Tournaments : : Story
Team Georgia comes out on top
Published: Friday, July 20, 2012
ATLANTA, Ga. –
In a tight ballgame, number 28 seed Team Georgia 16u Blue (10-1-1)
pushed across the game’s only run late to secure a 1-0 victory over
the number three seed South Charlotte Panthers 2014 (10-1) in the 2012
WWBA 16u National Championship finale on Friday afternoon.
Before the two
teams matched up at noon, there were two 9 a.m. semifinal games. At
Southern Poly, Team Georgia used a seven-run first to knock off the
number eight seed South Florida Elite Squad 16u Red (10-1) by a final
score of 9-0 in five innings. At Georgia Tech, the Panthers scored
four early runs and held on for a 6-3 win over the number two seed
FTB Chandler (10-1).
In
the championship pairing, neither team’s offense did much to mount
a serious scoring threat through six innings. Between Panthers
left-hander Corey Sikes (2014, Piedmont H.S., N.C.) and Team Georgia
righty Patrick Stone (2013, Greater Atlanta Christian School, Ga.),
the two starting pitchers combined for six 1-2-3 innings through the
first six frames. Panthers third baseman Ryder Ryan (2014, North
Mecklenburg H.S., N.C.) accounted for the game’s only extra-base
hit, a double grounded just inside the left field foul line in the
bottom of the first.
The seventh and final inning
provided by far the most excitement in this low-scoring affair. With
the score still knotted up at 0-0, Danny Edgeworth (2013, Lambert
H.S., Ga.) grounded a ball sharply to shortstop Nick Owens (2014,
Charlotte Christian School, N.C.) who could not field it cleanly,
allowing Edgeworth to reach safely on the error.
Edgeworth proceeded to steal second
and advanced to third on catcher Bradley Brown’s (2014, Richmond,
N.C.) errant throwdown. On the seventh pitch of his at bat, Grey
Davis (2014, Milton H.S., Ga.) stroked a line drive RBI single to
right-center to drive home Edgeworth, setting off a series of loud
cheers from Team Georgia parents and also ending Sikes’ outing on
the mound. The left-handed pitcher tossed six-plus frames of
three-hit ball, allowing that one unearned run in addition to
striking out five and walking none.
After Pathers reliever Andrew
Loepprich (2014, Charlotte Country Day School, N.C.) set the final
three Team Georgia batters in order, Stone trotted back out to the
hill to finish what he started. After Ryan singled to right on
Stone’s first pitch in the bottom of the seventh, the right-hander
set down Alex Destino (2014, North Buncombe H.S., N.C.) on the next
pitch on a flyout to right field, setting up a dramatic finish. On
Stone’s 66th pitch of the game, Logan Sherer (2013, East
Mecklenburg H.S., N.C.) grounded out into a 6-4-3 double play, ending
the game and resulting in a team dogpile near the mound.
“Our guys
battled all tournament long, and this is the greatest group of
competitors that I’ve been around,” said head coach Jim Butler,
in his fifth year with Team Georgia. “This is huge. This means a
lot to the players.”
Following the
game’s conclusion, Team Georgia first baseman Jack Thompson (2014,
Milton H.S., Ga.) earned Most Valuable Player after batting .364 with four doubles, five home runs, 22 RBIs and 11 runs scored. Stone took home
the Most Valuable Pitcher award after pitching 13 and two-third
scoreless innings, including his complete game three-hit shutout on
Friday.
2012 WWBA 16u National Championship runner-up: South Charlotte Panthers 2014
2012 WWBA 16u National Championship MVP: Jack Thompson
2012 WWBA 16u National Championship MVPitcher: Patrick Stone
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