ROCK FALLS — The Rochelle Little League Junior All-Stars suffered their first loss of the 2017 Illinois Little League State Tournament on Thursday, but that didn’t stop the boys from bouncing back in a big way when they took on Cicero Friday evening at Dillon Park.

After defeating Clear Ridge to begin the state tournament, Rochelle battled Warren Park on Thursday, with the boys fighting hard but falling by a score of 10-3. The Junior All-Stars moved to the losers bracket to face Cicero, and the boys rebounded from a tough loss by beating Cicero Friday night by a score of 9-1 to stay alive in the postseason.

Warren Park

Breccan Berns walked to begin the bottom of the first inning, and Kyler Lara drew Rochelle’s second walk of the inning before Mike Schlenbecker reached base on a catcher’s interference call. Grant Thompson and Sam Hacaga earned back-to-back walks, with Hacaga plating Lara to give Rochelle a 1-0 lead.

Warren Park responded with a six-run outburst in the top of the second inning to jump ahead 6-1. Garrett Burdin singled with one out in the bottom of the second inning, but Rochelle was unable to score.

Both teams went scoreless in the third inning, but Warren Park added insurance runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take an 8-1 lead over Rochelle. The Junior All-Stars bounced back with two runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut Warren Park’s lead to 8-3. Nolan Morrissette reached on an error to begin the scoring threat, and Berns walked soon after to put two runners on base for Spencer Warborg, who notched an RBI groundout to score Morrissette.

Lara singled to plate Berns, and Schlenbecker singled soon after for his first hit of the game. But the boys couldn’t cash in, and Warren Park scored two runs in the top of the seventh to take a seven-run lead and seal Rochelle’s defeat.

Lara started on the mound for Rochelle, tossing one inning before Berns recorded two outs in the second inning. Warborg threw one and two-thirds innings, and Burdin hurled a team-high two and two-thirds innings. Justin Beck pitched the final inning for the Junior All-Stars.

Cicero

Rochelle drew first blood in the top of the second inning when Thompson singled and advanced twice before crossing home plate on an RBI grounder by Hacaga. The Junior All-Stars increased their lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning after Schlenbecker reached base on a catcher’s interference and scored on an error.

Both offenses remained quiet for most of the game, but Rochelle ambushed Cicero with four runs in the top of the sixth inning to go up 6-0. Nate Askeland walked to begin the Rochelle scoring threat, and Hacaga doubled to put two boys on with no outs. Burdin walked to load the bases, and both Morrissette and Berns delivered two-RBI doubles to extend the Rochelle lead.

The Junior All-Stars added three runs in the top of the seventh to take a commanding 9-0 lead over Cicero. Schlenbecker singled before advancing on a wild pitch, and Schlenbecker scored on an RBI single by Hacaga. Ethan Albers, Beck and Morrissette drew three straight walks to keep the threat alive, with Albers scoring on a sacrifice fly by Berns.

Cicero scored its lone run in the bottom of the seventh, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deep hole. Rochelle held Cicero to just three hits in the victory, with seven pitchers combining to shut the Cicero offense down. Warborg struck out two in the first inning before Hacaga added two strikeouts in the second inning.

Ben Harvey fanned three Cicero batters in two innings of relief, and Berns added one strikeout in one and two-thirds innings. Beck recorded his lone out via strikeout, and Trevor Goodwin chipped in one-third of relief before Lara shut the door.