By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Howard Township All-Stars suffered a 16-0 setback in the opening game of the Cal Ripken Baseball Ohio Valley Regional in Lexington, Ky.
The 12-year-old All-Stars were defeated by Columbus, Ind. Friday morning as Thursday's game was completed.
Also on Friday morning, the host Southeastern All-Stars edged Elizabethtown, Ky., 5-4.
Columbus advanced to face Pleasant Prairie, Wis. Friday night at 6 p.m.
Howard Township falls into the consolation bracket, where it was scheduled to play the loser of the Mishawka, Ind.-Highview (Louisville, Ky.) contest at 12:30 p.m. today.
A 14-run fifth inning propelled Columbus to the opening round victory.
Columbus grabbed a 1-0 lead after three innings and increased its advantage to 2-0 with a run in the fourth.
Howard Township was limited to just three hits in the contest – all singles.
Fritz Findeisen, Nicholas Zimmerman and Jake Brentlinger all had hits for the All-Stars.
Casey Burandt worked four innings for Howard Township and took the loss. He allowed four earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.
Also pitching for the All-Stars were Brentlinger, Keith Jann and Alex Wright.
The tournament runs through Tuesday. The championship game is slated for 5:30 p.m. The winner advances to the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Md.
Colubus 001 1(14) – 16 14 1
Howard Township 000 00 – 0 3 2
WP – Nathan Rich (C)
LP – Casey Burandt (HT)
2B: Rich (C) 2, Adam Grimes (C), Nick Wingate (C)