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OBBJL Rookies Eye State BidBy GARY KUNTZPitching and defense will be two important keys for the Ot* tawa Babe Ruth League All-Stars when they begin competition in the 13-year-old state tournament in Junction City this Saturday.Winners from the district tournaments at Columbus, Arkansas City, Harper and Salina will play Saturday afternoon first-round games, while Ottawa and district champions from Olathe, Dodge City and host team Junction City will compete in Saturday evening contests.Ottawa will play at 6:30 Saturday evening against the district winner from the Olathe tournament. If Ottawa should win Saturday night, it would play in the winner's bracket at 8:30Sunday evening. If Ottawa should tow Saturday night, it would play in the loser's bracket at 3 p.m., Sunday.Two games from the loser’s bracket, plus the championship game from the winner's bracket will be played on Monday. Two games are scheduled for Tuesday, with the tourney championship scheduled for Wednesday.The tournament will be played at Rathert Field which is located on West 13th Street in Junction City.One of the strong points for the Ottawa team would seem to be the pitching, which had some outstanding statistics in the recently completed district tourney at Osawatomie.Mark Gates pitched 15 inningsfor Ottawa, allowing just six riais and four walks while striking out 12 batters in the district competition.Chris Bird was the other main starter as he worked 13 innings and allowed four runs while walking just three and striking out nine batters.Randy Milton and Bob Dodson were the other two pitchers and both could be very valuable in the state. They pitched a combined total of five innings, giving up three runs while walking two batters and striking out six.Several other team members pitched at different times during the league season and could see mound duty in the state meet.Defense is another strong point for the Ottawa team. The infield would seem to be set with Jamie Waldy at first, Ned Moore at second, Roger Mendell at shortstop and Jeff Schoch at third base. Ottawa’s defensive work kept Ottawa in one or two of the games at Osawatomie.The infielders also carry a lot of Ottawa’s offense with Schoch and Mendell each collecting five hits in the recently completed tournament. Waldy was right behind with four hits, including the one which won the championship game.The catcher’s position is a pleasant problem for coach Ken Suffron and his assistant Paul Moore as Ottawa has three good rookie catchers. Chuck Hook, Mike Thompson and Dan Meyers all caught at least one game at Osawatomie. Meyers led the three with three base hits, but all of the catchers have their strong points.Some of the outfield positions may be set, however, the coaches indicate there might be one or two changes from the district tourney set-up in the outfield. Candidates for' the positions would include the two catchers who are not catching that particular game, along with Dodson, Gates and Milton and David Strehlow, who also works as a ; back-up first baseman and third : baseman and Richard Frazier, l who also works as a reserve in- \ fielder.Also to be considered for the i outfield positions are a couple of 1 players who saw considerable outfield action in Osawatomie. They are Vic White, who along lt;with Schoch led the team with | five runs scored, and Paul Geist, who tied Mendell and Schoch with ; five base hits in the district.Last year’s Ottawa 13-year-old All-Stars did quite a job by winning the district and placing third in the state.This year’s team would seem to have a team which is just as capable as last year’s team and if it is able to play good baseball, it should do an excellent job of representing Ottawa and the local Babe Ruth League.The OBRL team received more parent and fan support than any team at the district tournament and if this support continues at Junction City the Ottawa team will end the season in a tremendous way.
Newspaper Details
Ottawa Herald
Ottawa, Kansas, US
Thu, Jul 25, 1974
Page 9
Full Page
Clipped by
Ashlee E.
USA 27 Feb 2024
Other Publications Near Ottawa, Kansas
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