Rockets burning into tourney

After some last minute changes Thursday, the World Baseball Congress Championship hosted by the Portland Rockets is set to begin tonight.

The Rockets will play at least three games this weekend in the seven-team tournament, which officially begins this evening at 5 p.m.

The tournament, originally slated to begin Thursday, was bumped fully to today after the Battle Creek Buds dropped out of the field late. Games will be played at Runkle-Miller Field as well as Jay County High School throughout the weekend.

The host Rockets will play their first game at approximately 7:45 tonight against the Illinois Jayhawks out of Chicago.

Portland enters the tournament after a hot July, going 18-1 during the month including a 12-game winning streak to close out the season. The team turned a corner in late June and went from being a .500 team to an offensive powerhouse.

Part of that success came from the addition of catcher Josh Ludy, who returned to Portland after a short stint with the NCAA-affiliated Wisconsin Woodchucks.

Ludy added more power and hitting consistency to the middle of the Rocket's lineup and leads all batters with a .486 batting average. He is second with 31 RBIs, trailing only Jensen Painter, who has 36 batted-in but has also had 46 more plate appearances.

Described as a "spark" earlier in the year by coach Randy Miller, the Rockets have caught fire on both ends of the ball since adding Ludy, averaging 7.64 runs per game while giving up only 3.14 during those 22 games. The Rockets have outscored opponents 168 to 69 since June 27.

The lineup is led by shortstop Heath Williams and second baseman Cameron Brannock, who continually set up the Rockets to score with on-base percentages of .535 and .577, respectively. Ludy and cleanup hitter Painter, who is batting .414, have taken advantage of those baserunners throughout the season.

The pitching has also been strong throughout the stretch, with Rocket hurlers giving up two or less runs in 12 of their past 22 outings.

Tonight, Painter, the Rocket's ace, will take the mound to face the Jayhawks. He is 7-0 this season with an ERA of 1.36 and 45 strikeouts in 53 innings.

Portland has also received consistent performances from JCHS graduate Josh Shatto in both starts and relief and Tyler Mills has been a go-to guy late in the game.

The Rockets will face the Putnam County Dirt Bags at 10 a.m. and the Ohio Titans at 5 p.m. on Saturday, both games taking place at Runkle-Miller field.

Semi-final games will be played at 11 a.m. at JCHS and Runkle-Miller, with the tournament concluding with a championship game at 3 p.m. at Runkle-Miller Field.

Admission to the tournament is $3 per game or $5 for the weekend. For a complete tournament schedule, see sports on tap, page 9.[[In-content Ad]]