The Grosse Pointe Park Little League 11 Year Old Tournament Team completed its quest for a Little League State Championship last weekend, defeating Fraternal NW from Midland in the title game. The Park reeled off 13 straight wins en route to their first state title in 15 years.  The Park broke a tight game open in the top of the 5^th, sending 12 batters to the plate and scoring 8 runs.  Strong pitching, big bats and terrific defense was the Park’s recipe for success throughout the tournament.  The final score was Grosse Point Park 15, Fraternal NW 0.

Manager Jim Williams commented after the game.  “Hard work pays off.  I am very proud of this group of boys.  They worked very hard and to a player each made a significant contribution to this state championship.”

Grosse Pointe Park featured a dominant offense throughout the state tournament, outscoring their opponents 93 – 9.   The Park completed pool play with a 4-0 record, opening the tournament with a 19-0 victory over Richmond and a 10-0 win over Kingsford.  The Park’s toughest test in the state tournament came against a strong West Portage team, but the Park prevailed with a 6-4 win.  The final game of pool play ended with a 13-3 Park victory against Decatur.

Grosse Pointe Park advanced to the championship round as the only undefeated team in the tournament.  In the quarterfianls, the Park dispatched Tecumseh in amazing fashion by scoring 11 runs in the 1^st inning.  The game ended with a 13-0 victory.  In the semi-final game against a very tough Western team from Grand Rapids, the Grosse Pointe bats remained red hot as the Park pounded out 20 hits, including 3 home runs, on their way to a 17-2 win.

While the offense was impressive, Williams gave much of the credit to great pitching and defense.  “You hit for show, but you pitch for dough,” he said.  The Park defense held the opposition to just 9 runs in 7 games, an average of just over a run a game.  At the same time, their trademark was a relentless offense.  The Park team scored 167 runs runs in 13 games between the District 6 and State tournaments, over 10 runs a game.  “Our team featured twelve players who can hit the ball.  There are no easy outs on our team.  It was truly amazing to watch” commented Williams.  

The Grosse Pointe Park team earned a spot in the State Tournament by winning the District 6 championship.  District 6 tends to be one of the stronger districts in Michigan hosting teams from Grosse Pointe Farms City and Grosse Pointe Woods Shores.  Grosse Pointe Park defeated Grosse Pointe Farms City in the District 6 championship game by a score of 10-2.           

The members of the Grosse Pointe Park Tournament Team are Bennett Aretakis, Nick Azar, Brian Blanzy, Jack Bodien, Ian Corbett, Mark DerManulian, Andrew Eaton, Adam Morris, Michael Schneider, Cole Semanision, Jacob Stone and Jack Ryan Williams.  The team is managed by Jim Williams and coached by Tony Stone, Mark Schneider and Mark Eaton.