Rotary-Lions win Albion U10 baseball championship
Photos by Tom Rivers: Kaiden Froman slides home for a critical run for the Rotary-Lions team in today’s 14-13 win over the Vets in the U10 championship game for the Albion Midget League.
ALBION – The Rotary-Lions capped an undefeated season with a thrilling 14-13 victory today over the Vets in the U10 championship game at the Midget League Field.
The Vets had the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the sixth when Bryar Dysard hit a deep fly to the right-center gap.
Kaiden Froman ran under the ball and made the big catch to end the game and give the Rotary-Lions the title.
“It was an excellent game with an All-Star catch to end it,” said Dave Nashburn, coach of the runner-up Vets, which finish the season at 7 wins, 2 ties and 3 losses.
Bryar Dysard whacks a ball into the outfield that would have cleared the bases if it hadn’t been caught. Dysard had 4 hits in the game.
Leah Pawlak pitched the final two innings for Rotary-Lions to get the win in the title game.
Dysard had 4 hits for the Vets and also was strong on the mound for the first three innings, striking out 5. Ryan Dunn pitched 2 innings for the Vets, and also had 4 hits.
Froman had 3 hits for Rotary-Lions, including a big 3-run double in the 5th inning. Will Plummer also hit a 3-run double in the fourth for Rotary-Lions, which went 12-0 on the season.
Lucas Powley started the game for Rotary-Lions and struck out 6 in 3 innings. Noah Harrison pitched the fourth, and Leah Pawlak came on in the fifth and sixth innings to get the victory on the mound.
Lucas Powley pitched the first three innings for Rotary-Lions.
Ryan Dunn pitched two innings for the Vets and had 4 hits at bat.
Froman had been the team’s catcher most of the season until being put in centerfield to help chase down the big hits from the other team.
“He’s our cleanup guy out there,” said coach Tom Irwin. “He has good speed and a strong arm.”
Irwin is Powley’s grandfather. He has coached the team the past three seasons.
“As a team we played really well together,” Irwin said. “I am very proud of them. They’ve grown and learned the game better. They were making plays at the end of the season that they weren’t making in the beginning of the season.”
When Dysard launched the ball into the outfield, Irwin thought it was likely a home run. Then Froman put up his glove and caught it.
“It could have gone either way,” Irwin said. “If that ball had dropped, it’s a whole nother ball game.”
The Rotary-Lions are pictured after winning the championship today.
