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Iron Mountain North Boys Roar Into State Final 4
 VICKSBURG, Mich.---The Iron Mountain North 10-11 year-old Little League All-Stars rolled to their third straight victory on Sunday, beating Schoolcraft, 14-2, at the state tournament in downstate Vicksburg. 
Dante Basanese had two hits on Sunday.
Iron Mountain North completed pool play with a 3-0 record, and will face Rockford out of the Grand Rapids area Monday at 2:00 (3:00 ET). In the win over Schoolcraft, Iron Mountain Manager Paul Julian was able to keep his team's pitching staff intact by throwing three boys 20 pitches each: Blake Julian, Joey Dumais, and Michael Savarin. All are eligible to throw in the semifinals. Offensively, Bryce Pietrantonio clubbed a three-run homer and Ian Anderson also went deep with a solo shot. Anderson also had a double and drew a walk. Dante Basanese had two base hits and "took one for the team", and Michael Savarin had two hits and a walk. Kody Sheldon kept up his hot hitting with a double, while Jurgen Kleiman and Cameron Schultz both chipped in with singles. 
Michael Savarin has had a big weekend.
But it was nothing of the sort on Saturday as Iron Mountain faced Cheboygan. That game took just under three hours to play and five pitchers were needed to finish it. "It was a battle of the sticks," Paul Julian said. "Only two errors altogether. It was crazy." Sheldon played in a big part in Saturday's win. He stole home plate in the bottom off the sixth inning to snap a 14-14 tie. Earlier, he hit a home run over the fence. "That was his first one. Ever," Coach Julian said. "He was so excited. We were all excited." Sheldon also added a single and a double in that game. Blake Julian was also hot at the plate, getting a single, double, and a home run. Savarin and Basanese each had two base hits, and Pietrantonio had two singles and got hit by a pitch. 
Kody Sheldon hit his first-ever home run.
Chase Carlson had a single and Dominic Schinderle walked twice. In Friday's game, Iron Mountain used four pitchers to hold off Tecumseh: Julian, Pietrantonio, and Kleiman all threw 20 pitches while Schultz threw 50 pitches. The foursome combined for eight strike outs and allowed four walks. Anderson led the way at the plate with a single, double, and a triple. Savarin had a single and walked twice, and Pietrantonio contributed a two-run single. Dumas had a triple and a single, and Kleiman walked three times. And Schultz had a base hit.
Click the thumbnails in the ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS box to see photos from the weekend. Thanks to Coaches Julian and Basanese and the Team Moms! 9-10 BOYS TOURNAMENT---The Upper Peninsula's two teams went 0-3 this weekend at the Minor Boys State Tournament in Grand Rapids. Escanaba lost to Western Grand Rapids, 11-3, on Friday, and then fell to Edwardsburg by the same 11-3 score on Saturday. Escanaba finished play on Sunday with a 10-6 loss to Traverse City. Portage Lake, out of Houghton, also went 0-3. The District Eleven champs lost on Friday to Lincoln Park North, 8-2, and then fell to Muskegon Roosevelt Park, 7-2, on Saturday. Portage Lake lost to Kalamazoo South Portage, 9-1, on Sunday. 13-14 BOYS TOURNAMENT---The U.P. champs from Kingsford lost their first two games, and then had Sunday's final pool play game suspended after heavy rains flooded the fields in Onsted. Kingsford was tied with West Branch, 12-12, in the eighth inning, when the rains came. They wll finish the game on Monday. Kingsford lost on Friday to Detroit Rosedale, 12-2, and then fell to Georgetown, 10-0, on Saturday. 15-16 BOYS TOURNAMENT---The U.P. champs from Kingsford lost both of their games and were eliminated in this double-elimination tournament in Grand Rapids. Kingsford lost to Freeland, 12-3, on Friday, and then fell to Onsted, 9-8, on Saturday.  |
