By Staff
NILES – The Howard Township 11-year-old All-Stars defeated L'Anse Creuse North 12-4 in the championship game of the Cal Ripken Baseball state tournament over the weekend.
Howard Township went 3-0 at the tournament to advance to the Ohio Valley Regional in Kokomo, Ind.
Howard Township defeated defeated L'Anse Creuse North 12-1 and Milford 10-2 to advance to the title game.
By winning the state championship the team will compete in the Ohio Valley Regional beginning on July 24, where they will compete with champions from Ohio, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Illinois and Michigan.
The same team captured the 2007 Michigan Cal Ripken state title as 10-year-olds.
The All-Stars consist of Gabe Stokes, Brendon Meek, Chris Frantz, Jordan Ruelle, Nick Suckle, Wyatt Thornton, Dean Klann, Cody Thornton, Dalton Raymond and Tyler Clutter. The team is coached by manager Troy Meek, assistant coach Dean Raymond, assistant coach Steve Thornton and assistant coach Craig Solloway.
Howard Township will be holding a fundraiser on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Advanced Auto on South 11th Street. The car wash will help raise money to fund the trip to the regional tournament.
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Pictured here are the members of the Howard Township 11-year-old All-Star team which captured the Cal Ripken state championship this past weekend. In front from left are Gabe Stokes, Brendon Meek, Chris Frantz, Jordan Ruelle and Nick Suckle. The middle row consists of Wyatt Thornton, Dean Klann, Cody Thornton, Dalton Raymond and Tyler Clutter. In back are coach Dean Raymond, coach Steve Thornton, coach Craig Solloway and manager Troy Meek.