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  • Jordan Thomas of the Jeff/GRC Junior League All-Stars avoids the tag of Wisconsin catcher Donovan Tomony during third inning of their Central Regional tournament game on Monday at Georgetown Little League in Fort Wayne. Photo by Chad Ryan/INMedia Source

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  • Jeff second baseman Kooper Falkenstein reaches for the baseball to complete a force out on Wisconsin runner Jordan Gerothonas in the second inning of their Central Region tournament game on Monday at Georgetown Little League in Fort Wayne. Photo by Chad Ryan/INMedia Source

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  • Dewey Cardwell of the Jeff/GRC Junior League All-Stars rounds first base en route to a stand-up double in Monday's game against Wisconsin during the Central Region in Fort Wayne. Photo by Chad Ryan/INMedia Source

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August 7, 2012

LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL: Jeffersonville 3-0 after 15-5 win over Wisconsin

By JUSTIN KENNY sports@newsandtribune.com

FORT WAYNE — With two strikes, Ian Ellis just focused on making contact.

He fouled off pitch after pitch, waiting for the one he could put into play to lead off the second inning. Finally, he got a pitch he could drive, knocking it into the outfield for a lead-off single.

That at-bat opened the floodgates.

The Jeff/GRC Junior All-Stars went on to score 11 runs in that second inning on the way to a 15-5 victory over East Madison (Wis.) in the Little League Junior Central Region Tournament in Fort Wayne on Monday.

The victory improves Jeffersonville to 3-0 in the tournament, with a game against South Elgin (Ill.) set for 4 p.m. today.

“I have been in a slump lately and I just wanted to get out of that,” said Ellis, who finished with a pair of hits, two runs and two RBIs. “That was a good way to do it.”

In all, 15 Jeff hitters came to bat in the second inning, although just four got hits. The All-Stars were helped by three Wisconsin errors and four walks.

“They helped us a bit with a few errors,” Jeff coach Jerry Cardwell said. “But we hit the ball pretty hard, put some pressure on their defense and it worked out.”

After Ellis’s single, 11 of the next 12 batters reached base.

“We were struggling at first [on offense], but then we came out and did what we normally do,” Kelly Rider said. “We made some good things happen.”

Devon Krueger started the game on the mound for Jeffersonville and threw three innings. Rider then came in as relief and threw the final four innings.

“That might have been our best game pitching,” Cardwell said. “Devon threw strikes and got outs and Rider gave us another good effort.”

Rider also had three hits and two RBIs to snap out of a slump. Dewey Cardwell had three hits and drove in a pair while Jordan Thomas added three hits and two runs scored.

The Jeffersonville offense was stymied after the big inning until the fifth inning when Ellis drove in a run on a groundout and Dewey Cardwell doubled in a run.

Thomas homered to lead off the sixth inning, while Dylan Thompson drove in the final run of the night on an RBI groundout.

“We were frustrated [with the lack of offense after the second inning] because their pitcher was not any better than the first few they had in,” Cardwell said. “The kids got a little complacent. Luckily, we got some coaches that are willing to get into them and get them refocused.”

Jeff will now focus on the Illinois state champions. If victorious, the team will likely receive a bye into Thursday’s semifinal round, relieving them of having to play in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. But nothing is set in stone heading into today’s matchups.

“We are right where we want to be,” Cardwell said. “We are on track pitching-wise and on track to have Devon and Kelly ready to pitch Thursday as long as we get there.”

And with every victory comes a bit more confidence from the players.

“We all know we can win this,” Ellis said. “We are feeling very confident right now.”

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