World Series dreams dashed in Indy

Little leaguers enjoyed one of best runs in city history

By Mike Ramczyk

Sports Editor

The Burlington Little League 12U All-Stars didn’t have their top pitcher in a Central Regional semifinal last Thursday in Indianapolis, so the offense had to be on point.

For the first inning of the nationally televised game, that was the case.

But the depth of the hometown Indiana team eventually caught up with Burlington, and things quickly got out of hand.

Trent Turzenski, Burlington’s top pitcher who wasn’t available because he threw too many pitches two days prior, put the local boys on the board with a two-run home run in the first inning.

But Indiana’s offensive machine was too much for Burlington pitchers Tucker Strommen, Dalton Damon and Christian Brenner.

Indiana scored seven runs in the first inning and cruised to a 14-4 victory in only four innings.

Burlington showed a semblance of a comeback when Brandon Pum stole home to cut the lead to 7-4 in the second, but Indiana just couldn’t be tamed at the plate.

This was the fourth Burlington Little League team to advance to regionals in Indianapolis and only the third to reach the semifinals, or two games away from the Little League World Series.

A magical run that started with a state championship included five games at regionals (2-3).

From a packed hotel of hundreds of kids to the celebrity of being televised on ESPN, Burlington coach Dale DeGroot said the team had a blast overall despite coming up short of Williamsport (Pa.).

“It was a good run,” DeGroot said. “We wouldn’t trade this for anything. The kids had a blast, and it was so cool to be on ESPN. Not every kid gets to do this.”

With the way pool play went, Burlington was forced to play both Indiana and Illinois, the two strongest teams, before the semifinals. With those two losses, the boys were 1-2 and faced elimination against Kentucky Aug. 5.

In that victory, ace pitcher Turzenski threw 85 pitches, which disqualified him from pitching two days later against Indiana.

If Burlington had drawn a weaker team like Ohio, it may have been able to save Turzenski until the semifinals.

“Indiana could hit the ball,” DeGroot said. “But for a small town, we did a great job. Turzenski may have given us a better chance, but Indiana is very good. Personally, I think Turzenski was the best pitcher in the entire regional.”

Another outstanding pitcher was Indiana’s Cooper Biven, who shut down Burlington for the most part in his four innings of work.

Biven’s fastball was clocked as high as 68 miles per hour, and his curveball kept Burlington hitters off-balance. When Burlington did hit the ball, Indiana was solid in the field.

Indiana went on to take a 5-0 lead on Illinois in the championship, but Illinois rallied to win 12-6 and advance to the World Series.

“We ran into two very good teams in Illinois and Indiana,” DeGroot said. “Our draw in pool play was tough.”

DeGroot said pitching will be key if Burlington ever wants to make it to the elusive World Series. Burlington’s teams draw from the smallest talent pools, so depth becomes an issue at the higher levels.

“You have to have three to four stud pitchers,” DeGroot said. “Pitching is key. We will always play bigger communities. It’s possible for Burlington to advance someday, but it will be really tough.”