Butler Twp.
rolls to victory

Youth team makes state tourney
Reprinted from the
Butler Eagle
July 25, 2002
By JOHN ENRIETTO
Eagle Sports Editor
  CLARION - Butler Township's 9-10-year-old Little League all-star team has been playing together for three years and practicing nearly year-round.
  And it's playing like it.
  Butler Township cruised to the Section 2 championship here Wednesday with a 13-1 triumph over Indiana (Pa.) and will be one of five teams competing at the state tournament beginning Sunday in Scranton.
  "We're not satisfied. We're not stopping here," assistant coach Jay Fennell said. "The state tourament is an important step for us."
  "Winning the state tournament this year was a goal we set with these kids two years ago," manager Rob Swartwout said. "The ultimate goal is getting to the Little League World Series in a year or two."
  There is no national tournament for ages 9-10 in Little League baseball. Once an 11-12 team wins its state tournament, it must win a regional tournament to earn a berth in Williamsport.
  "If these kids win the state tounament, then technically, they're one tournament away from the World Series," Swartwout said. "This is a group of kids who believe it can happen."
  They've been made good enough to make it happen. Fennell built a Little League field in his backyard two years ago for the team. He has an indoor pitching and hitting facility the team uses during the winter.
  Fennell's son, 24-year-old Jason, is third in the independent Atlantic League in hitting this summer and recently played in the Chicago White Sox organization. He provided each Butler Township player with private hitting lessons during the off-season.
  The team has played more than 70 games together each of the past two years. This season, it won a tournament in Florida in January and won a tournament in Virginia in March.
  They practice twice a week in addition to playing in tournaments.
ROAD TO SCRANTON
  The Butler Township ages 9-10 Little League all-star team will compete in the five-team state tournament in Scranton beginning Sunday. Here is the team's double-elimination tournament scores thus far:
District 25 Tournament
East Butler 4 - Butler Township 3
Butler Township 22 - S. Clarion County 0
Butler Township 32 - Cranberry 1
Butler Township 7 - Clarion 2
Butler Township 7 - East Butler 1
Butler Township 14 - Franklin 0
Butler Township 14 - Franklin 4
Section 2 Tournament
Butler Township 15 - Greenville 0
Butler Township 14 - Indiana 2
Butler Township 13 - Indiana 1
Total run differential
Butler Township 141 - Opponents 15
  Is there a chance of baseball burnout for players so young? Not with these guys.
  "They can't get enough of it," Swartwout said. "We'll practice for three hours, then while the coaches are talking after practice, the kids will play more ball themselves for another hour."
  Assistant coach Jim Miller's son, C.J., plays second base and bats seventh for Butler Township. He's hitting .380 in postseason Little League play - and carries only the ninth-best average on the squad.
  "All of these kids are into baseball," Coach Miller said. "Their progress has been amazing. Only a few years ago, these guys were in T-ball and everybody was the same. You can see where the extended practices, games and private instruction have set them apart."
  Butler Township lost its first game in the double-elimination District 25 Tournament to East Butler, 4-3.
  It then won six straight games - facing the end of its season each time - to win the district. The closest score during that stretch was 7-2.		   "Losing that first game may have been the best thing that could have happened to us," Fennell said.
  "The kids have raised their level of play to such a point that I don't see how anyone can beat us," Swartwout agreed.
  Consider the following numbers:
  • Butler Township has outscored its opponents 141-15 in its 10 post-season games.
  • Butler Township has a .457 team batting average and its hitters have struck out only 24 times in 285 at bats in the post season, along with drawing 43 walks.
  • Opposing teams have struck out 64 times and drawn only 16 walks.
  • Ryan Fennell is hitting .687 (22 for 32) with six homers, eight doubles and a triple in the 10 playoff games. Jake Double is hitting .621 (23 for 37) with seven doubles, and John Crummy is hitting .586 (17 for 29) with five doubles.
  • Other top batting averages include Bobby Swartwout (.481), Dustin Hilgar (.448), Alek Bollinger (.436), Mason McLaughlin (.417), Buddy Rekich (.417), and Miller.
    •   Catcher Jake Gamble is hitting above .300. Tyler Thorn-Muller and David Thinnes round out the squad.
      "Everybody talks about our hitting, but we've only given up 15 runs in 10 games," Swartwout said. "We have 10 kids who can pitch. Our seventh, eighth and ninth pitchers are better than most teams' first, second and third pitchers."
      Fennell said Hilgar can already throw 62 miles per hour. Fennell himself pitches as hard as he can to the kids during batting practice.
      "I always tell them this is the fastest pitches you'll see all year," he said. "We put them in a lot of 11-12-year-old tournaments during the year, too.
      "No pitcher they see will intimidate them."
      Indiana's all-stars went 8-2 in the post-season, losing to Butler Township by scores of 14-2 and 13-1. Butler Township had 21 hits Wednesday and struck out only once.
      Fennell, Double and Crummy had four hits each. Fennell hit a two-out, two-run homer in the top of the first inning and the team had a 7-0 lead by the third inning.
      "Their intensity is incredible," Swartwout said. "These kids know what they want and they're going for it."