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Poland’s 11-12 girls bow out against Iowa
Locals get first runs vs. tourney’s
top seed, but lose
By Jason Haddix
INDIANAPOLIS
Poland’s Little League softball team’s roller coaster run through the Little League Central Region Tournament finally came to an end Wednesday evening.
On a hot and humid day at the diamond, the group of 11- and 12-year-olds battled the elements and a quality opponent, but Poland failed to dispose of the latter as it fell to top seeded Iowa 14-2, ending its tournament run at 3-3.
“We knew Iowa was a great team, but we also knew we had some momentum carried from the earlier game,” Poland coach Kim Grisdale said. “Then all of a sudden the bottom fell out.”
With the score knotted at 2 in the top of the fifth inning, Iowa’s bats came alive and stole the show.
Iowa’s leadoff hitter reached on an error. Then four of the next five hitters reached base, including Chloe Dougherty who hit a triple to deep left field. She never slowed rounding third and come in to score on another Poland fielding error.
Poland trailed 7-2, a deficit that proved to be insurmountable.
“The emotion of the whole experience, the long day and being in a hotel room away from your family for so many days just starts to wear you out,” Grisdale said. “I think you could start to see it in their eyes and we saw it in a couple other teams.”
Poland’s two runs, which were the first runs scored against Iowa in the tournament, came in the third inning off a Brooke Bobbey two-run double that drove in Rachel Wolfe and Carolyn Boccieri.
“When I got on I was so hyped,” said Wolfe, who reached after a dropped third strike. “When Carolyn got walked I was so excited and when [Cammie Lattanzio] was called safe, I was on third, like, ‘Come on let’s do this.’ ”
But after the Bobbey double, the bats then went silent, and coupled with Poland’s defense uncharacteristically committing seven errors, any chance of a comeback was virtually impossible.
“In the early game we made an error, but came right back to make a big play,” Grisdale said. “In this game, we just weren’t quite able to make that big play and I feel like it just snowballed.”
Poland reached the second game of the semifinal round by defeating Nebraska 10-7.
Poland sent 10 hitters to the plate in the first inning and six came in to score, to give the Buckeye State representatives the start they needed to get the momentum on their side.
“We got our bats going and all of a sudden the confidence was there,” Grisdale said. “That confidence carried throughout the lineup.”
Back-to-back one-out singles, by a ground out by Lexi Diaz put runners on second and third. Jackie Grisdale delivered a two-out run-scoring single to left. Connie Cougras then laid down a near perfect bunt that she legged out to drive in a run.
Wolfe delivered the big blow with a two-run single to right field to put Poland up 5-0. The sixth run scored on a Nebraska throwing error.
Nebraska slowly attempted to creep back into the game, but Poland did not let its foot off the gas with runs in each the third and fourth inning and two more in the sixth to secure the victory.
“It has been amazing,” Wolfe said of the experience. “I never thought I would make it here. There was so much bonding with the team and meeting new people. It was a great experience.”