**LCM 10 Vidor 0 Final/Friday..LCM DISTRICT CHAMPS**

[Gabe]

Congratulations Bears, what a  great achievement! Jake is by far the best hitter I have ever covered in high school baseball. This is a young team but I will not count them out until the final out.

[KFDM COOP]

LC-M Bears win District 22-4A championship

Gabriel Pruett

The Orange Leader

VIDOR — Simply amazing.

Those words came out quite easily for Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears Coach Steve Griffith’s mouth Friday night after catcher Jake Rowell put on a show and the Bears won the District 22-4A championship.

The Bears finished off the Vidor Pirates early Friday night with a 10-0 five inning pounding to give LC-M a 12-2 mark in the district standings, one game ahead of the Port Neches-Groves Indians. The Bears end the regular season 25-4.

The Pirates (20-7, 9-5) are now tied with Nederland for third place in the district. Vidor and Nederland will decide the final playoff spot at 1 p.m. Saturday at Nederland’s Metreyeon-Delahoussaye Field.

“I am glad the way it turned out and I could not be more proud of a team,†Griffith said. “When we started this thing we just wanted to get in (the playoffs). Nobody ever remembers what you finish in district, just how far you go. Our next goal is to play as far as we can.â€

Rowell finished off an impressive district season with an incredible hitting display on Friday with two home runs and six RBI. The senior catcher was 3-for-4 at the plate with three runs and a walk. He struck out just once in the 14 district games in 2007 and hit well over the .600 mark.

Rowell was not the only hero on Friday as sophomore starting pitcher Dallas Brown allowed just one hit to the Pirates.

Brown hurled all five innings and gave up no runs on one hit with five strike outs and no walks.

“It feels great to win this district,†Brown said. “Having a great defense behind you makes your pitching job a lot easier. I was never paying attention to the one-hitter. I just was throwing and letting the guys make the plays. Then when you have an offense like ours my job is to let their people hit and let the defense go to work.â€

After leading 1-0 heading into the top of the third, the Bears bats went to work as Tim Barry led the inning off with a triple to the center field fence.

Rowell then stepped into the batter’s box and took a 0-2 offering from Vidor starter Trae Hester past the right field fence making it 3-0.

Chad Richard then ripped a double to center field and Stefan Cloeren was then able to move Richard to third with a sacrifice bunt.

With two down, Adam Leggett got a RBI single to left making it 4-0 after the top half of the third.

Kris Hearn, who was 2-for-4, scored the game’s first run after leading off with a hard double to center. He was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and Rowell got his first RBI with a single to right.

The Bears’ offense was not nearly done.

With two down in the top of the fourth Barry and Rowell drew back-to-back walks. Phillip Richard came in to run for Rowell and Barry had moved to second on a stolen base and moved to third during Rowell’s at bat on a wild pitch.

Both Barry and Richard made quick trips around the bases as Cloeren blasted a 0-2 offering from new Vidor pitcher Jay Nixon four a double to left.

Barry and Richard’s runs made it 6-0 Bears.

Then in the top of the fifth the Bears decided five innings would be enough to prove once and for all the belonged in the playoffs as district champions.

Leggett, who was 2-for-3, led the top of the fifth off with a deep homer to center field giving the Bears a 7-0 lead.

Vidor then was able to get two quick outs and the game looked like it would go on a little longer.

Once again someone forgot to tell the Bears.

Hearn singled to center and moved to second on a passed ball before Barry walked.

This is when Rowell solidified his case as the District 22-4A Most Valuable Player of the Year.

Rowell battled to a full count on Nixon and then fouled off two more pitchers.

The eighth pitch of the at bat was blasted into right field over the Vidor score board giving the Bears the 10-0 lead.

“It feels so great to win this thing especially back-to-back,†Rowell said. “We came out and proved everyone wrong. They (the younger Bear players) worked harder than any team I have ever seen. It is phenomenal. Dallas Brown is another hard worker and tonight he pitched his heart out. We proved tonight we are going to be a force to be reckoned with.â€

Griffith admitted his team skipped a lot of running and weight lifting this season to work on the baseball aspect of the game.

“We did a lot of work on the baseball side,†Griffith said. “Next year they will not be so lucky. We lost Dallas for three weeks and he has come back strong. I am so proud of what he has done. Then it was a story book ending to the district career of Jake Rowell. What he did tonight was amazing.â€

[piratefan]

and those shots Rowell hit werent pulled down the line they were hit to center.. he is a heck of a player.and the bears defense is one of the best i have seen..

[Lcm Bear 04 #77]

It was a great game with the homeruns by Rowell and Legget, Cloeren's 0-2 2 RBI blast into left, and superb pitching by Big D (and I do mean dallas) 

Speak softly...and carry a big stick!

Hell yes.

[Foyce]

and those shots Rowell hit werent pulled down the line they were hit to center.. he is a heck of a player.and the bears defense is one of the best i have seen..

I think one of those shots actually went over the scoreboard!

[Roll_Left15]

The first shot was to right center by the vehicles......then the next shot was to right, over the scoreboard.  man that kid can rake!

[Foyce]

The first shot was to right center by the vehicles......then the next shot was to right, over the scoreboard.  man that kid can rake!

Agreed!