[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
| Southwest Forsyth Minor division all-star Mitch Price launches himself onto home plate after belting a go-ahead three-run homer. |
Getting a huge three-run homer from cleanup hitter Mitch Price in the top of the fifth inning, unbeaten Southwest Forsyth rallied past Mint Hill 5-4 in Durham on Monday night to claim the 2006 state crown for 9-10 year olds. The win advances the team into regional play in West Virginia.
Southwest blasted their way through the first three rounds of the double-elimination tourney by scoring a combined total of 28 runs in victories over North Durham, Wilkes County and Greenville Northstate.
But in Monday’s championship round, Southwest got off to a slow start as red-hot Mint Hill raced to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Silent through three frames, Southwest finally got on track in the fourth and scored two runs. A leadoff triple by Jacob Kennedy highlighted the frame.
In the fifth, Southwest’s Lee Eubanks ignited the go-ahead rally by smacking a sharp grounder to the left side that produced a fielding error. Jake Still then stepped in to pinch run and moved to third when leadoff man Nick Adams ripped a long shot into the gap that bounced over the fence for a ground-rule double.
Undaunted, Mint Hill nearly escaped the jam as a reliever took the mound and retired the next two batters. But Price, who had driven a long fly to left-center earlier in the game, drilled a fastball over the fence in center field to give Southwest its first lead of the night.
Stepping in for starter Nicholas Boyles, Southwest reliever Alex Saphar then took the hill. Saphar retired the side in order in the fifth and then, after surrendering an unearned run in the sixth, nailed down the win by getting the final out on a hard grounder to Will Carter at second. Carter, who was perfect throughout the game, snagged the grounder and tossed to Price at first to give Southwest the victory.
SWF-10 N. Durham-9
Southwest opened tournament play with a 10-9 win against North Durham.
Southwest started early when Jacob Kennedy roped a two-out double to the fence in right centerfield. Mitch Price followed up by tearing the cover off of an 0-2 curveball to score Kennedy.
North Durham answered quickly, taking a 4-1 lead in the first.
Southwest stormed back in the second when Michael Bates singled up the middle to lead off the inning. Tristan Comer, Will Carter and Lee Eubanks each came through with hits to score Bates and Comer. Eubanks also scored later in the inning to knot the score at four each.
SWFLL’s defense stiffened in the bottom of the second after consecutive hits by Sykes, Tres Pendergrass, and Bubba Stone (4-4 with 1 HR). Sykes was caught attempting to reach third on a sacrifice bunt, but was cut down by Bates. Pendergrass was thrown out at the plate by third baseman, Alex Saphar. Carter chalked the final out by going into the hole at second and making a great play look easy.
Finally in the fifth SWFLL went on a run. Nicholas Boyles led off with a deep single. He was followed by long balls by Kennedy and Price to load the bases. Saphar and Bates contributed RBIs to set the table for Comer, Carter, and Eubanks who each blasted shots to the outfield for three more runs, which made the score 10-5. Durham refused to go away piecing together three hits to lead off the fifth. Southwest’s defense tightened again to get two outs when Stone stroked an 0-2 fastball deep over the centerfield fence to bring the score to 10-9. Kennedy climbed the hill in the sixth and sealed the win with two strikeouts.
SWF-8 Wilkes Co.-5
The second round pitted SWFLL against the all-stars from Wilkes County. Southwest won the matchup 8-5.
Boyles opened the scoring by reaching on balls and scoring on an infield hit by Price. Price then scored on a double by Saphar.
Comer was given the nod for pitching and he delivered in spades. After shutting Wilkes down in the first, SWFLL went back to work with the bats. Carter reached on balls and Jake Still scorched a single up the middle. Shortstop Nick Adams, then smashed a line drive into left-center to score Carter. Finally, Price drove in Still and Adams with another long ball to left-center.
Unfortunately, nobody told the Wilkes team that the game was over because in the bottom of the second as they strung together four seeing-eye singles to score two runs. Wilkes shortstop Ben Church destroyed a first-pitch fastball that was last seen going over the right field fence to tie the game.
Comer maintained his composure and dominated the game through the fourth.
Finally in the fifth, SWF started rolling once again as Eubanks reached first base on an infield hit. Still replaced Eubanks on the bases and advanced to third on a hard single by Adams. Boyles then clobbered the ball to the fence to score Still with the go-ahead run.
Southwest scratched out two more runs in the sixth as Saphar singled and scored when Bates dented the fence in right-center. Bates then scored on an infield hit by Comer to complete the inning. Saphar and Kennedy each pitched an inning of relief retiring the last six Wilkes batters in order.
SWF-10 Greenville-6
In the championship of the winners bracket, Southwest beat Greenville Northstate 10-6.
In the first, Adams and Boyles both singled but were cut down by the solid defense of Greenville. Kennedy reached on an infield hit and Price loaded the bases with a perfect bunt. Saphar reached first and Bates came through with a two-run single.
On the mound, Kennedy was simply unhittable, notching six K’s in the first three innings.
In the third, Southwest scratched another run with a nice mix of big hits and small ball. Kennedy singled and moved to third on a line shot double by Price. Finally, Bates delivered again with a perfect push bunt to the right side scoring Kennedy.
Carter led off in the fourth with a single to center and Adams followed with a single of his own. Boyles then defaced the right field fence with a blast that scored two. Kennedy one-hopped the fence in left to score Boyles, pushing the score to 6-0.
After a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth, Greenville found a way to Kennedy. The bottom of the Greenville batting order loaded the bases and scored their first run on a fielder’s choice to Saphar. Southwest then intentionally walked in a run to avoid slugger Bryant Battle. Battle had hit homeruns all week and almost put one out in the first inning. Mason Keen stroked a pitch to the fence to score the last two runs of the inning.
In the sixth, SWFLL put together one of their classic runs. Adams led off with a walk and scored on a standup triple by Boyles. Kennedy stroked another ball to the wall to score Boyles. Saphar and Comer both reached when the rock-hard field yielded a couple of nasty hops for the Greenville shortstop that were too hot to handle. Saphar pitched the fifth inning and struck out the side. During the all-star run, Saphar has been an iron man, both as a middle reliever and closer, normally coming into the game with no outs and men on base.
With a seven-run lead, Southwest called on the mighty right arm of Carter to close. Battle led off with a single and Keen reached on balls when Jordan Bryant launched a 2-2 pitch far over the rightfield fence for a three-run homer. Carter’s demeanor changed and he immediately struck out the next batter and got two more grounders to earn the save.