It didn’t take long for the Rochelle Little League 11-12 Boys All-Star Team to reach the Illinois Little League District 19 Championship.
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FREEPORT — It didn’t take long for the Rochelle Little League 11-12 Boys All-Star Team to reach the Illinois Little League District 19 Championship.
After toppling Rock Falls on Wednesday by a score of 14-10, the Rochelle boys returned to action Friday night, cruising over Freeport by a score of 12-2 to clinch a spot in the district tournament finals. Rochelle will play its championship game on Tuesday, July 11, with another game scheduled for Wednesday, July 12 if necessary.
Rock Falls
A six-run first inning helped Rochelle gain an early lead over Rock Falls, with Grant Messer plating Garrett Gensler reached base on a hit-by-pitch and scored on a double by Grant Messer, and Messer crossed home plate on a double by Zach Sanford. Brandon Moody singled after a walk to Alex Burnette, and both players scored after Jacob Andrist reached on an error and Noah Lara walked.
Messer homered in the second inning, and the 11-12 All-Stars added five more runs in the third inning. Andrist doubled and scored on a single by Lara, and a double by Ryan Simmons preceded a walk by Messer and back-to-back singles by Sanford and Burnette.
Rock Falls stayed within striking distance with four runs in the second inning and three runs in the fourth inning. Leading 12-9 in the fifth inning, Rochelle plated two runs to increase its lead and put the game out of Rock Falls’ reach. Simmons doubled and scored to begin the threat, with Sanford scoring after a walk and singles by Burnette and Denton Johnson.
Freeport
Rochelle jumped out of the gate in the tournament semifinals, scoring eight runs in the first behind to take an early lead over Freeport. Gensler reached on an error and scored after a two-run homer by Simmons, and Sanford singled to keep the Rochelle offense rolling. Seven All-Stars crossed home plate in the frame, with Gensler scoring twice in the first inning.
Sanford and Burnette each notched singles in the second inning, and Josh Lloyd scored in the third inning after a single by Lara. Gensler reached on another error and scored after a single by Simmons
Back-to-back one-out singles by Johnson and Bradley Cooney led to two more Rochelle runs in the fourth inning, and Lloyd singled to help put Freeport away for good.
