By Staff
The Niles F.O.P. Little League 8-year-old All-Stars took third place at the Hartford Tournament. F.O.P. was undefeated going into Sunday's games with victories over Coloma (1-1), Lakeshore (13-3) and Benton Harbor (10-7). The F.O.P. All-Stars lost to South Haven, 6-5, in their first game on Sunday and then suffered their final defeat in a come-from-behind victory by Benton Harbor, 7-6, in the semifinals.
The F.O.P. team was led in hitting by Ethan Zimmerman, Mitchell Dehn, Derek Scott, Kevin Hatcher, Alex Wright, Geordan Griffin and Connor Glick. Defensively, the team was led by Scott, Zimmerman, Dehn and Griffin.
The F.O.P. 8-year-olds are coached by Brent Wright and Bill Zimmerman.
The 8-year-old All-Stars opened the Michigan District 15 Tournament by beating Brandywine 21-14 Monday evening at Dowagiac.
Leading the way for F.O.P. offensively was Scott with three doubles and a single, Griffin with a double and three singles, Hatcher with two doubles and a single, Zimmerman with a triple and a single, Glick and Dehn with four singles each and Wright with two singles and an in-the-park home run. Jacob Oates, Kevin Ballge and Skylar Kimball all contributed hits to help the team.
The F.O.P. All-Stars continued play in the District 15 Tournament Wednesday night with a 6-5 loss to West Portage. They return to District 15 action Tuesday at F.O.P. Park in Niles against Mattawan at 7 p.m.