Toledo Wins Regional but Chicago Advancing
August 1, 2011 - The Lake Erie Monarchs from Toledo swept the Zanesville Regional for a second time and earned the final berth in the national tournament. However, the Monarchs have announced that they must withdraw from the tournament due to injuries. As a result, the Des Plaines Patriots of the Chicago-Metropolitan franchise will advance as regional runner-up.
Toledo opened the regional with a big 15-5 victory over Chicago-Metro. They narrowly defeated host Zanesville 3-2 and then fought off high temperatures and a hungry Chicago-Metro team to win 5-1 in the championship. Chicago-Metro's only loses were to Toledo, but the Patriots eliminated all three other teams (Chicago-South Shore, Columbus, and Zanesville) en route to the championship round.
"We're definitely excited that we get to go back [to Johnstown]," said Des Plaines manager Mike Schultz. "Hopefully we play as well as we did in the tournament last year." Las year, the Patriots placed 5th in Johnstown, including a victory over Toledo on Thursday morning. While the Patriots were runners-up in the regional, they won as many games as Toledo (3).
"The one thing that we really need to improve on is our defense," said Schultz. "I think if we get more consistent production out of our offense and play the defense that we played all summer, I think we'll be fine."
For Toledo, the regional victory is bittersweet. While the Monarchs had dreams of improving on their 6th-place finish in 2010, the reality of a long baseball season proved too much to overcome. A long list of injuries and an even longer schedule of games left the crew battered and exhausted. The decision to not attend Johnstown was made only days prior to the regional, but the Monarchs decided to honor their committment to the Zanesville Regional to avoid creating problems for tournament organizers.
"Our players knew that we weren't going to be moving on," explained general manager Jim DeSana. "It was one of the toughest things I think I've ever been involved in, with players playing games when they know we're [not advancing]." The Monarchs started the season with four catchers, but three were injured by the time of the regional. One still played despite a sprained MCL. The fourth player had to report to college by August 9th and would be unavailable for the national tournament, leaving Lake Erie without a catcher for Johnstown.
"We even picked up a [fifth] catcher off another roster in our league, and he dove into third base sliding and popped his left shoulder," said DeSana. The injury occured the week before Zanesville.
Even the healthy players on the Monarchs were feeling the aches of a long schedule. After their college schedules, the Monarch players traveled to Alaska for 9 games, then played 42 games in the Great Lakes League. By comparison, Elk County teams play 10 regular season games, Buffalo 12, Altoona 24, and Johnstown 35. Furthermore, the week off between regional and national tournaments created a hole in the schedule where players had little to do. While some AAABA teams recruit only local players, the Monarchs feature Division I athletes from Nebraska, Florida, Arizona, and Texas, making a week-long trip back home more challenging.
The age restriction on tournament teams (20-and-under) is also a source of frustration for many teams. Most AAABA teams compete in unlimited summer leagues, which puts them at a disadvantage in terms of player's development and experience. This rule has been debated for decades, but remains in place so as to avoid raising issues with the legal drinking age. While several AAABA 20-and-under teams have proven themselves capable of competing against unlimited-age rivals, the age restriction can make it difficult to find replacement players once injuries start to mount, as was the case with the Monarchs.
"With the tournament being as late as it is, and with it being a 20-and-under tournament, it just makes it really difficult for teams like ours to hang on during the month of August." DeSana noted that his team joined the AAABA fully aware of the age restrictions and the dates, but this season, that criteria proved to be too taxing for the club.
"It's a great tournament," emphasized DeSana. "We have high regards for the organization and the people that run it." While the Monarchs enjoy competing in the AAABA, the team may sit-out next season to evaluate their situation.
Click here to visit the Zanesville Regional page on this site for scores and standings.