Local Athletes Cavell, Liebsch Tour Overseas
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Michelle Liebsch and Casey Cavell live less than 20 miles away from each other. Liebsch attends Warsaw Community High School, and Cavell attends Wawasee High School.
They didn't realize it then, but both visited the Netherlands at the same time in early August. Both were touring with baseball/softball teams. Both may have been from Kosciusko County, but each was on a different tour.
Cavell, a 14-year-old freshman baseball player, toured with the U.S. Baseball Stars. Liebsch, a 16-year-old softball player, does not know for sure the name of her organization, but said, "It said 'People to People Ambassadors' on our shirts."
Cavell made his team by trying out at Valparaiso, one of 28 tryout locations. Cavell, who played second base, shortstop and outfield on the tour, made a team of 11 players.
"It was mostly players from the Midwest," he said.
No one else from this area made the team. The closest player to Cavell lived in Valparaiso.
Liebsch did not try out but instead received a letter inviting her to tour. At first her team was going to tour Hawaii; it later was switched to Holland, much to Liebsch's happiness.
"I said, 'Cool,'" she said.
Liebsch, pleased because she didn't know if she would ever have another chance in her lifetime to play in the Netherlands, raised $2,000 in a month to go on the tour. She joined 18 other girls from across the United States.
Liebsch's team competed in five games from Aug. 4-11. Her team finished third. She pitched in all five games and threw one complete game.
While Liebsch had time to sightsee, Cavell, who paid $3,000 to go overseas Aug. 3-17, saw his schedule packed with games.
His team played 13 games in 14 days, finishing with a 9-4 record.
Cavell's typical day went like this: Wake up at 6 a.m., have breakfast at 7, get on a bus to travel to a game, play the game, eat lunch ("like a nasty hot dog," he said), play another game at 2 p.m., get back on the bus to return to the hotel and eat supper.
And by the time dinner was over, it was usually time to turn in.
"They served dinner in courses that took like two hours," Cavell said. "It was horrible. Our coach said the schedule was like a major league schedule, except way worse."
His coach - Steve Merriman - would know. Merriman works as a scout for the Colorado Rockies. He never made the majors as a player, but he knocked around in the minors.
These were the easy days Cavell describes.
As soon as their plane touched down and the players dropped off their luggage at the hotel, they practiced. They stayed awake 36 hours straight to combat jetlag.
"We got there, practiced, went to bed then played a doubleheader the next day," Cavell said.
Cavell's team also competed in a four-game tournament in France that saw Cavell hit .444 and play errorless defense in left field to earn the MVP award.
"I didn't know I had won it, because they were saying it in a different language," he said. "A coach translated for me. Then I found out."
But Cavell may remember the French tournament not for the MVP award but for something else.
"That's when the solar eclipse happened," he said. "It was a full eclipse, and we were warming up on the field when it happened. It took only a couple of minutes, but it was pure black."
Cavell and Liebsch noticed only minor differences in rules and fields. Liebsch played on a square field once. Cavell said strips of bricks separated the grass from the gravel warning track.
While communicating with umpires on balls, strikes and outs was not difficult, Cavell ran into one problem. A ground-rule double was hit while Cavell was in center field, so he raised both arms to signify this - the way it's done in the United States. The ball bounced out of the park then bounced back in.
"It was real hard talking to the umps," he said. "They didn't understand, and the guy got an inside-the-park home run off what should have been a ground-rule double."
Asked about the weather, both said, "Rainy."
Liebsch, a devout Christian who already is mailing several new friends she met on the trip, did not always enjoy the environment.
"There was so much pornography in Amsterdam," she said. "It was disgusting. I walked out of about every store I walked in."
Outside of a hectic schedule that saw two eight-hour bus rides and a tripleheader in one day, Cavell, who has played baseball since age 5, would not have changed a thing.
"I love playing baseball," he said. "I learned a ton."
Asked if this has been his best baseball experience, Cavell said, "It has."
At least until last Saturday. Cavell and three others sat in Chicago second baseman Mickey Morandini's seats behind the Cubs' dugout at Wrigley Field. They got the tickets by bidding for them at an auction. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cubs 6-0. [[In-content Ad]]
Michelle Liebsch and Casey Cavell live less than 20 miles away from each other. Liebsch attends Warsaw Community High School, and Cavell attends Wawasee High School.
They didn't realize it then, but both visited the Netherlands at the same time in early August. Both were touring with baseball/softball teams. Both may have been from Kosciusko County, but each was on a different tour.
Cavell, a 14-year-old freshman baseball player, toured with the U.S. Baseball Stars. Liebsch, a 16-year-old softball player, does not know for sure the name of her organization, but said, "It said 'People to People Ambassadors' on our shirts."
Cavell made his team by trying out at Valparaiso, one of 28 tryout locations. Cavell, who played second base, shortstop and outfield on the tour, made a team of 11 players.
"It was mostly players from the Midwest," he said.
No one else from this area made the team. The closest player to Cavell lived in Valparaiso.
Liebsch did not try out but instead received a letter inviting her to tour. At first her team was going to tour Hawaii; it later was switched to Holland, much to Liebsch's happiness.
"I said, 'Cool,'" she said.
Liebsch, pleased because she didn't know if she would ever have another chance in her lifetime to play in the Netherlands, raised $2,000 in a month to go on the tour. She joined 18 other girls from across the United States.
Liebsch's team competed in five games from Aug. 4-11. Her team finished third. She pitched in all five games and threw one complete game.
While Liebsch had time to sightsee, Cavell, who paid $3,000 to go overseas Aug. 3-17, saw his schedule packed with games.
His team played 13 games in 14 days, finishing with a 9-4 record.
Cavell's typical day went like this: Wake up at 6 a.m., have breakfast at 7, get on a bus to travel to a game, play the game, eat lunch ("like a nasty hot dog," he said), play another game at 2 p.m., get back on the bus to return to the hotel and eat supper.
And by the time dinner was over, it was usually time to turn in.
"They served dinner in courses that took like two hours," Cavell said. "It was horrible. Our coach said the schedule was like a major league schedule, except way worse."
His coach - Steve Merriman - would know. Merriman works as a scout for the Colorado Rockies. He never made the majors as a player, but he knocked around in the minors.
These were the easy days Cavell describes.
As soon as their plane touched down and the players dropped off their luggage at the hotel, they practiced. They stayed awake 36 hours straight to combat jetlag.
"We got there, practiced, went to bed then played a doubleheader the next day," Cavell said.
Cavell's team also competed in a four-game tournament in France that saw Cavell hit .444 and play errorless defense in left field to earn the MVP award.
"I didn't know I had won it, because they were saying it in a different language," he said. "A coach translated for me. Then I found out."
But Cavell may remember the French tournament not for the MVP award but for something else.
"That's when the solar eclipse happened," he said. "It was a full eclipse, and we were warming up on the field when it happened. It took only a couple of minutes, but it was pure black."
Cavell and Liebsch noticed only minor differences in rules and fields. Liebsch played on a square field once. Cavell said strips of bricks separated the grass from the gravel warning track.
While communicating with umpires on balls, strikes and outs was not difficult, Cavell ran into one problem. A ground-rule double was hit while Cavell was in center field, so he raised both arms to signify this - the way it's done in the United States. The ball bounced out of the park then bounced back in.
"It was real hard talking to the umps," he said. "They didn't understand, and the guy got an inside-the-park home run off what should have been a ground-rule double."
Asked about the weather, both said, "Rainy."
Liebsch, a devout Christian who already is mailing several new friends she met on the trip, did not always enjoy the environment.
"There was so much pornography in Amsterdam," she said. "It was disgusting. I walked out of about every store I walked in."
Outside of a hectic schedule that saw two eight-hour bus rides and a tripleheader in one day, Cavell, who has played baseball since age 5, would not have changed a thing.
"I love playing baseball," he said. "I learned a ton."
Asked if this has been his best baseball experience, Cavell said, "It has."
At least until last Saturday. Cavell and three others sat in Chicago second baseman Mickey Morandini's seats behind the Cubs' dugout at Wrigley Field. They got the tickets by bidding for them at an auction. The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cubs 6-0. [[In-content Ad]]