Year-round dedication fuels 12U little leaguers

Team becomes fourth to advance to Indy

By Mike Ramczyk

Sports Editor

The Burlington Little League 12U All-Stars are six wins away from the sport’s promised land – the Little League World Series.

Thanks to a 9-4 thrashing of Madison East in the state championship game Friday night in Wausau, this particular group of players captured its third straight state title after winning as 10- and 11-year-olds.

The adage that kids don’t want to work hard doesn’t apply to this group.

From fall ball to top-notch tournaments with the traveling Burlington Titans to winter camps with high school coaches, all 13 of the team’s players want to get better.

“This group started playing together when they were 8, and they didn’t lose a local tournament for three years,” said head coach Dale DeGroot Tuesday night. “We’ve really challenged them. They are all athletes, and there isn’t any drop off. It’s a fun group.”

All of the hard work has resulted in three straight state championships, culminating in the city’s fourth little league team ever to advance to the Little League Baseball Central Region tournament in Indianapolis.

Burlington kicks off regional action Saturday against Illinois. With four games guaranteed, the local boys face Kentucky Sunday, Indiana Monday and Michigan.

If Burlington can manage one of the four best records of the six teams in pool play, semifinals take place Thursday with the championship Friday, Aug. 8.

“Athlete for athlete, this is possibly the best team the city has sent down to Indy,” DeGroot said. “Every team will be extremely tough. We need to play clean baseball with no errors. The games will be close.”

After a home run barrage that saw 10 of Burlington’s 13 players go deep in the district and state tournaments, the fences will be 25 feet longer. DeGroot said it will turn a lot of would-be circuit clouts into fly outs.

While the team hopes for success on the field, the off-the-field festivities will be an adventure. In the past in Indianapolis, teams would stay in a “barracks,” DeGroot said. The on-site facility had kids from all teams sleeping on cots with limited air conditioning.

This year, all teams and parents will stay in a hotel for the first time. The coaches will do their best to prevent all-nighters.

“Our job is to keep them focused on baseball,” DeGroot said. “With all teams staying in the same hotel, they may drain all the water from the pool. It’s an amazing experience for them.”

On the field, the 12U boys keep getting better and better. Trent Turzenski and Tucker Strommen played with the Indy-bound club last year, and DeGroot said it will be great to have their experience this year. As DeGroot put it, baseball is becoming Burlington’s sport.

So why has Burlington Little League ascended to a level where advancing to regionals is almost a given?

“The Titans (who were formed almost 10 years ago) have helped,” DeGroot said. “Our team plays as the Titans and with the little league. We go out and find the toughest possible teams all over Illinois and play in weekend tournaments all summer long. And we hang with everyone.”

DeGroot added that fall ball, which started four years ago, has been a huge help.

Furthermore, this is the first year that the Frank Roth and Ginger Beaumont all-stars have combined to form one super-power 12U squad. Last year, DeGroot coached the Frank Roth team, which advanced to regionals.

With so much talent, including power and multiple pitchers, that elusive first trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. may become a reality.