News

Scrappers win huge 12U tourney in Cooperstown

Story by By Brian Kollars, Sandusky Register

The Sandusky Bay Scrappers’ 12U baseball team was just hoping for a respectable showing at the recent five-day tournament at Cooperstown Dreams Park.

The Cooperstown complex hosts powerful travel teams from across the country in weekly tournaments and serves as one of the country's ultimate destinations for youth baseball.

The Scrappers proved to be respectable and then some against top-flight competition. They won the tournament by going undefeated in 10 games.

"We knew we were a very good local team,” Scrappers first-year head coach Cody Dearth said. “You never know how that will translate on a national stage. We were, at the very minimum, hoping to go 3-2 in pool play, hopefully 4-1, and maybe win one or two in bracket play.

“Never thought we would go 10-0 and run through the tournament. They played great."

The Scrappers went 5-0 in pool play last Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to earn the No. 7 seed in the 94-team field.

That high seed earned the team made up of mostly area 12-year-olds a bye to the round of 32.

After a rainout on Saturday, the Scrappers dug in for a long day on Sunday.

They scored 52 runs in four games to advance to the championship matchup against top-seeded Team Elite National from Georgia — the top seed that scored 20, 14, 15 and 25 runs in its four games before the final. The Atlanta-based organization boasts an alumni roster that includes several major-league players.

The kids from Ohio were the decided underdogs.

“There were two umpires from the Akron area — each team has to bring an umpire — and they were cheering us on all week,” Dearth said. “They said most of the baseball operations staff gave us no chance in the championship game: ‘This Georgia team is a national team and will run through them.’ ”

Instead, the Scrappers posed with the big trophy late Sunday night at the complex’s showcase stadium.

Brock Parker from Castalia threw a 1-hit shutout against the powerful team based in Georgia.

“He just carved them up,” Dearth said.

Jordan Kerman-Story, who lives in the Cleveland area, led off the game with a home run for the Scrappers.

Elliott Lozier, from Clyde, hit a grand slam in the third inning that rounded out the scoring.

"We were told there were 13,000 people watching,” Dearth said. “That included 8,000 people streaming online. I played Division I baseball (at Youngstown State). We opened up with the University of Georgia my junior year after they had lost in the national championship game the year before and they had 4,500 fans there."

Dearth, a 2007 Bellevue graduate who works in finance for a commercial real estate company, doesn’t have a son on the team. He previously coached in a youth program in Cleveland and also coached at St. Ignatius.

His nephew Knox Dearth is on the Scrappers squad and his brother, Chad Dearth, who lives in Clyde, is an assistant coach.

"I'd go watch Knox play and it's always there, the desire to coach. I love to coach and the development aspect,” Dearth said. “It's all about providing experiences for these boys.

"We knew we wanted to take them to Cooperstown. I don't know if there's a better experience in the country."

Other players on the roster include Brayson O’Boyle, Jakeb Wikel, Brayden Danz, Bo Hotz, Ian Killingsworth, Eli Knight, Ryland Jeffrey, Grant Schnittker and Blake Muskovich.

Nate Parker is the team's other assistant coach.

The Scrappers hit more than 30 homers in the tournament on the reachable 200-foot fences.

The Cooperstown complex began hosting tournaments in 1996. Dearth said his research indicated that champions from Ohio are extremely rare.

"Over the last 25 years there's been roughly 300 tournaments played and there's 80 to 100 teams in each one,” he said. “There's only been three or four Ohio teams win it. We didn't think our odds were great to win it."

The trip to Cooperstown takes plenty of advanced planning and money. Dearth said the trip cost $25,000, and most of that was secured via fund-raisers.

The players stayed in bunkhouses and were fed three meals each day. After the Scrappers’ semifinal win they were transported back to their dorm on golf carts. They got more special treatment before the championship game.

"It was one of the coolest baseball experiences I've ever been a part of,” Dearth said. “They picked us up from the batting cages and transported us like a security escort up to the field."

The Scrappers have a gaudy record of 43-5-2 this summer. Up next is a tournament starting Thursday at Sports Force Parks.

"We'll see if we can bring them back down,” Dearth said. “Everyone is on a high, parents are still texting. It was a phenomenal experience. The boys were treated unbelievably."

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Scrappers' results at Cooperstown Dreams Park

Pool play

Utah Elite American, W 17-5
BRG Pirates Black, San Diego, W 9-5
Inside Edge, Missouri, W 17-3
Home Plate Chili Dogs, Georgia, W 21-3
Indiana Bulls South, W 14-2

Bracket play

Knoxville Stars, W 15-9
Club All-Star Blue, Stockton, Calif., W 11-6
Bagel Bombers (Del.), W 15-3
Go Pro 12U (Illinois), W 11-5
Team Elite National (Georgia), W 5-0