Kansas state Little League champion Cherokee had its dream of going to the Little League World Series was dashed Wednesday as it fell to Coon Rapids, Minn., 7-3. Cherokee finished its Midwest Region pool play 1-3, one win short of reaching Friday's semifinal round. The Kansas champions, who went winless in the region tournament after winning the state championship in 2007, may have been the best Kansas team in more than a decade. There's little doubt it was the most improved team in the tournament. "I think the biggest improvement was the attitude of the kids," Cherokee coach Bryan Burdette said. "Our kids worked hard together. Once we got together, they did a good job. I do think the kids did a good job." Coon Rapids struck first Wednesday with a first inning three-run home run by Jake Goedderz. It added another run in the third inning and led 4-0.

Cherokee appeared to take the momentum in the bottom of the third when it scored all three of its runs. Home runs by Riley Ulery and Bryce Burdette sandwiched a Ryan Rakestraw walk. "Even on the (third-inning) outs, we had some good hits," Burdette said. "I thought, 'Here we go. Now we're going to get our bats going.' But (Goedderz) had a lot of movement on his ball and its hard to catch hold of sometimes." Ulery's home run was his first of the regional. "It was good to see," Burdette said. "He's one of those kids that you're confident that he's going to hit the ball solid. When he gets a hold of it just right, it will go a ways."

Bryce Burdette finished the tournament with four home runs in four games. He led the team in nearly every statistical category while it was in Indy, making a case to be the tournament's most outstanding player. "He's tough to get out," Coach Burdette said of his son. "When he gets on base he creates a lot of havoc. Catching, he's a wall. I'm very proud of him."

Coon Rapids pulled away in the end, hitting three more home runs in the final four innings. Cherokee went down 1-2-3 in the sixth inning, but not without a fight. "I was real proud of our kids all the way until the end," Burdette said. "We didn't have anybody look at a third strike. I was proud of the way they battled the whole week." The two-time defending Kansas champions could be considered a favorite to get back to Indianapolis in 2009. "We have four 11 year kids here, who have another year to mature," Burdette assessed. "I sure hope we're able to do it again next year. We had a lot of fun."

BOX SCORE

Coon Rapids, Minn. 301 102 - 7 6 3

Cherokee, Kan. 003 000 -3 3 0

W - Jake Goedderz (2-0). L - Jalen Merrell (0-1). S - C.J. Diedrich (1). 2B - Seth Johnson (CR). HR - Diedrich (CR) 2, Goedderz (CR), Ryan Hagstrom (CR), Riley Ulery (C), Bryce Burdette (C).

Records - Coon Rapids 2-2, Cherokee 1-3

In one of the longest - and craziest - games in Midwest Little League Region history, Canyon Lake couldn't overcome a Missouri 12-run first inning. It couldn't overcome surrendering nine walks, two hit batters and two wild pitches and it couldn't overcome Columbia pitching in extra innings. The fact that it almost did says an awful lot about the South Dakota state champions. Canyon Lake dropped its first game of Midwest Region, 17-16 in extra innings to Missouri champion Daniel Boone Little League from Columbia. Canyon Lake is still 3-1 and has qualified for the region's single-elimination semifinals, which has been pushed back to Friday due to poor weather in Indianapolis. Canyon Lake's seed and its opponents for the semifinal is yet to be determined. It could be a one, two or three seed and Columbia is the most likely opponent.

"If we do see them again, I would expect to see the same energy and intensity and determination from both teams," Columbia coach Mark Pfeiffer said. "I just hope it's the same result." Columbia benefited from five walks, two hit batters and two wild pitches to score its 12 runs in the first. It also hit a grand slam and a three-run home run in the inning. "We just weren't prepared to start the game," Canyon Lake coach Doug Simons said. "They fought back and competed, but we just weren't ready to start the game. When you get down 12-0 like that, it's tough. We started off with a couple of different pitchers and that didn't work out," Simons said. "Then (we were forced) to use some pitchers (that we didn't want to use)."

Pfeiffer saw it a bit differently. "I've never been in a baseball game where you're playing teams at such a high level - and that's an outstanding South Dakota team - and you put 12 on them in the first inning," Pfeiffer said. "I thought that was tremendous." Thanks in large part to Cale Fierro and Jonah Hanson - and a nine-run second inning - Canyon Lake was able to fight back to send the game into extra innings. Fierro went 3-for-5 in the game. He hit two home runs and had the tournament's first triple. He knocked in four runs and scored three times. "We expected more of him earlier, so that was good to see," Simons said.

Hanson hit the first home run of his life on a 3-1 pitch in the fourth inning to pull the Rapid City team to within 14-13. On the 3-0 count, Hanson took what appeared to be ball four. The umpire called a strike, and Hanson got another chance. He made the most of it. "That was his first home run in a game ever," Simons said. "That was good to see. It was some redemption, You just have to battle through (calls)."

Canyon Lake has now scored 54 runs in 24 innings, by far the most in the region. In the loss, the South Dakota champions had 17 hits to Columbia's 12, and six extra-base hits to the Missouri team's two. "I think they are an outstanding hitting team," Pfeiffer said. "They swing at strikes and they keep their weight back, so they can hit any pitch you throw at them. We threw the kitchen sink at them and they still hit."

BOX SCORE

Rapid City, S.D. 291 103 000 - 16 17 1

Columbia, Mo. (12)02 011 001 - 17 12 3

W - Joe Walker (1-0). - Bill Hendricks (0-1). 2B - Jesse Riddle (RC), Logan Anderson (RC). 3B - Cale Fierro (RC). HR - Fierro (RC) 2, Bill Hendricks (RC), Jaime Vaughn (C), Ryan Bernskoetter (C).

Records - Columbia 2-1, Rapid City 3-1.