It’s On To The Sectionals For Area Juniors

TCN Walks Away As District 12 Champs!
By Kerry Hewitt, White Cloud Little League Board VP 
Photos By Bobbie Cruzan

As most little league players have put away their bats, glove and balls for the season, one team continues on…
This past week, Junior Boys’, ages 13 & 14, competed on a district level.  In District 12 there were four teams: Beach (Fruitport), Grant, Kent City and TCN (Tri-City North).  TCN is made up of players from Hesperia, Newaygo and White Cloud.
District competition kicked off on Friday, July 7th where TCN traveled to Beach and walked away victorious by a score of 7 to 3 in 7 innings.
Game 2 was on Monday, July 9th where TCN traveled to Grant and walked away with a 16 to 4 win after 5 innings.
Game 3 was on Thursday, July 12th where TCN traveled to Kent City and walked away with a 12 to 2 win after 5 innings.
After the first 3 games, TCN was sitting with a 3-0 record and Beach, Grant and Kent City were all 1-2.

Based on an RAR calculation, it was determined that the championship game would be TCN versus Beach.  Once again, TCN went on the road on Sunday, July 15th as they traveled to Beach for what would be a thriller of a game.  The coin toss determined the home team would be TCN and it didn’t take long for Beach to score their first run.  TCN answered back in the bottom of the 1st making it a 1-1 game.  The next three innings were scoreless for both teams as we witnessed some amazing pitching.  Finally, in the bottom of the 5th TCN scored again making it a 2-1 game after 5 innings, but it was an explosive 6th inning for TCN that became too much for Beach to handle as they scored 6 more making the final score TCN 8 - Beach 1 after 6 ½ innings.

TCN advances to Sectional play against District 9 in a best 2 out of 3 showdown on Friday, July 20th with the winner advancing onto State.   Game one starts at 5 p.m. at Pinery Park in Grand Rapids, field 3. 2301 De Hoop Ave, Wyoming, MI 49509
The TCN team includes the following players from White Cloud: Seth McGowen, Taylor Bode, Alex Cruzan, Mason Ruether and Christian Ringler.  From Newaygo: Ryder Kirk, Glen Toth, Eddie Hammond, Cameron Goodin and Alejardo Guajardo and from Hesperia: Travis Kurtz. They are coached by Tommy Kirk, Todd Cruzan and Bob McGowen.  The team is sponsored by Bitely Tavern. ​​