the frame.
Nagel was 1x3 with a run scored. Jones was 1x3. Olson was 2x3 with an rbi.
The team received its awards, both team and individual, and were treated to a ride through town on a fire truck.
"The team played like they had been together all year," said Todd Schaaf, tournament manager. "They played some excellent baseball and got good performances from all the players."
"A host team going to the World Series is almost unheard of but these kids did it," he added. "They will have the time of their lives in Oregon and will represent the Ohio Valley Region very well."
"They bonded right away and developed some lasting friendships," said coach Howard Lenerz. "We were glad to get the Dodgeville kids and they are very good players along with being nice young men. We should have a good time in Oregon."
The Ohio Valley Regional champs open the tournament August 8 at 2:30 p.m. when they face Southeast.
Pacific Southwest is the next opponent at noon August 9.
August 10 at 7:30 p.m. they meet host team Klamath Falls.
August 11 they wrap up pool play when the meet Midwest Plains.
Bracket play starts August 13 with teams seeded from the American and National pools.
Bracket play is August 13, 14 and 15 with the World Series champion being crowned after a 1 p.m. game.
"After being around those kids all spring and summer I know they have put their skills to good use," said Pat Reilly who oversaw the Dodgeville part of the Regional. "I can't say enough about how proud I am of them and how happy I am for them. There are stopwatches to measure speed, Jugs guns to measure how hard someone throws and tape measures to see how far someone can throw. But there is nothing ot measure the amount of heart a player has. Let me tell you, these kids play with heart. I wish them all the luck in the world."