Pointer U12 Baseball Takes 3rd at State
Stevens Point Pointers 12U Finish a Successful Season.
Back row: Coach Jeff Morton, Coach Pete Danielsen, Nate Helms, Braden Christophersen, AJ Firminhac, Garret Parks, Coach James Kozisek and Coach Shane Christophersee. Front Row: Legend Kieliszewski, Brady Franz, JD Schultz, Justin Morton, Austin Stankowski, Jacob Danielsen and Luke Kozisek. Logan McHugh Not Pictured.
Contributed by Shane Christophersen
The Stevens Point Pointer 12U (ages 12 and under) team finished a very successful 2013 season with a 19-4 record and a 3rd place finish in Darlington at the Cal Ripken 12U State Tournament.
The Pointers lost to Sturgeon Bay in a Semi-Final Match up 8-4. In the other Semi-Final Green Bay East defeated Wisconsin Heights 23-0. East went on to defeat Sturgeon Bay 13-1 to become State Champs. Both Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay will represent Wisconsin in the Ohio Valley Regional in Indiana next week.
Stevens Point started off the first game of pool play in the State Tournament vs. Sauk Prairie. The Pointers downed Sauk Prairie 11-1 behind strong pitching performances by Brady Franz and Nate Helms. Franz and Helms scattered 3 hits and allowed only 1 run. Braden Christophersen jump started the offense going 3 for 3 with a double, 2 Home Runs and 7 RBI. Garrett Parks went 2-3 and Jacob Danielsen was 2 for 2.
In the 2nd game of Pool Play the Pointers faced the Host Team Darlington under the lights at Sieg Field. The Pointers bolted out of the gates and never looked back on their way to defeating Darlington 24-2. Legend Kieliszewski teamed up with Jacob Danielsen to shut down the Darlington offense with Kieliszewski getting credit for the Win. Kieliszewski also paced the offense going 4 for 4 with 5 RBI – but he didn’t do it alone, Nate Helms was 3 of 5, Garrett Parks was 4 of 5 and Braden Christophersen was 2 for 4 with another Double and Homerun and 3 more RBI.
Next up in Pool Play was Marinette. Justin Morton earned the 8-0 victory as the starting pitcher. Christophersen and Helms also combined with Morton to hold Marinette scoreless. Brady Franz led the offense going 4 for 4, Morton and Parks both were 2 for 3 and Danielsen and Christophersen each contributed 2 RBI.
The Pointers finished 3-0 in pool play giving up only 3 runs earning themselves the #2 seed in the bracketed Single Elimination portion of the tournament to start Monday.
On Monday #2 Stevens Point would have to match up with #15 Marinette. Point would once again top Marinette this time by a score of 12-1. Nate Helms and Garrett Parks combined to shut down the Marinette offense with Helms getting the win. The Pointers used a balanced attack on Offense to hit their way to another Victory. Nate Helms was 3 for 3, Kieliszewski went 3-4 with an Inside the Park HR and 2 RBI and Christophersen was 2 for 3 launching his 4th HR of the tournament and 3 more RBI. Austin Stankowski went 2 for 3 and Jacob “Duck” Danielsen had 2 RBI with his 2 for 4 performance. The Victory earned Stevens Point a date with Bayport who defeated Superior to earn the match up. Bayport’s bats were silenced by Kieliszewski who almost pitched a complete game before allowing Christophersen to come in and strike out the final batter with the bases loaded. Everyone on the team contributed with JD Schultz laying down another Perfect Bunt and Logan McHugh driving a base hit back up the middle. Kieliszewski provided himself with all the runs he would need when he hammered a 1-0 pitch over the Centerfield fence for a Grand Slam in the 5th inning on the way to a 13-0 victory.
Heading into the 4th and Final Day Stevens Point would face Sturgeon Bay at 10am in a Semi Final Match up. 2 years ago in the 10U State Tournament this Stevens Point team knocked off the then #2 seeded Sturgeon Bay. This day, however, would be a different story. Sturgeon Bay used strong pitching, timely hitting and a couple of errors to their advantage to down the Pointers 8-4 and advance to the Finals.
All year this team battled through adversity and numerous injuries to post a fantastic 19-4 record. During the State Tournament the Pointers played without 2 key teammates. Both Luke Kozisek and AJ Firminhac were there all weekend cheering on their team but neither was able to play due to significant injuries suffered earlier in the season. Their dedication and support helped everyone be the best they could be.
A team picture will also be sent – here are the names to go with the picture: