By BEN KLEINE

Staff writer

The Cottonwood Valley 11-and-under team’s season ended Sunday night in Marion with a 9-2 loss to Ottawa.

Ottawa went undefeated through pool play. Cottonwood Valley was the only team Ottawa didn’t defeat by at least 10 runs.

The game was 3-1 until the fifth inning when Ottawa scored six runs after a Cottonwood Valley pitching change. The pitching change ended the defensive continuity Cottonwood Valley had enjoyed through the first four innings of the game.

Cole Srajer, at third base, and Colton Potts, at shortstop, made three difficult plays in the first few innings.

Srajer dove to his left and fully extended to catch a line drive in the first inning.

Potts made a backhanded stop in the second inning on a groundball and hurriedly threw the ball, with only a glance to first, right into the first baseman’s glove to catch an Ottawa runner. Later in the game, the CVL shortstop jumped to catch a sinking fly ball that he tracked into short center field.

Sunday’s effort was not Potts’ best of the weekend. In a 2-1 CVL victory over Winfield Friday, Potts made a diving play on a groundball hit up the middle. He was able to quickly jump up and throw to get the out.

“That was a big-league play on a Little League diamond,” CVL assistant coach Randy Savage said. “Ozzie Smith would have been proud.”

CVL also lost a close game Saturday to Cimarron River Valley, 3-1. Savage said the players were distressed after the loss on Sunday but should not be.

“They have nothing to be ashamed of,” he said.