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A SPECIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NEWS AND TRIBUNE • FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015
ANOTHER DEEP RUN New Albany fell short of its goal of reaching the Little League World Series, but the All-Stars became one of the most successful in Southern Indiana history
2 2 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015 | NEWS AND TRIBUNE
DISTRICT 5 At Jeff/GRC Little League
POOL PLAY • New Albany 26, Silver Creek 1: New Albany opened district play with a 26-1 victory over Silver Creek. New Albany had 19 hits in the victory, led by Luke Vick’s 3-for-4 performance. Jaxon Murphy, Tucker Biven and Nick Sexton each had multi-hit games and Josh Castleman hit his first home run. Castleman, Biven, Ray Reisinger and Hunter Sprigler combined for a The New Albany All-Stars celebrate after winning the District 5 with a 17-1 victory over Jeff/GRC. | PHOTOS BY JOE ULLRICH one-hitter. • New Albany 11, Clarksville 1: New Albany improved to 2-0 in pool play with its second win by the 10-run rule. That would be a theme in the district. Castleman went 2-for-2 with a double and Reisinger was 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Murphy also had three RBIs in the victory. Castleman, Biven, Vick and Reisinger held Clarksville to one run on 10 strikeouts. • New Albany 25, Charlestown 0: After several days of rain delays, New Albany clinched a spot in the district championship by crushing
Charlestown. • New Albany 22, Jeff/ GRC 7: It was a meaningless pool game because both teams had wrapped up a spot in the championship game, but New Albany showed it could play from behind. New Albany powered out of a 4-0 deficit with seven runs in the first and second innings. Sexton hit a pair of home runs, while David Newbanks and Castleman had homered in the win.
DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP
• New Albany 17, Jeff/ GRC 1: New Albany made the Jeff/GRC AllStars look like just another team, when in fact, they were a very good team. Castleman gave up just two hits — none after the first inning — and New Albany compiled 15 hits en route to the title. For the tournament, New Albany scored 101 runs in five games. In the championship, Castleman, New Albany, Garrett Jones, Newbanks and Sexton each homered. Newbanks had six RBIs, including his three-run homer. The win earned New Albany its second straight trip to the Indiana State Finals in Jasper.
New Albany’s Nick Sexton is greeted at home plate after hitting a solo home run during New Albany’s 17-1 victory over Jeff/GRC in the District 5 championship game.
LEFT, New Albany Tucker Biven gets a base hit during the District 5 championship game over Jeff/GRC.
New Albany All-Star Davis Newbanks runs the bases during New Albany’s 17-1 win over Jeff/GRC in the District 5 championship game.
WELL DONE! Congratulations! We are so proud of you Joshua and the entire team on your hard fought battle to the District 5 Indiana State Championship and beyond.
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3 NEWS AND TRIBUNE | FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015 | 3
STATE FINALS At Jasper Youth Sports Complex
POOL PLAY • New Albany 11, New Castle 1: For the sixth time in six games in the postseason, New Albany won by double-digits. The defending state champions led the entire way and scored four times in the bottom of the fourth to clinch the win. Castleman allowed just one baserunner — on a walk — in three innings of work on the mound. He was also 2-for-3, scored three times and knocked in a pair of runs in the game-clinching fourth inning. David Newbanks was 2-for2, reached base four times and scored three times. Jameson Miller-Embry scored twice in the victory. • New Albany 9, Wabash 2: Castleman hit three home runs as the local stars improved to 2-0 at state. Ray Reisinger, Landon Kruer and Nick Sexton combined for a four-hitter. Reisinger pitched 2 2/3 and struck out five of the 10 batters he faced. • New Albany 17, Frankfort 7: New Albany fell behind 5-0 after the top-half of the first inning, but not even that could keep the All-Stars from completing Pool A unbeaten. New Albany outscored Frankfort 17-2 the rest of the way to earn the pool’s top seed. Castleman went 4-for-4, scored three runs and drove in two in the victory. He also closed out the victory on the mound, striking out five of the six batters he faced. Austin Oppel, Tucker Biven Newbanks, and Kruer each scored twice in the victory. QUARTERFINAL • New Albany 16, Southport 0: In perhaps its best performance of the year, New Albany advanced to the semifinal after scoring 14 times in the first two innings. New Albany also hit five home runs in the win. Oppel and Castleman started the game with home runs. Newbanks and Biven followed suit before Castleman hit his second of the day. Reisinger and Miller-Embry combined to shut out the Indianapolis squad.
SEMIFINAL • New Albany 8, Highland 1: In the toughest game to date, New Albany needed seven innings to beat Highland. With the game tied at 1-1 after regulation, New Albany scored seven times in the seventh to advance to the state championship for the second straight season. Luke Vick got the seventh-inning rally started, and after a Kruer single, Nick Sexton gave his team the lead for good with an RBI double. New Albany then scored six runs with two outs, including back-to-back-to-back home runs from Newbanks, Reisinger and Biven. Castleman went the distance and earned the victory. He struck out 13 batters. CHAMPIONSHIP • New Albany 3, Bedford 1: New Albany earned its second straight state championship with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Bedford. After surrendering a run in the first inning, Reisinger was spectacular the rest of the way. He allowed just one baserunner in his final 3 2/3 innings. Nick Sexton earned the save with a near-perfect sixth inning. Reisinger also had the go-ahead RBI when he knocked in Castleman after Bedford decided to intentionally walk Newbanks. “It’s just awesome. I’m real excited,” Reisinger said. “They intentionally walked David Newbanks, so I was trying to make them pay for that. I was a little nervous, but I wanted to come through for my team.” With New Albany trailing 1-0 after three innings, Castleman tied the game with his sixth home run in six games. “I knew I at least needed to get on base because we needed to score more runs to get the momentum going for us,” Castleman said. For Newbanks, Oppel and Castleman, it was their second straight state title and trip to Indianapolis for the Great Lakes Region. “It was an outstanding game,” New Albany manager Josh Biven said. “The last two games have been just battles. We did our job battling through the game and coming through.”
Nick Sexton, center, is rushed by his teammates on the mound after throwing the final pitch of New Albany’s 3-1 win over Bedford in the state championship game. | STAFF PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER FRYER
New Albany first baseman Josh Castleman connects for a first-inning home run during New Albany’s 16-0 win over Southport in the state quarterfinal round. Castleman hit six home runs in six games at state. | STAFF
PHOTO BY TYLER STEWART
New Albany’s Jaxon Murphy looks back to the New Albany dugout after beating a throw to second base during New Albany’s 16-0 win over Southport. | STAFF PHOTO BY TYLER STEWART
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4 4 | FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, 2015 | NEWS AND TRIBUNE
GREAT LAKES REGION At Rueben F. Glick Little League Center, Indianapolis FIRST ROUND • New Albany 3, Hamilton West Side (Ohio) 2: Luke Vick broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the sixth inning to give New Albany a big win against one of the region’s best teams. With runners first and second and nobody out, Vick drove a Kurtis Reid pitch into left field. Tucker Biven scored from second for the winning run. “When I heard the crowd cheering, I knew the team was going to run out to me and just tackle me,” Vick said. Josh Castleman drove in Vick and Landon Kruer with a second-inning RBI double to give New Albany a 2-0 lead. However, Hamilton was able to tie the game on a sixth-inning error. Castleman, Ray Reisinger and Tucker Biven pitched New Albany to victory. Although he didn’t get the win, Castleman allowed just one hit and struck out six in three innings. SECOND ROUND • Bowling Green East (Ky.) 5, New Albany 2: Due to a new format, New Albany had to face the Kentucky champion’s No. 1 pitcher in the second round. That was Eli Burwash, who kept New Albany off-balance all day with curveballs. It was New Albany’s first loss of the postseason. Tucker Biven, who was 2-for-3 in the loss, pitched well but a Maddux Burr bases-clearing double down the left-field line off Nick Sexton was the
difference. Castleman hit his first home run of the regional in the sixth but it wasn’t enough to keep New Albany from falling into the elimination bracket. ELIMINATION BRACKET • New Albany 3, Bay City (Mich.) 0: Thanks for Austin Oppel’s gem on the hill, New Albany stayed alive with a 3-0 victory over Michigan. Oppel surrendered just one hit through four innings and struck out six batters to earn the win. “Outstanding, outstanding peformance,” New Albany manager Josh Biven said of Oppel. “We were in a pickle. If he doesn’t step up like he did, like the Austin Oppel we know, maybe we don’t win that game.” New Albany led 1-0 after two innings before Tucker Biven drilled a two-run home run over the center-field fence for a 3-0 lead. ELIMINATION BRACKET SEMIFINAL • Hamilton West Side (Ohio) 5, New Albany 4: New Albany led 4-2 after five innings but walks and wild pitches ended its season. Josh Castleman’s triple gave New Albany a 1-0 lead in the top of the first before Hamilton scored twice in the bottom of the inning. New Albany led 4-3 after RBIs from Castleman and Oppel scored Hunter Sprigler and Nick Sexton in the top of the fourth. “They did a good job of coming back and getting the lead but just couldn’t seal the deal,” the manager said. “That’s baseball. Life goes on.”
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New Albany third baseman Ray Reisinger makes a play at third base during a 5-2 loss to Bowling Green (Ky.) in the second round of the Great Lakes Region tournament at the Reuben F. Glick Center in Indianapolis. | STAFF
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New Albany fans cheer on their All-Stars during a 5-2 loss to Bowling Green (Ky.) in the second round of the Great Lakes Region tournament. | STAFF PHOTO BY GREG MENGELT
LEFT, Danny Castleman consoles his son, Josh, following New Albany’s 5-4 loss to Hamilton West Side (Ohio) during the Great Lakes Region elimination game in Indianapolis. | STAFF PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER FRYER
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MAYOR JEFF GAHAN AND THE CITY OF NEW ALBANY WOULD LIKE TO CONGRATULATE THE DISTRICT 5 NEW ALBANY LITTLE LEAGUE TEAM ON AN
OUTSTANDING SEASON!