By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The beat goes on for the Niles Senior Baseball All-Stars at the Little League Central States Regional in Peru, Ill.
The All-Stars improved to 4-0 and locked up the No. 1 seed in the championship round Tuesday afternoon with a 6-3 victory over previously undefeated Wisconsin.
Iowa will be the second seed today for the semifinals, which are slated to begin at 5:45 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for 9 p.m. (Michigan time).
Niles edged out undefeated Iowa by two runs. The tiebreaker for the tournament is the fewest runs allowed.
Niles has allowed just six runs, while Iowa has allowed eight runs. Niles scored 37 runs in four games compared to 46 for Iowa.
The All-Stars will face Ohio in one semifinal contest. Iowa will take on Wisconsin in the other semifinal, also being played at 5:45 p.m.
Wisconsin ended up with a 3-1 record, while Ohio went 2-2 in pool play.
On Tuesday, Iowa defeated Kentucky 16-4, while Ohio edge Illinois 5-4. Also winning on Tuesday were Missouri, who defeated Minnesota 22-1 and the host team LaSalle National, which defeated Nebraska 13-4.
Niles…6
Wisconsin…3
Cody Udell doubled twice and drove in four of the six runs as Niles advanced to the Central States Regional semifinals today.
Udell's bases loaded double helped Niles score five times in the second inning.
Jesse McCombs and Ricky Briand also doubled for the All-Stars, who finished undefeated in pool play.
Taylor Ort, Tyler Jackson, Dan Reidenbach, Will Coar and Briand all saw time on the mound for Niles.
Ort started and worked an inning and two-thirds. Jackson worked two and two-third innings before giving way to Reidenbach for a third of an inning. Coar pitched two and two-third innings before Briand came in for the final out.