This years championship tournament had 9
of the contestants returning from last years line-up. Missing was
Pat Laffoon, who pitched in the Elders championship this year and in
his place was Merideth Judd, who didn't compete in 2009, but finished
2nd to Bruce Patterson in the A Class state tourney in 2008 with a 6-1
record, losing only his encounter with Patterson. Last years
championship class had Mark Seibold winning the state title,
Christopher Estelle 2nd, Daniel F Dunn 3rd, Russell Baker 4th, Doc Rice
5th, Darrell D Sherrard 6th, Dale L Moles 8th (finishing 2nd in 2007
& 3rd in 2006), Glen Hitner 9th (after finshing a strong 2nd in
2008), and Ron Womack 10th. The past 4 state titles went to
Seibold 2009 & 2007, Sherrard 2008, & Baker 2006.
Seven pitchers are right-handed and the lefties were Seibold, Baker
& Womack. Hitner & Womack throw the flip shoe at over
50%, which is a tough turn at this high level. Estelle tosses the
1-3/4 in the mid-50s. The 1-1/4 turn is thrown by Seibold, Dunn,
& Baker. The 3/4 turn is placed on the stake by Moles, Rice
& Sherrard. And Judd delivers the reverse 3/4 turn; the same
turn used by Alan Francis and past legend, 18 times Indiana State
Champion and three times world champion Curt Day.
The day in the outdoor air in Kokomo was beautiful, but in the first 4
to 5 rounds, the pitchers were pitching in a strong wind. This
caused most of the pitchers to pitch 4% to 10% below their entry
averages.
Shoes listed after the round indicates the length of the 5 games of the round
Round 1 - shoes: 34, 44, 44, 54, 66
Womack pitched a respectable 47% against Dunn, but Dunn came up
with a 64% game and won the game 40-23. Estelle got off to a slow
start against Baker connecting on 19 ringers to Baker's 25
encirclements to give Baker a 42-20 victory. Rice had a 47% game
against Hitner, who would normally jump all over such an opening
game. But Glen facing 21 ringers, could muster only 17 of his own
for a Rice 41-18 win start. The newcomer to the championship
class Merideth Judd caught Mark Seibold pitching a "half on" game at
only 50% with only 27 ringers, but Judd connected on 4 less ringers to
concede the contest to Mark at 42-23. Sherrard got caught up in a
66 shoes match against a tenacious Dale Moles. With both men just
a ringer or two from the finish line, Sherrard put on 39 to 36 by Moles
and won the close finish by a score of 42-36.
Standings: leaders with 1-0 were Seibold, Dunn, Baker, Rice, & Sherrard
Round 2 - shoes: 28, 32, 44, 48, 50
Rice punished the stake with 19 ringers out of 28 shoes (67%) and
Estelle could not figure his game out with only 6 ringers. Rice
42-1. Womack caught Seibold after Mark's 50% effort and faced a
solid 62% game from the 22 times Indiana State Champion and 2 times
World Champion. With a less than 30% effort Ron was on the low
end of a 42-4 scoreboard reflection of the game. Judd was about
7% below his entry average against Sherrard, who pitched a strong 65%
game to take the match 42-19. The wind was obviously having its
effect on Hitner and Baker. But Baker managed to connect on half
his 48 shoes, while Hitner turned in another game under 40% with 18
ringers. Baker 41-22. Moles and Dunn had the tightest
contest of the round with Dan Dunn pitching 11% under average to a hot
Moles who hit the stake at 58% to take the 50 shoes game at 40-29.
Standings: leaders at 2-0 were Seibold, Baker, Rice &
Sherrard. At 1-1 were Dunn & Moles. Still looking for
win #1 were Hitner, Estelle, Womack & Judd.
Round 3 - shoes: 32, 36, 44, 50, 64
Ron Womack met Darrell Sherrard looking for his first 50% plus
game. He pitched a disappointing 25% effort to a modest 53%
outing by Sherrard and Sherrard got win #3 at 40-6. Estelle met
Hitner, with both going for their first win. Hitner had a bad
game with only 8 ringers out of 36 shoes. Estelle finally pitched
his game at 55% and took the outing 41-5. Pitching on his own
familiar Kokomo courts, Daniel Dunn registered a 52% game and had
enough ringers to take Merideth Judd's 13% drop in ringer percentage
from round 2 to beat Judd 44-10. Seibold was pitted against
Moles. Seibold cooled off 6% from his last game, but Moles
dropped off 12%. Mark Seibold won his 3rd game by 41-24.
Still undefeated were Baker & Rice and they would decide who joined
the other two leaders in the current game. Going 64 shoes Baker
had 36 ringers. With one more ringer, and 57% to 56%, this game
ended as close as one might expect with Rice coming out on top 40-35 by
a hair.
Standings: leaders at 3-0 were Seibold, Rice &
Sherrard. At 2-1 were Baker & Dunn. At 1-2 were Estelle
& Moles. Looking for a win at 0-3 were Hitner, Judd &
Womack.
Round 4 - shoes: 32, 38, 40, 52, 56
Ron Womack was one of the pitchers that may have been having the
hardest time adjusting to the wind. Hitner also seemed to be
looking to compensate for the wind effect. Ron faced Doc Rice and
improved on his last game by 12%, but Rice threw another game over 60%
with 20 ringers to 12 and taking this game 40-15. At 21 ringers
in 38 shoes, Dunn faced 13 ringers by Estelle and took him 41-11.
Dale Moles let up considerably in his effort against Merideth Judd
hitting at only 42%. But Judd had his low game at this point with
30% and lost to Moles 41-17. Baker and Sherrard had a tight game
of nerves with 28 ringers to 25 ringers in favor of Russell
Baker. In a 52 shoes game, Baker took it 42-31 to tag Sherrard
with his first loss of the day. Seibold and Hitner were going at
it with a 1 ringer difference in their round 4 game. With a 42%
effort by Seibold, Hitner was a little better at 44% and with some
pennies in his favor he gave Seibold loss number one with a winning
score of 40-32 and put himself in the winning column.
Standings: leader at 4-0 Rice. One behind the leader at 3-1
were Dunn, Baker, Sherrard & Seibold. At 2-2 within striking
distance was Moles. With 1-3 were Hitner & Estelle.
Trailing at 0-4 were Judd & Womack.
Round 5 - shoes: 38, 42, 50, 60, 78
Russell Baker faced Daniel Dunn; and
that is all he did. Dunn pitched a near 70% game at 68% and Baker
dropped 6% from his round 4 game with under 50% at 47%. Dunn
picked up the win at 41-15. Judd got his game back up into the
40s with 42% against the leader Doc Rice. But Rice cooling off to
52% had enough for a 40-22 decision and only 4 ringers more than
Merideth. Sherrard, with only one loss, met Hitner and rung the
stake at 66% with 33 ringers. Hitner came up 8 ringers short with
a nice 50% game and Sherrard won 44-24. Christopher Estelle had a
good close contest with Mark Seibold, who pitched 30 ringers out of 60
shoes. Estelle was down 39-34 with one ringer less, when Seibold
hit double ringers to win the contest 45-34. Two pitchers were
still battling it out in a long 78 shoes game. Ron Womack pitched
a great 60% game against Dale Moles. With 47 ringers each at the
end of the game and both men within reach of the finish line, Moles
went over first with a 41-38 score. Ron Womack lost this one, but
he appeared ready to push the remaining pitchers to their best games.
Standings: leader at 4-0 Rice. Breathing down his neck were
Dunn, Sherrard & Seibold at 4-1. At 3-2 were Moles &
Baker. 1-4 were Estelle & Hitner. And at 0-5 were Judd
& Womack.
Round 6 - shoes: 42, 46, 52, 58, 66
Estelle pitched another game under 40% at 38%. Sherrard
sailed along at a 50% clip and took their encounter 40-17. Hitner
was back into the tournament with his second 50% plus game at 52%
against Dan Dunn. With 24 ringers, Hitner almost did enough, but
Dunn rung the stake 25 times, adding some closer shoes, and took this
close game 41-31. Merideth Judd faced Womack, but it was a new
version of Ron Womack. With 21 ringers out of 52 shoes, it was
not enough to the 23 ringers of Womack and the victory was 44-32 in a
good game in Womack's win column. Doc Rice met Dale Moles and
pitched on 33 ringers at a 56% clip. Moles reached in for 39
ringers and his 67% game and put a loss on Rice at 42-23. Dunn,
Sherrard & Seibold had to be electrified to have Doc join them in
the one loss club. Seibold was matching ringers with his opponent
Baker. At 35 ringers apiece in their 58 shoes game, Russell Baker
crossed the finish line first with a 40-38 victory. Siebold was
now carrying two losses.
Standings: leaders were now Rice, Sherrard & Dunn at
5-1. Close behind by one game were Moles, Seibold & Baker at
4-2. At 1-5 were Womack, Hitner & Estelle. Looking for
his first win in championship play was Judd at 0-6.
Round 7 - shoes: 38, 52, 54, 58, 76
This round would see clashes between
Seibold & Rice as well as Sherrard & Dunn. Judd was up
against the 2006 state champion Russell Baker. Again falling
short of his fine 52% entry average, Judd was just under 40% with 15
ringers and Baker bested him by 9 ringers with a strong 63% finish to
take the game 42-11. Hitner pitched a good solid 57% game against
Moles with 30 ringers. But Moles made a pattern around the stake
with a 71% game along with 37 ringers out of 52 shoes and came out with
a 41-22 win. But as with Womack's strong effort in the 5th round,
also against Moles and losing by only 3 points, Glen Hitner now seemed
ready to do battle with all comers with his shoes finding the
stake. Estelle hit 27 ringers against Womack at 50%, but with his
second wind after the first 4 rounds, Womack had another fine game at
57% and took last year's 2nd place finisher 41-26. Seibold hit
58% ringers, but against Doc Rice's 63% game, it was 3 ringers short
and Rice won the meeting 42-30. Daniel Dunn & Darrell
Sherrard looked like they might be on the court the rest of the day in
their long 76 shoes marathon. With only 2 more ringers at 61%,
Dan took Darrell at the end 42-37 to hand Sherrard his second loss of
the tournament. Dunn and Rice were in a dead even tie for first
with only two rounds to go and slated to meet in the next round.
Standings: leaders were Dunn & Rice at 6-1. Moles,
Sherrard & Baker at 5-2. Seibold at 4-3. Womack at
2-5. Hitner & Estelle at 1-6. Judd at 0-7.
Round 8 - shoes: 42, 42, 52, 54, 58
On a late two games winning streak, Ron
Womack faced Russell Baker. Needing the win to stay in contention
for the title, Baker pitched a 25 ringers game out of 42 shoes at
59%. Womack stayed right with him with 22 ringers out of his
shoes and just fell short with Baker taking the game 40-33 in a close
contest. Also going 42 shoes were Seibold & Sherrard in their
current "If you win, I'll get you the next time" rivalry.
Sherrard pitched a 52% game after pitching his long game in the last
round. Seibold had a nice 61% effort and stood at the top of this
meeting 42-27. (I'll get you next time!) Dan Dunn was
pitching a 57% game to tag Doc Rice with his second loss and take sole
ownership of first place. But Rice hit his 3/4 high arching turn
at a strong 67% and he took sole possession of first place with a 40-24
win over Dunn. (Only 3 times state champion, in the last six
years, Darrell Sherrard stood in the way of a state title for Doc
Rice). Judd was ready to pitch with a 48% effort against
Hitner. But with 4 more ringers and his 4th 50% plus game at 55%,
Glen Hitner took this fairly tight game 42-27. Coming down from
his 71% effort, Dale Moles still rung the stake at 58% to take Chris
Estelle 45-20.
Standings: leader at 7-1 Rice. At 6-2 were Dunn, Moles
& Baker. Sherrard & Seibold were 5-3. With 2-6 were
Womack & Hitner. Estelle had 1-7. Judd was sitting at
0-8.
Round 9 - shoes: 42, 50, 56, 58, 62
With nothing to lose and everything to gain, as they say;
Merideth Judd pitched the kind of game that his fine entry average
stated that he often pitches. Hitting the stake at 59% with 25
ringers out of 42 shoes, Judd beat Estelle 40-14. Judd still
averaged 20 points in 8 losses against the finest pitchers that Indiana
could throw at him, which is a pretty good premier. Against Rice,
Sherrard had another 52% game with 26 ringers, but Rice pitched his 5th
60% plus game of the tourney (his 3rd in a row) to ring the stake 31
times and win the game 42-23 and become the 27th Mens Indiana State
Champion with a good 8-1 winning record over a threatening field of
pitchers. Hitner and Womack were taking it to the wire in 56
shoes. With 29 ringers to 27 ringers, Ron Womack squeezed out the
win in the tight finish 41-36. Russ Baker had his hands full with
the ever aggressive Dale Moles. Fighting for the coveted 2nd
place spot with only two losses, these two put on a great show for the
spectators. Baker crossed the line with 56% ringers against 55%
by Moles (separated by just one ringer) and just made it for the win at
40-35. With one more loss than Dunn, Seibold showed him a 59%
game and 37 ringers. Daniel's 54% and 34 ringers would not be
enough today, and Seibold won his last game 41-30.
Final Standings: Doc Rice 2010 Mens Indiana State Champion
8-1. 2nd place Russell Baker 7-2. 3rd place Daniel F Dunn
6-3. 4th place Dale L Moles 6-3. 5th place Mark Seibold
6-3. 6th place Darrell D Sherrard 5-4. 7th place Ron Womack
3-6. 8th place Glen Hitner. 9th place Merideth Judd
1-8. 10th place Christopher Estelle 1-8.
FINAL WORDS
Just three years ago in 2007, Doc Rice
entered the mens championship and finished 2-7 in 10th place, looking
up at 9 other pitchers with his tournament pitching percentage of
48%. Can a man who was just happy to make the championship class,
turn things around and become the mens champion in just three
years? It happened in Kokomo in 2010. (Are you listening
Merideth Judd?) The point is, with six pitchers separated by
ending percentages of 54% to 59%, this tournament was up for
grabs. The contestant that was most ready this year was Doc
Rice. Dale Moles was the only pitcher to pitch above his entry
average. Rice was within 1% of his. Christopher Estelle did
not show up with his talent on this day, pitching under his impressive
56% entry average by 14%. Hitner and Judd were off their games by
nearly 10% each. Dunn, Sherrard & Seibold were all about 6%
off their own games. Womack and Russell were 4% off. But
the wind was a factor early on and some recovered, and some did
not. When each mens championship tournament ends, one just looks
forward to the next years contest. Now with four active pitchers
as current and past state champions, and the rest with the desire to be
the 28th Indiana State Champion in the next few years; we have a race
in the making. This was definitely one to remember and full of
good games. This is just one chapter in a long book of Indiana
Mens State Championships.
Round by Round reenactment by -- Kenny Wolf, web site editor