LANSING | Lansing's Jeremy Kravetz will be the first person to tell you he is not normally the devastating gap hitter he was during Friday night's Babe Ruth state tournament opener against Westmont.
Then again, his teammates did their fair share of making the baseball contest look at times like a softball game, too.
Lansing, which won a 13-year-old Babe Ruth state title in 2008 with basically the same group of kids, showed they have lost nothing with age.
They rolled to an impressive 16-4, five-inning victory in its first contest of the Northern Illinois Babe Ruth State Tournament for 15-year-olds at the Old Timers Sports Complex.
With the win, host Lansing advances to face Downers Grove at 4 p.m. today.
"We really came out surprised at how good we did with our bats; they were on fire," said Kravetz, who contributed a single, two doubles and four RBIs Friday night.
"Their pitcher threw hard, but he also threw it right there."
Lansing took firm control of the contest with eight runs off six hits in the second inning. Kravetz was one of three players to bat twice in the inning, contributing a single and a two-run double. Tyler Sroczynski and Peyton Padjen also had multi-hit games for Lansing.
"We came out and hit like we haven't hit in some time," Lansing manager Bob Padjen said. "This was a good opening game for us; everyone was hitting."
Lansing pitcher Dominic Albanese did not give up a hit until the third inning, scattering seven hits. The lefty also scored three times for the home team, which last hosted a Babe Ruth state tournament in 1995.
To mark the evening, Lansing gathered each of the five teams on the field prior to the Lansing-Westmont contest. District commissioner John Pierson and state commissioner Chuck Malley were honored, as was Lansing resident Russ Oberman, who was instrumental in the completion of a meeting room adjacent the field. The tournament ceremony concluded with fireworks.
"We have top-notch facilities, and any time you get a situation to showcase it, we are proud to do it," said tournament director Mike Mosele.
Downers Grove has won two 10-run rule contests of its own in the tournament, the latest coming in a rain-delayed contest Friday, 16-5 against South Holland. South Holland will play at 7 p.m. today in the double-elimination tournament against the winner of the Westmont-Hegewisch game.
"I thought we played well," South Holland manager Terry Cook said. "But errors and defense killed us."
