The Valparaiso National senior little league team reached the District 1 championship game, which took place on Saturday night. The squad saw its run come to an end with a 12-0 five inning loss at the hands of Portage.
The bats had difficulty solving Portage RHP Chris Klenk. Jake Gholston lashed a single in the first for one of the squad’s four hits. Sonny Roganovich started the third inning with a base knock, but he was quickly erased on a caught stealing. Brendon Sutherland and Ty Peddle accounted for the other two hits in the fifth inning, both singles.
Jared Folke drew a walk in the second inning, while Jack Andrie reached base the painful way with two down in the fourth after being hit by the pitch.
Sutherland was the starting pitcher for Valpo. He settled in to a groove early on that was disrupted in the third inning in which Portage plated eight runs.
The boys were visiting opponent’s territory because the tournament was held on the Portage Little League senior field. Valparaiso manager Lon Salomen is no stranger to the drive to Portage. He makes it every day during the school year as a teacher and football coach at Willowcreek Middle School. Salomen’s son Kyle did the catching and hit cleanup on Saturday night.
This group of players were very familiar with one another before little league even started. All 13 players listed on the all star roster played for the freshman baseball team at VHS this past season. The success of this team bodes well for the future of Dave Coyle’s Vikings squad. The freshmen had beaten Portage 10-3 on May 12 during the school ball season.
Many of the players will now turn their attention to fall leagues, which will give way to winter workouts and then eventually to the start of the spring season!
Click here for more photos from Saturday's game... or click here to read about the game from a Portage perspective!!!