For the City Times

The Stevens Point 9-year-old travel team this weekend finished their season with second place in a Plover tournament.

Stevens Point opened up pool play against the Watertown Storm. Point opened up an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, was tied 4-4 after the third inning. Point scored two runs in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead 6-4.

Watertown scored one in the top of the sixth to make it 6-5, but Stevens Point held them there to win.
Calvin Roth, Grant Hinker and Ben Hopp pitched for Point with Hopp picking up the win.

Hopp and Hinker each had two hits to lead the hitting with Roth and Austin Gray also picking up hits.

The second game pitted Stevens Point against Suburban Athletics. Point once again jumped out to an early lead, this time tallying four runs in the first inning. Great pitching and solid defense carried Point the rest of the way to a 6-1 win to put them at 2-0 in pool play.

Gray, Roth and Hopp pitched, with Gray notching the win. Roman Christianson, Hopp and Hinker each had two hits.

Roth, Dash Kvatek, Grant Jahnke and Max Lutgen added one hit apiece.

The final pool game was against the Plover Americans. Stevens Point won 13-0 in 4 innings with Hinker, Kvatek and Christianson combining on the shutout.

Christianson and Roth had two hits each with Hopp, Gray, Nolan Pratt, Kvatek, Jahnke, Brett Lefebvre and Koy Karaliunas adding one hit apiece. The win moved Point to 3-0 in pool play and into the semifinals on Sunday.

In the semi-final Stevens Point faced Valley Stars. In what turned out to be a pitcher’s duel, Point scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull out the dramatic 3-2 victory.

Gray, Roth and Hopp pitched with Hopp earning the win.

Christianson went 3 for 3 to pace the hitting, Gray and Kvatek had 2 hits and Hopp, Roth and Jahnke added one hit. The win moved Point into the championship game.

The championship matched Stevens Point and the Plover Nationals.

In a well-contested game, Stevens Point fell by a final of 5-3.

Hopp had two hits and Roth, Gray, Kvatek, Hinker and Jahnke added one hit.

The runner-up finish wrapped up the season for the Stevens Point team which ended the summer with two tournament titles and three second-place finishes.

Their final record was 16-3 with the three losses coming by a total of four runs.