July 23, 2014 at 3:20 p.m.
Northwoods 15-year-old all-stars start tournament play Thursday
Northwoods 15-year-old all-stars start tournament play Thursday
According to coach Todd Johnson, it is only the third time a team from the greater Rhinelander area has qualified for the tournament, which will sport 12 teams from six states - Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia.
Michigan is also a part of the Ohio Valley Region, but its state champion declined the invite to the tournament. That opened the door for Northwoods, whose roster is almost a 50/50 split of players from Rhinelander and Tomahawk.
Northwoods knew an at-large berth to the regional tournament was up for grabs during the state tournament, which took place July 11-14 in Dodgeville. The team put itself in position, beating Sturgeon Bay and Stevens Point in the double-elimination event. With a win over Eau Claire, Northwoods clinched the runner-up spot and the at-large bid.
"It was super exciting," Johnson said. "To get there by beating Sturgeon Bay, who ended up taking fourth, beating Stevens Point and beating Eau Claire - just quality programs. To beat them was huge. Then it's just a tremendous amount of excitement knowing these kids would be able to go to Ohio Valley Regionals."
The team includes 12, 15-year-old eligible players - Kurt Zuiker, Trey Gwin, Tyler Blomdahl, Brandon Hess, Bryce Young and Matt Rudolph from Rhinelander; and Justin Jarvensivu, Isaac Weber, Riley Tollison, Clayton Schulz, Andrew Cook and Zach Volz from Tomahawk. The team also called up 14-year-old eligible Jacob DeMeyer from Rhinelander, who pitched a complete game in the state tournament victory over Stevens Point.
Ken Zuiker from Rhinelander and Jack Jarvensivu of Tomahawk are the team's assistant coaches.
Most of these players competed against each other during the Northwoods Babe Ruth League season, but they have also played together before - as 13-year-old all-stars.
"At that time, a couple years ago, we sent that team to state," Johnson explained. "The core of this team played in Green Bay in the state tournament. Out of 19 teams, I think we took sixth. We knew there was some good potential there, but when we went to Green Bay as 13s, basically we had two practices and then we played. The kids hardly knew each others names. This year we did get them in a couple early tournaments just so they can play together and, as coaches, we knew where all the pieces fit in. I think that was really huge."
Northwoods will need all of that experience this weekend. They are guaranteed at least four games in the tournament. Northwoods will play Eastern Kentucky at 10 a.m. Thursday, Central Indiana at 10 a.m. Friday and Northern Illinois at 3:30 p.m. Friday in pool play.
At the completion of pool play, the 12 teams will be seeded into a single-elimination tournament that will begin Saturday and conclude Sunday evening.
"Our objective to go into this - I don't know much about these teams other than Marinette and (Bay Port) - but I think our goal as coaches is to be very competitive, represent the Northwoods well, but above all else, to make this a positive experience for these kids," Johnson said. "It's going to be tough, but it's going to be a good test for these kids. But I think if we play our game and we get good pitching, hit and play defense - which is true with most teams - I know if we can do that we can play with anybody."
Regardless of how Northwoods does in the tournament, Johnson said it will be an experience the kids will not soon forget.
"You remember tournaments that you play in and state tournaments," he said. "To be able to go to the Ohio Valley Regional, you're playing teams from different states as far away as West Virginia. I was fortunate enough to play in it when I was 14 and we hosted it here. This is only the third time that a Northwoods team has played in an Ohio Valley Regional, so that's pretty huge for these kids."
Since punching its ticket to the Ohio Valley Regional, the team has been raising funds to offset the cost of food, transportation and lodging.
As of midday Tuesday, the team had received roughly $1,000 in donations from individuals and organizations in the Northwoods.
"There's been a lot of excitement and I think that's a great thing," Johnson said. "Whether it's baseball, football or basketball, when the community rallies around the success of the community, that's really positive."
The team is still accepting donations. For more information, contact Ken Zuiker at (715) 367-4833 or [email protected].
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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