I first first learn about Canyon Lake Little League (South Dakota) third baseman Bill Hendricks at the Central Region Little League tournament in Indianapolis In., last month. It was there that I found out this 12-year old was going to enter Stevens High School as a freshman this fall.

According to his parents Craig and Concepcion Hendricks, after starting kindergarten that they really noticed that Bill was special. Each day Bill would look at his teacher's lesson plan and if any part of a lesson was missed, he would tell her. "He was reading her plan and going, 'oh, we didn't do this.'" Craig said. "That's when we knew he was on his way." So, after just two weeks in kindergarten, Bill advanced to first grade and later captured the Rapid City Spelling Bee championship while competing against older students. The next year, he attended second grade for just !http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20574/BillHendricks.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9658|style=padding:8px;|align=left|src=http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20574/BillHendricks.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9658!one day before moving up to the third grade.

Bill has maintained a straight A throughout school and has skipped two grades which is how he's able to enter high school in the fall. But the Bill's story doesn't stop here.

As the starting third baseman for Midwest champ Rapid City, S.D., he has been one of the driving forces in helping his team become the first from its South Dakota to reach the Little League World Series. "It's great to see a kid excel in that many different areas," Canyon Lake Little League president Dale Gisi said. "He's a great athlete and he puts a lot of hard work into everything he does."

His favorite subject in school is science and has taken first place in three consecutive science fairs. By the fourth grade, Bill had mastered the violin and then took on the tenor saxophone in the fifth grade. In the eight grade, he made the all-state band team.

I and the millions of people people watching the the Midwest Championship last month got to see and hear Bill play "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" on his violin and it was great. And seeing how he had never played the song before and was handed the sheet music a few hours ahead of time, it was really remarkable how well he did.

"He's studied hard and he's worked hard to get this far," his mom, Concepcion said. "Socially and academically, he has no problems. He gets along with everybody and the kids love him. They see him in the hallway and they say, 'hey, you're the smart kid in the class!' "

Bill also has a talent for tennis, Bill enjoys baseball the most. "Bill has a good, solid glove, he can drive in runs and he doesn't strike out a lot. He's a good kid and a good baseball player," Rapid City coach Jeff Minnick said. "He's always giving positive information to everybody and patting them on the back. He's a vital person to our baseball team."

In the Midwest final, South Dakota's starting Pitcher Cale Fierro had already struck out 12 batters but had to leave the game having reached the mandatory 85 pitch count limit. The

As Rapid City closed in on a historic win in the Midwest final, it was Bill holding the ball. Cale Fierro had struck out 12, but had to exit after reaching the 85-pitch count limit. Canyon Lake led 7-1, but Minnesota had the bases loaded and there was just one out. Bill entered the game calm and struck out his first batter. The second batter grounded out to end the game and send Canyon Lake to the Little League World Series. "I was thinking it's just another game and I just have to throw some strikes," Bill said. "When I'm really focused I don't think pressure really gets to me. I just get up there and do what I'm supposed to do."

During the parent meeting after the championship game, Bill's dad gave me a copy of a short story Bill had written and I include it here. Whatever Bill Hendricks does in life, I'm sure it will be remarkable.

Let's Play Lifelong Baseball!

By Bill Hendricks

Welcome to Little League Baseball! Today, we've got a lifetime match up: The Impressions and the Benefits. Let's get to the lineups!

Starting for the Impressions are:

  +Pitching - Respect

      Catching - Fun

      First Base - Determination

      Second Base - Cooperation

      Short Stop - Team Work

      Third Base - Competition

      Left Field - Encouragement

      Center Field - Thinking

and in Right Field - Leadership+

Starting for the Benefits are:

  +Pitching - Self Confidence

      Catching - Learning Skills

      First Base - Making Friends

      Second Base - Developing Coordination

      Short Stop - Positive Attitude

      Third Base - Life Lessons

      Left Field - Work Ethics

      Center Field - Helping Others

and in Right Field - Following Rules+

Let's Play Lifelong Baseball!

I recieved an email the other day from fellow umpire Neale Ferguson after he had read my blog. He  had such a good time he wanted to thank the organizers by putting together some   thoughts and observations of his experience. Below is what he wrote.

*Bow-Bo, Noodle, Biscuit and Wormy

  “It reminds us of   all that once was good, and it could be again.”*

As an adult, particularly as a parent, there is a certain pleasure in seeing a child do something for the first time. It allows us to shed for a moment the barnacle-like cynicism that as we accrue with age. So it was when the recent 9 & 10-year-old Little League Baseball Virginia State Tournament was held in my town the other week. It reminded me of what I love about kids’ sports when it’s done well. And very well it was.

They came from all over: in cars daubed in paint and streamers, in caravans from the furthest regions of the state. For some this had been the longest trip they’d ever made. For others it was yet another field among hundreds they’d played on since they were in Pee-Wee league.

Like society itself, the microcosm that is little league baseball is a melting pot of all shapes, sizes, colors, and wealth. One player is heard to exclaim with awe: “I’ve never played on a field with lines before.” The brashness of the city kids mixes with the old-world politeness of their country brethren. Tables at the opening dinner that had been reserved for each team were soon peppered with members from others as pins are traded and that most adult of abilities to relive and enhance sporting tales was practiced for the very first time.

There were the nicknames of course. Great ones. One of my favorites was Bow-Bo who hailed from Honaker. He couldn’t exactly remember why he received that epithet just that two of his friends had bestowed it upon him. Now he’s getting older, he told me quietly, he would like to be referred to as just “Bo”. There were also Noodle, Biscuit and Wormy whose names will forever echo in some backwater of my consciousness.

Although of extreme youth, make no mistake these kids could play ball. There were shortstops that were like vacuum cleaners in the way the ball would always end up cleanly in the glove no matter where they had to field it from. We were treated to the sights of sluggers who could put the ball over the fence but were still young enough not to try and fake indifference to their accomplishment.

Games were intense. Who could imagine that a 2-1 ball game between teams of 9 & 10 year olds would be so compelling? The players rose to the occasion as they struggled each inning to break the game open only to find their opposite numbers equally as resolute to keep them in check. Fans cheered, cowbells rang, the clink of the ball as it met the bat filled the air, high octave calls of “cut it” echoed across the field. Overhead an airbus climbed out of Dulles airport. A few saw it. No one heard it.

There were blowouts too, but some of these transcended the realm of the ordinary. Not because of the baseball but because of the way the suffering players maintained their dignity and their opposite numbers gave them their respect. During one mighty thrashing I heard the coach reminding his players that: “These guys are our friends. We play basketball and football against them.”

The players are told to put on their game faces. They do, but they last only as long as it takes to call “play ball”. Their faces betray the terrible excitement of the game. You can see them live and die a thousand times during the game: as they face each pitch, when they field the balls that come their way, and when they attempt that throw to first hoping to beat the runner.

There’s supposed to be no crying in baseball, but there was – just a little – and laughter – quite a lot – and there was every other emotion on display. The players wore them without self-consciousness: that was their privilege. It was there for everyone watching to see, and that was ours.

Being an umpire bestows a precious intimacy with the game and its players. Most vivid memories include a batter who swung wildly at his first two pitches but battled back by fouling off several strikes and leaving the balls to draw a walk. There was a look of intense relief, joy, pride, and amazement on that batter’s face as he made his way to first base. This was no face you’d see opposite you at the card table.

Never more is the evidence of fear and anticipation on show than when the game is on the line. Bottom of 6, two down, two on, and two runs behind: The batter takes his last instructions from the coach. His last question/pleading is overheard as I stood nearby: “I only have to get to first base… right??” I find myself recalling a phrase from an old poem in which “Its beauty and its terror” is used to describe an object. I think I now understand how something could have those two properties at once.

The end of a game became a bittersweet moment. Sweet because there was going to be another game tomorrow, bitter because we were one game closer to the end of the tournament. Soon there would only be 8 teams remaining, then four…

There is a horrible type of cliché that one usually hears at occasions like this. It generally takes the form of “The game was the real winner”, or “Everyone was a winner”. Well no, there was a deserving winner and it was the team from SYA East. However, this was just one end product of the 7 days.

The true value of an event like this is to be assessed as the sum of a host of smaller victories: to overcome, to achieve, to get back up and do it all again, to accept defeat with grace. The latter was no better demonstrated by the pitcher who, having just been hit out of the park, joined the throng at home plate to offer his hand in congratulations to the batter as he completed his tour of the bases.

While the kids were the feature event, some reflections on the adults is only proper. The horror stories of over-competitive or over-compensating parents are the stuff of dark legend. As an umpire I felt a little trepidation before the tournament started. However, this was a needless worry, as the parents took their cue from their players and were gracious and generous.

Was the players’ outstanding sportsmanship a function of their parents and coaches examples or were the kids the role models for the adults? It was both of course, although the tone of the week had been established by those responsible for organizing and running the tournament. This they communicated clearly to the managers and the officials. It was something they never let anyone forget for the duration.

Whether this is turns out to be their only tournament or they go on to many more, I hope that years from now Bow-Bo, Biscuit, Wormy, and Noodle will remember with advantages what feats they did during those tournament days, recall each others names, and their stories teach their sons. In doing so they too can once again dip themselves in those magic waters.

*You know we just don't recognize the most significant moments of our lives while   they're happening. Back then I thought, well, there'll be other days. I didn't   realize that that was the only day.” *

Thank you Neale for sharing this with us. I'm sure a lot of us can relate to what you've said but couldn't have said it better. - Tom

At this  time of the year, Williamsport  is the host of many great Little Leaguers. Kennon Fontenot of Lake Charles, La.,  is making the case that he is the best of them all. All Fontenot did in  Saturday’s 5-1 win over Mill Creek, Wash. – the World Series opener for both  teams – was strike out 15 of the 21 batters he faced, while giving up just one  run on three hits.

Fontenot struck out the first eight batters he faced with his fastball reaching 80 miles per hour. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a triple and a run scored. He reached base in all three of his plate appearances. Fontenot got plenty of help from brothers Beau and Bryce Jordan, who went a combined 3-for-6 and had a hand in four of Lake Charles’ five runs. Bryce Jordan helped the Louisiana champions get on the board first in a two-run second inning with a bloop single on the inning’s first pitch.

The next batter, Nick Abshire, singled on the next pitch and Lake Charles had runners on first and second with nobody out. After Jordan and Abshire pulled off a double steal, Jordan scored the game’s first run on Colton Hunt’s ground out to first base. Hunter Self followed with an RBI single and Lake Charles had a 2-0 lead. That was all Fontenot would need, but he got more in the third inning.

Fontenot got things started in the third with a leadoff triple, showing great speed to go along with his pitching and hitting ability. Fontenot scored when Beau Jordan doubled. Jordan then made it 4-0 when pinch hitter Peyton McLemore doubled him home. Mill Creek looked like it would make it a game in the fourth inning when Dan Kingma led off with a double. He later scored on a Jason Todd single. After issuing a one-out walk, Fontenot struck out the next two batters to get out of the jam. “I just had all my pitches and tried to hit the mitt and that’s what I did,” Fontenot said.

Northwest manager Scott Mahlum couldn’t get over the performance Fontenot had on the hill. “I don’t know how you prepare to face a kid that throws that hard and has that kind of control,” Mahlum said. “I don’t know how you prepare a team for that. The batting cages don’t throw that hard.”

Gunner Leger relieved Fontenot in the sixth, recording the final two outs of the game. Leger came in with runners on base and just tried to throw strikes, he said. He induced a pop fly and grounder to the second baseman to finish off the game. “I felt like a major leaguer,” Leger said.

Bryce Jordan scored his second run – an insurance run – in the fifth inning. He doubled then later scored on a passed ball. Lake Charles faces off against Jeffersonville, Ind., Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on ABC. Jeffersonville lost its opener, 3-2, to Hagerstown, Md., on Saturday.

Mill Creek will try to get its first win Monday at Noon when it plays Hagerstown.

*BOX SCORE

Mill Creek, Wash. 000 100 – 1 3 2

Lake Charles, La. 022 01x – 5 8 1*

  *W *– Kennon  Fontenot (1-0). L – Jason Todd (0-1). S – Gunner Leger. 2B – Beau Jordan (SC),  Bryce Jordan (SC), Dan Kingma (MC). 3B – Fontenot (SC).

Pool A  Records – Mill Creek 0-1, Lake Charles  1-0.

Through its region championship run, Waipahu, Hawaii, has had a formula for success: stellar pitching and defense, and creating runs. If its first game of the Little League World Series is any indication, Waipahu plans on using the same formula in Pool B play. Behind the same great pitching and defense – and some creative run-scoring methods – Waipahu won its LLWS opener, 3-1 over Shelton, Conn., on Friday.

Caleb Duhay pitched five complete innings, giving up just one hit – a solo home run by Eddie Kochiss – and allowed just four base runners. Duhay also struck out seven Shelton batters. “I was feeling pretty confident,” Duhay said. “(On) the home run, I hung my splitter.” Offensively, the West Region champions had just four hits – by four different Waipahu players.

Christian Donahue scored the game-winning run when he singled in the four inning, then went to second on a passed ball. On the same play, as the catcher threw back to the pitcher, Donahue stole third base. On the next pitch, Donahue scored on a wild pitch to make the score 2-1. Waipahu led the rest of the way. (Donahue) is actually one of our best base runners,” his father and coach Timo Donahue said. “The benefit he gets is that I’m always in his ear. He does get things going for us. It’s been that way this whole All-Star season so far.”

The Hawaii representative scored the game’s first run – in the bottom of the first inning – also on a wild pitch. Tanner Tokunaga singled for the inning’s only hit and later scored. Waipahu left the bases loaded in the first. “I give credit to (Kochiss),” Coach Donahue said. “When you look at it that way, you don’t get as upset.” Waipahu’s final run came on a solo home run by Pikai Winchester to lead off the fifth inning. “I was sitting on a fast ball and I hit it hard,” Winchester recalled.

“I think (the home run) was big, considering it was a close ball game throughout,” Coach Donahue said. “One extra run gave (us) a little more room to breathe.” After the game was delayed for two hours and 15 minutes, Tokunaga pitched the final inning – giving up just one hit – to put Shelton away. “I don’t think (the delay) had much effect,” Coach Donahue said.

Waipahu will face Tampa, Fla., in its next game on Sunday at 8 p.m. Tampa was also victorious Friday, beating Rapid City, S.D., 10-0 in four innings. “We’re expecting it to be another tough batted,” Donuhue admitted.

BOX SCORE

*Shelton, Conn. 010 000 – 1 2 2

Waipahu, Hawaii 100 11x – 3 4 0*

  W – Caleb Duhay (1-0).* L* – Eddie Kochiss (0-1). S – Tanner Tokunaga (1). HR – Kochiss (S), Pikai Winchester (W).

  Pool B Records – Shelton 0-1, Waipahu 1-0.

The Little League World Series officially opened with the Parade of Champions to the tune of "It's a Small, Small World". Each of the sixteen teams marched in proudly carrying the regional championship flags and tipping their hats to their parents and fans alike. With teams from as far away as Japan, Venezuela, Guam, Saudi Arabia, and Hawaii, it is truely amazing to see how many parents and friends in the stands who have traveled hundreds of miles to watch their child play in this great event.

There is also a little history being made this year with a teams from Emila, Italy and Rapid City, South !http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20394/South-Dakota-Mid-West.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9611|style=padding:8px;|align=left|src=http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20394/South-Dakota-Mid-West.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9611!Dakota playing for the first time in Williamsport. I was with the Mid-West Champion South Dakota team at during their regional tournament in Indianapolis, IN a week ago and I spoke with Manager Doug Simons during their first batting practice at the complex. "The boys haven't been home in two weeks and had to stay in the dorms until we left for Williamsport so they really don't know the impact they have had back home in Rapid City". "We've gotten millions of phone calls and faxes" Simons said. "I just wish the boys could enjoy all of that but since they haven't been home, they can't see how much the community has been behind them."

I'm hoping to be able to sit with the South Dakota parents in their VIP section for one of their games. This section is the area where you always see a mom or dad caught on ESPN nervously watching their son up at bat or cheering on the whole team. I recieved a call before arriving at Williamsport from one of the parents I met in Indianapolis letting me!http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20417/Dale-Gisi-Press.jpg|style=padding:8px;|align=right|src=http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20417/Dale-Gisi-Press.jpg! know the President of their league wanted to fly out and watch some of the games but didn't have any place to stay and if I knew of any hotel that might have an opening. I told him that unless you book way in advance, there just aren't any rooms available. However, because my family wasn't coming this year, the room I have has a couch sleeper and if he was willing to sleep on that (Hey, I'm a nice guy, but I'm not giving up my king size bed) he was welcome to stay with me. I then recieved an email from the President, Dale Gisi and he was more than willing to sleep on the couch. This is the Little League way; we all do what we can for a fellow Little Leaguer!

Dale arrived late Thursday night after having to drive six hours to from Rapid City to Denver to catch his flight which was to Philadelphia and then another three hour drive to Williamsport. Add to that a two hour time difference, he was dead tired when he arrived. However, that didn't stop him from first driving up past the Little League stadium before heading to the hotel. "The lights were still on so I thought what the heck, I might as well have a look" Gisi said. He had that "kid in a candy store" look as we talked about Canyon Lake Little League and the team's quest to the World Series. I love the way Little League brings people together and the way I make new friends like Dale year after year.

This is my ninth year attending the Little League World Series and even after all this time, I still have the "kid in the candy store" look too!

I’m writing this blog entry on my Northwest flight to Williamsport and the  Little League World Series. While I’m looking forward be heading to the series,  I’m not as excited as I have been in years past. Don’t get me wrong, I love my  job with Active.com, the relationship we have built with Little League and  being fortunate enough to be able to attend the World Series every year. But  this year will be different; I won’t have my wife Holly or my stepson Chris  with me.

!http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20122/Holly-Banner.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9563|height=292|style=padding:8px;|align=left|width=220|src=http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20122/Holly-Banner.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9563!Holly and Chris have made the trip to Williamsport with me for several years and we would make the ten hour drive a relaxing two day trip. Holly and I even got engaged at the series in 2003 and in 2004 I had major surgery and couldn’t drive and spent most of the time in the back of our mini van sleeping while Holly had to do all the driving. At the series, Holly has been a tireless worker helping the Active team with everything from setting up our display tent, handing out pins, applying tattoos, taking pictures, and just being a great ambassador for Active. Holly is one of those people that can talk to anyone from a small child wanting one of our (or Dugout’s) tattoos’ put on their face; to a!http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20123/Tom-Holly-Kiss-Scoreboard.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9563|height=254|style=padding:8px;|align=right|width=312|src=http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-20123/Tom-Holly-Kiss-Scoreboard.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9563! Little League parent that wanted to know more about Active and eteamz and what we do; and to everyone at Little League headquarters including President and CEO Steve Keener. She has what you might call a “following” at the series. While I may know a lot of the same people at headquarters, district and league officials, etc., Holly knows all the “important” people, like the Security guys, the guys that drive the golf carts, the guys that check the Section 1 tickets, the guys who sell lemonade, the guys who have the “best” trading pins… ok, yes, she’s a flirt and a darn good one. It’s gotten to the point that when I meet up with someone I know and say “hi”, they only want to know, “where’s Holly?” We even talked about having a trading pin made that was just for her and it would be the “Where’s Holly” pin. I have a feeling that since she’s not going with me this year, the pin would be a highly collectable one. Sure wish I had gotten it created. But as you can tell, I’m really going to miss having Holly with me in Williamsport. She is so much more to me than just my wife; she’s what keeps me going day after day.

I’m going to miss having Chris with me too. For his part, he always brings a friend from home and just enjoys pin trading, watching some great baseball and meeting new people and just having fun. He is really bummed that he’s not going this year either. He made some friends in Williamsport over the years and has kept in touch with them and always looked forward to seeing them each year. But he’s also starting high school this fall and has already started his two-a-day workouts for football and can’t miss that either. He’s looking forward to being a freshman and he’s pretty excited about wearing the same football jersey as his brother did on Varsity; not just the same number 32 but the same jersey. Apparently the Varsity got new ones this year so the JV got the old ones which is certainly ok with Chris. But, I’ll miss him in Williamsport too.

Well, the plane is landing so I’ll close for now. Next post  will be from Little League headquarters and the World Series!

Rapid City’s South Dakota state defeated Minnesota’s Coon Rapids, 7-1, to   advance to the Little League World Series, which starts Aug. 15. Canyon Lake   will be the first team ever from the state of South Dakota in Williamsport. “I’m   just numb,” Canyon Lake coach Doug Simons said. “I never thought this would   happen. It’s unbelievable. “I hope Rapid (City) is excited, because we’re   excited about be able to represent Rapid City in Williamsport. Hopefully they’re   proud of us.” “I’m really, really excited,” catcher Matt Minnick said. “I never   thought !http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-19891/The-Midwest-Region-Champions.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9512|style=padding:8px;|align=left|src=http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-19891/The-Midwest-Region-Champions.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9512!I’d get a chance to go to Wiliamsport. I’ve watched it on TV five years   in a row and I just never thought I’d make it there.” Infielder Logan Anderson   said he’s taken aback by what his team has accomplished. “I thought we’d have a   chance to be competitive,” he admitted. ”but I never imagined we’d dominate (the   Midwest Region) like we did. When all 13 guys hit, we can be a pretty dangerous   team.”



Canyon Lake got three straight two-out doubles in the fourth inning to overcome a 1-0 deficit. With T.J. Nolan on first and two outs in the fourth, pinch hitter Mark Petereit got a Canyon Lake rally started with an RBI double. Matt Minnick followed with his Midwest Region tournament-best sixth double to score Petereit. Immediately following Minnick’s double, leadoff hitter Tanner Simons made the score 3-1 with an RBI double of his own. Petereit, a reserve, epitomized why Canyon Lake was so successful in Indianapolis, Simons said. “It was totally typical (of our team),” Simons said. “Everyone has done everything I’ve asked them. The thing about this team right now is everybody is doing (his role), they’re not complaining and they’re playing where we need them. No one’s every questioned it. It’s been great.”



Simons said that, despite being blanked for the first three innings, he was never concerned that his team’s offense wouldn’t awake. “It was only one run,” Simons said. “If it had been five or six, I may have been a little worried. I knew we were going to score some time.” Canyon Lake added four more runs in the fifth inning, but the three spot in the fourth was all starting pitcher Cale Fierro needed. Fierro gave up three singles in the first inning, but eventually settled into a groove that allowed him to strikeout 12 Coon Rapids batters. “He threw a few two-strike off-speed pitches in the first inning and they hit that,” Simons explained. “So we decided to stay away from that.”



Minnick and Bill Hendricks went 2-for-2 and scored a run for Canyon Lake. Minnick, Canyon Lake’s nine hitter, finished the tournament 14-for-17 with six doubles and at least one extra-base hit in all six Canyon Lake games. “I wasn’t hitting good at the end of the (regular season), and I just started to hit,” Minnick explained. “I worked harder and now I’m hitting better.” “He hit the ball well the whole series,” Simons said. “In the state tournament, he didn’t hit very well. He came back and worked hard and today it showed.”



Anderson said he thinks expectations will probably be low for his team in the World Series. He believes that his team is capable of shocking the world. “(The Midwest Region) started to respect us when we started winning,” he explained. “All 13 of us and hit and field. Any one of us can come up and hit and get a rally started. We can do anything.” “I just hope we compete (in Williamsport) as hard as we did (in Indy),” Simons said.

BOX SCORE

Coon Rapids, Minn. 100 000 – 1 6 1

Rapid City, S.D. 000 34x – 7 9 0

W – Cale Fierro   (2-0). L – Jake Goedderz (1-1). S – Bill Hendricks (1). 2B –   Tanner Simons (CL), Fierro (CL), Mark Petereit (CL), Matt Minnick   (CL).

Records – Coon Rapids 3-2, Rapid City 4-1

Rapid City’s Canyon Lake Little League is one game away from becoming the first   South Dakota team ever to reach the Little League World Series. Canyon Lake   topped Columbia, Mo., 5-3 on Friday and now will face defending Midwest Region   champion Coon Rapids, Minn., on Saturday at 10 a.m. on ESPN.



“We’re happy to win the game and go on ESPN,” Canyon Lake pitcher Tanner Simons said. “It’s going to feel great to be on TV.” “It’s going to be my first time on television ever,” Hansen said. “It’s especially exciting because it’s on ESPN.” For the first four innings on Friday, it appeared that Canyon Lake’s dreams might not come true. Columbia led 2-1 after four innings and the Canyon Lake offense, which was averaging more than 11 runs per game and hitting over .400 as a team, was struggling to get to Columbia pitcher Ryan Bernskoetter. In the top of the fifth, however, Canyon Lake exploded for three runs to take the lead for good.



!http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-19735/South-Dakota-Wins.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9489|style=padding:8px;|align=right|src=http://community.active.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/38-19735/South-Dakota-Wins.jpg?blogID=8913&blogPostID=9489!Tanner Simons, who went 3-for-4, opened the inning with a single. After Carter Wevik was hit by a Bernskoetter pitch, Cale Fierro doubled home Simons and Wevik to give the South Dakota champions the lead for good at 3-2. “He struggled the first two at-bats, but he came through big time in the last two,” Simons said. “He was big for us. That (double) was key.” Fierro later scored a fourth Canyon Lake run when Logan Anderson grounded out to the shortstop for the inning’s second out.



Four runs is all Tanner Simons – the starting pitcher – would need. Simons went the distance, giving up just seven hits while striking out seven Columbia batters. Simons tied a Midwest Region record with three pitching victories in five Canyon Lake games. “It was just like all year, another great job,” Coach Simons said of his son with his voice cracking with emotion. “I mean, how many guys can get three wins here. He’s done a great job all year for us.”



Simons got defensive help, particularly from backup second baseman Jonah Hansen, who made two diving plays to stop a Columbia fifth-inning rally. With one out, Hansen stopped a shot likely would have provided the Missouri champions with a run. He then threw from his knees to record the out. “I just tried to do my job and it just worked out,” Hansen said. “I thought about standing up (to make the throw), but I saw the runner coming down, so I had to get it there as fast as I could,” Hansen recalled. “Those were nice defensive play,” Simons said of Hansen. “We couldn’t have asked for me.” “They made some great defensive plays,” Columbia coach Mark Pfeiffer said. “They are a great, fundamentally-sound team and it has shown all week. I tip my hat to them.” Canyon Lake added an insurance run in the sixth when Matt Minnick singled and later scored on a Fierro single.



Despite Bernskoetter’s efforts, Canyon Lake had offensive heroes galore once again. Simons scored twice while going 3-for-4. Fierro had a double, a run and an RBI. Minnick, who has had an extra-base hit in every game in the region, went 2-for-3 and hit his first home run of the week. Logan Anderson had an RBI and stole a base. “We threw our best pitcher at them and they made the plays and got the hits and scored more runs than we did,” Pfeiffer said. “We didn’t give it to them. They won the game.



“(Bernskoetter) was absolutely very sharp,” Pfeiffer said. “They strung some hits together and they beat an awfully good pitcher. Ryan Bernskoetter is one of the best pitchers in this Midwest Region, there’s no doubt about it. They scored five runs. We didn’t.” Coach Simons said getting to play on ESPN is nice, but he will remind his team that it still has one win to go before it reaches its ultimate goal of going to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series.



“(Getting to the championship game) was our third goal,” Coach Simons said. “Our first one was to get here. Second one was to make the semis. The next one was to get on the ESPN game. Now, our next one is to get to Williamsport.”



*BOX SCORE

Rapid City, S.D. 001 031 – 5 11 0

Columbia, Mo. 020 01 – 3 7 0*

W – Tanner Simons (3-0).* L* –   Ryan Bernskoetter (1-1).* 2B* – Kyle Teter (C), Cale Fierro (RC). HR – Brady   Pfeiffer (C), Matt Minnick (RC).

Records – Rapid City 4-1, Columbia 3-2