PRINT ADS

Onalaska Royal's 14-and-under baseball team advanced to the semifinals of last weekend's Stars of Tomorrow closed tournament.

Royal advanced to the semifinals with an 11-4 win over Fond du Lac. Clint Rihn earned a complete-game win, while Cody Ducklow, Phillip Stuhr, Dylan Peterson and Jeremy Houser hit well according to head coach Greg Markworth.

Onalaska opened with a 12-5 win over Racine, while advancing to the quarterfinals with a 13-1 win over Shelby. Brandon Heal and Adam Rude combined for the win against Racine, while Rihn and Ducklow were Royal's top hitters, Markworth said.

"Everyone played well all weekend," Markworth said.

Nick Bertram earned a complete-game win against Shelby. But Onalaska also lost shortstop, No. 3 hitter and pitcher Drew Markworth when he pulled a ligament on his pelvic bone while legging out a triple, and was out for the remainder of the tournament. Markworth was a late-season starter at third base for the Onalaska High School varsity this spring, yet it still young enough to play 14-and-under in the summer after his freshman year of high school.

"Losing Drew put us a little bit behind," Greg Markworth said. "Anytime you take your No. 3 hitter out you're going to struggle."

Royal fell 11-3 to the Dubuque Reds in the semifinals. Dubuque hit two home runs in the first inning on their way to a 5-0 lead. Dubuque beat Dyersville, Iowa in the championship game.

Markworth said Dusty Gordon and Matt Thomas were among the top defenders in the tournamenjt for Royal. Many of the same players played in a 12-and-under closed championship game in 2006, while also reaching the 12-and-under open semifinals that year. With several of the same players as 13-year-olds a year ago, the crew lost in the quarterfinals, in an unofficial pool championship game, to Bartlett, Ill., a year ago.

"Overall we played extremely well over the weekend," Markworth said. "This just left us with some unfinished business.