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PITTSBURG —
The Crawford County Cubs knew it would be tough coming into the Premier Baseball Junior Championship.
The Cubs dropped both ends of a back-to-back Thursday afternoon against the Fort Worth Cats White and the Indiana Bulls Black, 9-0 and 9-1 — ending pool play 0-3 with at least three more games ahead for the Cubs.
“It’s kind of what we expected,” Cubs head coach Toby Book said. “We knew we were outmanned, playing up an age group. Nobody’s ever proud of a loss but we’ve competed decently. The kids, I think they’re enjoying it. None of them like to lose but they know what they’re up against. Today was hard because of back-to-back in the heat. I think they were wearing down a little bit but other than that, I think they’ve had a positive experience. I wouldn’t say it’s an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but it’s a rare opportunity.”
Cats White pitcher Shay Phillips and right fielder Grayson Huffman especially made life difficult for the Cubs in the first game. Phillips retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced and he gave up one hit over his four innings. Huffman drove in four runs on a pair of extra-base hits — a two-run double in the second and a two-run triple in the fourth.
“It’s not a Celebrity All-Star Game where everybody’s standing around,” Book said. “The kids are working their hardest. They’re doing the best they can. Like I said, today was very tough because of the back-to-back on the turf in the hot sun. That works against you but this is where you learn to be better. I thought we had good play all-around. We couldn’t finish the back end of a double play in the first game. That hurt us. That led to several unearned runs. If we do that, the score looks different and we couldn’t hit. That pitcher was tough and that’s what they need to see to get better.”
Crawford County Cubs catcher Caleb Biancarelli managed the only hit both against Phillips and the Cats White overall.
“I like facing the harder pitchers because it makes you a lot better than you were before,” Biancarelli said. “Right now, these pitchers throw a little bit harder than what we see in the CNC. It will help every single one of us get our timing down and be ready for older pitchers.”
The Crawford County Cubs knew it would be tough coming into the Premier Baseball Junior Championship.
The Cubs dropped both ends of a back-to-back Thursday afternoon against the Fort Worth Cats White and the Indiana Bulls Black, 9-0 and 9-1 — ending pool play 0-3 with at least three more games ahead for the Cubs.
“It’s kind of what we expected,” Cubs head coach Toby Book said. “We knew we were outmanned, playing up an age group. Nobody’s ever proud of a loss but we’ve competed decently. The kids, I think they’re enjoying it. None of them like to lose but they know what they’re up against. Today was hard because of back-to-back in the heat. I think they were wearing down a little bit but other than that, I think they’ve had a positive experience. I wouldn’t say it’s an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity but it’s a rare opportunity.”
Cats White pitcher Shay Phillips and right fielder Grayson Huffman especially made life difficult for the Cubs in the first game. Phillips retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced and he gave up one hit over his four innings. Huffman drove in four runs on a pair of extra-base hits — a two-run double in the second and a two-run triple in the fourth.
“It’s not a Celebrity All-Star Game where everybody’s standing around,” Book said. “The kids are working their hardest. They’re doing the best they can. Like I said, today was very tough because of the back-to-back on the turf in the hot sun. That works against you but this is where you learn to be better. I thought we had good play all-around. We couldn’t finish the back end of a double play in the first game. That hurt us. That led to several unearned runs. If we do that, the score looks different and we couldn’t hit. That pitcher was tough and that’s what they need to see to get better.”
Crawford County Cubs catcher Caleb Biancarelli managed the only hit both against Phillips and the Cats White overall.
“I like facing the harder pitchers because it makes you a lot better than you were before,” Biancarelli said. “Right now, these pitchers throw a little bit harder than what we see in the CNC. It will help every single one of us get our timing down and be ready for older pitchers.”
Bulls Black right fielder Troy Montgomery found right field at JayCee Ballpark to his liking against the Cubs when he connected for two home runs. Montgomery went 2-for-2 with two homers, two RBI and three walks.
“It’s fun knowing that you’re going up against people that can play in D1 baseball,” Biancarelli said. “It’s great for us because we’re only 15 now. When we’re 17, we’re hopefully going to be all like them.”
Some highlights for the Cubs on Thursday:
• Biancarelli legged out the only hit against the Cats White by hitting one right between the pitcher, the first baseman and the second baseman, none of whom covered the bag and helped Biancarelli make it to first. Biancarelli would later steal second and then move another 90 feet on a Keaton Bolinger 6-3 groundout. Biancarelli also made a nice catch of a foul ball in the fifth.
• Starting pitcher Ethan Powell retired the Cats White 1-2-3 in the third and fifth innings.
• Center fielder Colton Gilbert, left fielder Jason Reed and right fielder Caleb Spangler each made some nice plays in the outfield against the Cats White.
• First baseman Jace Burdette, second baseman Josh Book, third baseman Tanner Edwards and shortstop John Barrows added occasionally solid infield defense in both games.
• Playing right field against the Bulls Black, Powell gunned down Sam Sampen at second base after Sampen laced one into the gap. Sampen ended with two doubles but at least Powell denied him a third.
• Edwards reached on an error in the sixth inning against the Bulls Black and scored the only run of the day Thursday for the Cubs.
• Following Edwards in the sixth, Spangler collected the Cubs’ only extra-base hit with a double, moving Edwards to third.
• Gilbert drove in Edwards as Gilbert reached on an infield single.
On Wednesday, the Cubs lost 10-6 to the Nebraska Sluggers at Mickey Mantle Field in Commerce, Okla. The Cubs led 6-3 in the fifth but one bad inning led to the Cubs surrendering their lead. However, Book mentioned playing in Commerce alone being one of the highlights of the championship.
“Absolutely, it’s a nice facility and they take great care of it,” Toby Book said. “It’s an enjoyable place to be, obviously with the history. For the younger kids, I don’t know if they enjoyed it as much as Bryan (Burdette) and I did.”
“It was fun, just knowing that he (Mantle) played there and that you get to play on the same field as him,” Biancarelli said.
The Cubs and the rest of the 46-team field were reseeded for play today and Saturday. JayCee Ballpark and Al Ortolani Field each host five games today as teams begin to enter the nitty-gritty of the five-day tournament.
Premier Junior Baseball Championship
Thursday, July 19
Fort Worth Cats White 9, Crawford County Cubs 0 (5 innings)
FWCW 430 20 — 9 5 0
CCC 000 00 — 0 1 2
Shay Phillips, Rhett Butler (5) and Lucas Herrera. Ethan Powell and Caleb Biancarelli. WP: Phillips. LP: Powell. 2B: Grayson Huffman. 3B: Huffman. SB: Biancarelli. LOB: FWCW 4, CCC 1.
Indiana Bulls Black 9, Crawford County Cubs 1
IBB 122 102 1 — 9 9 1
CCC 000 001 0 — 1 2 1
Brian Wichman, Mark Giesler (5), Westin Edrington (6) and Dylan Jones. Jason Reed, Caleb Spangler (5) and Caleb Biancarelli. WP: Wichman. LP: Reed. 2B: Sam Sampen 2. HR: Troy Montgomery 2. SB: Jeremy McKinney. CS: Edrington. SF: Parker Dunshee. A: Ethan Powell. LOB: IBB 10, CCC 4.
