Bear River Jrs. fall in Dist. 11 finals
It was the end of the line Tuesday evening at Tri-City Little League Park in Rocklin for the Bear River Jr. Division All-Stars.
With visions of last season’s remarkable run by Bear River all the way to the Western Regional still dancing in their thoughts, Bear River fell to Rocklin, 12-6, to end their post season run.
According to manager Taylor Welz, the Bear River squad plain ran out of steam as the squad – which was forced to come out of the loser’s bracket to defeat Grass Valley for the Area I title – paid the price for playing its fifth game in as many days.
“We just ran out of gas,” said Welz who also was the manager of last year’s successful Bear River Jr. Division team, which won Area, District, Sectional and Divisional titles.
“The games took its toll,” Welz added. “We had a lot of tired arms and it caught up with us tonight.”
Still, Bear River made things interesting in the contest as the Nevada County squad trailed just 6-4 in the sixth when Michael Lucas delivered a two-run home run.
After Bear River loaded the bases later in the inning and Jake Sween scored on a bad throw by Rocklin, the team seemed on the verge of tying the game but a throw out at the plate ended the threat.
Rocklin then put the game out of reach with six runs in its next at bat.
Cole White sparked BRLL as he was 3x4 at the plate and drove in two runs. Lucas’ big HR and Andy Brooding’s hit were the other Bear River safeties.
In Monday’s Area II title cinching win over Grass Valley, Bear River overcame an early 3-0 deficit with a pair of 6-run frames in the fourth and fifth innings respectively.
Top hitters for Bear River included C.J. Weaver and Jake Sween each with three raps and Conner Casey with a pair.
For Grass Valley, Rich Osborne unloaded a two-run home run in the second inning while teammate Damon Bell had a two-run shot in the sixth.
On Sunday, Bear River had posted a 12-5 win over Grass Valley to force the “if game”. Weaver, Lucas and Zach Welz all paired hits for BRLL in the victory.