Sunday marked Day 2 of pool play at the East Cobb Baseball Complex as teams from across the country positioned themselves for a shot at the Travelball National Championships, presented by Travelballselect.com. After a stirring Day 1 of pool play, 11U and 12U teams battled for a spot in Monday’s championship bracket with many games coming down to the final at-bat.
In 12U action …
The Travelballselect.com No. 1 Banditos Black scored five first-inning runs to jump on top of the No. 13 East Cobb Braves before cruising to a 9-1 victory. The first-inning outburst was highlighted by a Brandon Porter home run. East Cobb could not capitalize on several scoring opportunities after the first inning, and the run-rule was enforced after four innings.
The No. 20 RBA Titans cobbled together several first-inning hits to jump out to a 3-0 lead after one frame on the Sugar Kings of Miami. The Sugar Kings dented the scoreboard for a pair of runs in the second, taking advantage of a pair of RBA errors, but the Titans would strike for two runs in the third. RBA led 9-3 entering the fifth when Miami tried to mount a comeback, ultimately falling short in a 9-5 decision.
Amelio Vazquez was dominating on the mound for No. 2 Grant Baseball Academy (Cal.), firing fastballs by the No. 9 Stealth (Ga.) Bomberz in a 6-0 win. Conner Mack helped Grant jump out early with an RBI single as Grant plated two in the first. Shane Garrett was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth to push another run across, and Ryan Jenkins came on in relief to finish off Stealth.
The No. 7 Central Florida Gators spotted the No. 21 Cincy Flames a 9-2 lead before T.J. Ben exploded for three home runs, including a grand slam as the Gators rallied to win 18-9. Seth Cadell blasted a three-run shot and Aaron Ahn cranked a two-run double before scoring himself on a squeeze play as the Gators put 10 runs on the board in the fifth inning and eight more in the sixth frame. Eric Foggo was dominating in relief for Central Florida.
The East Cobb Astros carried a 6-2 lead into the third inning when the Georgia Grays finally came to life. The team scratched three runs across with two outs, including a run on what would have been a strikeout to end the inning, but catcher Jack Schad let the ball get by him. Schad would atone for the mistake in the bottom of the frame with a two-run, two-out single, part of a three-run inning for the Astros. The Grays would plate another run on a passed ball in the fifth, but the game was called after five innings due to time constraints.
The East Cobb Braves used a pair of big innings to subdue Banditos (Tex.) 12-2. The Braves added seven runs in the fourth after building a five-run lead after three frames. Banditos would use four pitchers during the crucial fourth inning. The Braves would allow two runs before walking away with a run-rule victory.
In perhaps the most thrilling game of the day, Banditos crushed a walk-off grand slam to rally back and beat the East Cobb Rays 10-9. The Rays took a narrow 7-6 lead into the sixth inning, where they scored what appeared to be two insurance runs for a 9-6 advantaged heading into the bottom of the sixth. Back to back singles led off the Banditos’ sixth,but the Rays seemed to regain control as they struck out the next two batters and were one out away from victory. A screeching base hit right up the middle loaded the bases for Grayson Lembeke. Lembeke turned on a first-pitch fastball and drove it over the left field wall for a game-winning walk-off grand slam. It was the first home run of Lembeke’s career.
In 11U action …
The No. 11 Lids Indiana Bulls pulled out some late-inning magic to force a 5-5 tie with the 6-4-3 Cougars (Ga.). After taking an early lead, the Indiana Bulls watched as the 6-4-3 Cougars put two on the board in the top of the third. An RBI triple off Alex Hemenway gave the Cougars a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning, and they would plate an additional run in the top of the sixth. The 6-4-3 Cougars defense then fell apart with two errors, allowing the Bulls to load the bases with no outs. After an error allowed one run to score, the Cougars recorded two outs, putting the Bulls up against the wall. A drive to right-center tied the score, but the game ended when the potential go-ahead run was gunned down at the plate.
Sandlot (Ariz.) jumped out to a 9-6 lead over No. 5 Evoshield Canes (N.C.) after four innings when the intensity ratcheted up a notch. Colton Byars was dealing on the mound for the Canes when he had to leave with an apparent right elbow injury. Cameron Roof squeezed out of the jam, allowing the Canes an opportunity to rally. Byars returned in the fifth with a bunt single and would score on a DJ Herz double. Sandlot would get out of a bases loaded situation and then post three runs in the bottom of the fifth to ice the game. McKay Barney picked up the win and JD McLaughlin earned the save. Grant Gorrell was 3-for-4 to lead the Sandlot offense.
Adam Kloffstein hit a three-run triple to help his own cause in a 10-2 Team Mizuno (Tex.) win over the Tennessee Legends. Kloffstein was also the winning pitcher, allowing just two runs on two hits with six strikeouts. Bo Willis had an RBI double and Blake Gray drove home two on a double in the fourth. Mizuno scored seven runs in the fourth inning to force the run rule.
The No. 6 Bullets Gold (Fla.) mounted a furious rally to tie the No. 21 Dallas (Tex.) Tigers 10-10 in five innings. After Dallas took a 7-1 lead, Bryce Fisher of Bullets Gold drove home LaVictor Lipscomb to begin the comeback. The lead was then trimmed to 7-4 after Fisher and Justin Wallace scored in the third inning. Dallas stretched the lead back to 9-4, but a grand slam in the fourth and a run on a passed ball knotted the game at 9-9. Dallas recaptured the lead with a two-out run to make it 10-9 in the fifth, but once again, Bullets Gold went to work and tied the game before grounding into a walk-off double play.
The No. 11 Lids Indiana Bulls used an eight-run third inning to pull away from the nationally-ranked Sy Titans (Cal.) 11-3 in five innings. With the score tied 2-2 entering the bottom of the third, the Bulls loaded the bases against Titans hurler Ethan Cloyd. The eight-run outburst was ignited by Alex Hemenway’s run and highlighted by a three-run shot from Stephen Hazlett. The Bulls would score the necessary 11th run in the fifth to walk away with a run-rule victory.
KC Sluggers used solid team defense and excellent pitching to take down No. 20 Team Combat (Fla.) 6-0. Riley Covington provided some offense with a key RBI single, and it would prove to be enough as Dawson Brant closed the door on Team Combat in the final frame. Austin Brooks and Jackson Dierenfeldt each made several fine defensive plays at catcher and shortstop, respectively.
No. 2 BPA Rawlings (Cal.) battled back and forth with the Atlanta Blue Jays before pulling away in the bottom of the fifth inning for a 12-8 win. BPA took an early 6-4 lead after two innings, only to see Atlanta rally with four in the fourth. The Blue Jays tied the game on an RBI double after a ground out scored one run. A two-run triple temporarily gave the Blue Jays an 8-6 lead until BPA put together a three-run fourth inning, capped with a two-run double. In the fifth, BPA began the inning with an inside-the-park home run before tacking on two more for the final tally.
DJ Herz gave the No. 5 Evoshield Canes what seemed to be a huge cushion with a three-run double in the fourth inning, pushing the Canes’ lead to 8-3 over RBI (Ga.). Joseph Nunn was cruising on the mound, backed by some great defense from Cole Singsank and the rest of the infield. RBI rallied for three runs with two outs in the sixth inning to force the Canes to turn to JB Snow. Cameron Roof gunned down an attempted steal of third base to end the game.
No. 3 Team Miami was tested to the bitter end by Mississippi Stixx but escaped 5-3. After being tied through three innings, Team Miami put up a one-spot in the fourth followed by a two-run frame in the fifth to break open the game. Roly Leyva earned the victory has he went 4.1 innings, giving up two runs (both unearned), striking out four and only walking two. Jordan Carrion came on in relief for the final 1.2 to notch the save.
No. 7 Banditos(Black) defeated the No. 20 Tennessee Legends 6-5 in a barnburner. Banditos scored six runs in the first two innings and was able to hold off the hard-charging Legends’ comeback steal the victory. Three consecutive doubles by Cameron Godfrey, Jose Gonzalez and Joe Davis turned out to be the clutch hits to ignite the Banditos’ huge five-run second inning. Patient at-bats by the Legends brought Tennessee back with a five-run inning of their own in the fourth. Banditos pitchers walked six Legends batters in the frame. The Legends’ Zane Denton was huge in the losing effort, pitching the final 3.1 innings without giving up a run to keep his team within striking distance. On the flip side, Davis was stellar for the Banditos, giving two scoreless innings while striking out three and only walking one. Matthew Thompson came on for the final 1.1 to earn the save.
Team Miami scored the first five runs in this one and the Florida power was able to hold off a late rally by the PSA Worth Red Sox in a 5-2 win. Seven Team Miami players contributed with seven hits, five of them for extra bases. Michael Rassi was stellar on the mound, registering five scoreless innings with six strikeouts, one walk and only four hits.
No. 6 Bullets Gold (Fla.) trailed 6-2 heading into the bottom of the 2nd inning but scored the game’s last five runs en route to a 7-6 comeback victory. The pitching was key for the Bullets as they were able to shut things down and not allow the Sluggers to score anymore insurance runs. On the flip side, Colton Olasin and Cameron Diaz were the difference at the plate as they combined to go 6-for-6 with three RBIs and scored two runs.
Travis Stigall of Travelballselect.com contributed to this article.
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