Waite Park remains perfect
Drops Greenville, North Carolina, 10-7

By Stan Hudy

CLIFTON PARK – One year ago, the Waite Park, Minnesota 14-year-old Babe Ruth all-star team was awaiting direction for its return trip from Quincy, Massachusetts. The squad finished pool play with a 1-3 record and failed to advance to the single elimination bracket.

On Monday night, the Midwest Plains regional champion sent a message that they were a team to be reckoned with, despite playing fewer games, in less accommodating conditions during their short spring and summer seasons.
Waite Park dropped Southeast regional champion, Greenville, North Carolina, 10-7, and became the only team to finish pool play with a perfect, 4-0, record.
“We didn’t expect to be 4-0” Waite Park assistant coach Dick Henkemeyer said. “Our first priority was to get into the finals, getting through pool play.”

Last year, Waite Park had two heartbreaking early losses in pool play and couldn’t recover.

“We lost to Jefferson Parish (Louisiana) in the bottom of the seventh by a run,” Henkemeyer said. “We lost the next game to Nash County, 3-2, in the bottom of the eighth. We played well going in, but unfortunately we ran into two very good baseball teams.”

The competition is comparable at the next level this week in Clifton Park, but Waite Park has already dismissed host team, Clifton Park, 3-1, Greenville, 10-7, Torrance, California, 4-2 and West End, 8-7.

The Midwest Plains squad put a single run across in the second inning to take the initial lead and then tacked on two more runs in the third and fourth innings, taking a 5-0 lead. Waite Park appeared to put the game away with four additional runs in the top of the sixth, leading 9-0, before Greenville rallied for five runs in the bottom half of the inning, 9-5.

“We went 4-0 in states and 4-0 in the regional,” Henkemeyer said. “I think they got a little excited late in the game.”

Ron Tellefsen MVP award winner, Andy Henkemeyer went 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Waite Park teammates Josh Althaus and Adam Johnson both went 2-for-3 with a run scored in the victory.

The loss last year stung, but hasn’t haunted the Waite Park squad.

“Last year we lost to the champion and the defending champion,” catcher Andy Henkemeyer said. “It was hard to swallow, we wanted to win the next two.”
Waite Park could have lost to Greenville and continued to advance into the elimination round.

“If we lost we would have to watch the Greenville (North Carolina)/West End (Williamsport, Pa.) game,” Dick Henkemeyer said. “We couldn’t count on two days rest without it (4-0 record). We wanted that.”

The Midwest Plains champion earned the next two days off with the perfect record in pool play. Today was their scheduled day off from the tournament and the squad earned the No. 1 seed in the National Division, getting a bye in the first day of single elimination contests. Waite Park will face the winner of the third place national versus second place American winner 7 p.m. Wednesday.

“We told the kids to relax,” Henkemeyer said. “We’ve got two days off, we’ll rest our pitching and it will give us a chance to make sure everyone’s healthy.”
Greenville, North Carolina will face West End at 10 a.m. today with the winner advancing to the single elimination bracket and the other ending their all-star baseball season.

“They need to be ready all seven innings,” Greenville, North Carolina coach Clay Medlin said. “This is the biggest game of the year, maybe the biggest game ever.”