July 12, 2014
Charleston, Piedmont & Leopold advance to championship semifinals of SBR state tournament
CHARLESTON, Mo. - The Charleston Fighting Squirrels continued to experience offensive success without hitting the ball out of the ballpark Friday afternoon at the Senior Babe Ruth state tournament. The Fighting Squirrels had five hitters bunt in the first three innings...
Small ball, late insurance runs propel Fighting Squirrels past Portageville 7-3
CHARLESTON, Mo. - The Charleston Fighting Squirrels continued to experience offensive success without hitting the ball out of the ballpark Friday afternoon at the Senior Babe Ruth state tournament.
The Fighting Squirrels had five hitters bunt in the first three innings.
The small-ball philosophy helped Charleston build a 4-0 lead by the end of the top of the third inning. Portageville narrowed the four-run deficit to one, but Charleston responded with three insurance runs in its final at-bat to seal a 7-3 victory against Portageville.
"We were successful at the plate," Charleston coach Michael Minner said. "We bunted. Kids don't want to bunt anymore and to play on our team you've got to bunt. It was the difference in the game today. We had a couple sacrifice bunts that got guys over, had two RBI squeeze bunts and almost had a third one, but popped up a tough pitch.
"I thought we did the little things and things worked out about as good as they could for us," Minner added. "We were probably about one trick out of the book from losing, but we lived to stay in the winner's bracket and that's important for us."
Charleston clung to a 4-3 lead entering the seventh inning. The Fighting Squirrels added four insurance runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning.
The trouble started for Portageville when Jason Mattison legged out a throw to first after striking out on a wild pitch that got away from the catcher. Charleston took full advantage of the extra out by sending five additional hitters to the plate.
Mattison eventually scored on an infield error to pad Charleston's lead to 5-3. Tim Fox followed with an RBI single and Luke Haines added an RBI double to set the final score.
Portageville loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning but Jarrett Sandlin escaped the jam without allowing a run to secure a six-out save.
"You just never know," Minner said. "The final two insurance runs were the difference in the game because if it's a 5-3 game and we load the bases with nobody out it's a completely different scenario."
Matt Ulrich pitched the first five innings for Charleston. He allowed seven hits and struck out seven. Portageville loaded the bases in the bottom of the third and bottom of the fourth, but Ulrich escaped both jams without allowing a run.
"I thought Matt was pretty good on the mound for us," Minner said. "He was running out of gas. He wanted to go back out for the sixth and I just had to make an executive decision. I thought he was gassed. I didn't want to get us in another jam and then go to the bullpen. I wanted to start with a fresh arm in the sixth inning and Jarrett did a great job."
Jon Kellams had an RBI triple in the bottom of the fifth inning. Hunter Cook drove home Portageville's final run when he grounded out with a runner at third base in the fifth.
"Portageville is a good baseball team," Minner said. "They are solid up and down their lineup. They threw two pitchers at us who had quality arms. We played them twice in the regular season and probably didn't see them at full strength. It's tough to beat a good team three times and we were fortunate to get out of here with a win today."
Charleston tallied eight of its 15 hits in the first three innings.
"We hit the ball well early," Fox said. "Then we kind of cooled off."
Brad Potts drew a leadoff walk and later scored from third base following a defensive error and wild pitch in the top of the first inning. Charleston scored a run on a defensive error in the top of the second inning. Cody Payne and Ty Householder bunted runners from third base home in the top of the third inning.
"We haven't swung the bats great, but we are swinging the bats well enough to win and I'll take well enough all the way to the World Series." Minner said.
Gavin Williams pitched the first five innings for Portageville. He allowed four runs on 11 hits.
Cook pitched the final two innings for Portageville.
Charleston will play Boonville in a winner's bracket semifinal Saturday at 8 p.m. at Hillhouse Park.
"We are just trying to stay in the winner's bracket," Fox said. "We've got a bunch of good teams out here and we want to play as few games as possible and not have to use up our pitching trying to come out of the loser's bracket."
Charleston 7, Portageville 3
CHAR 112 000 3 -- 7 15 2
PORT 001 020 0 -- 3 7 4
WP -- Matt Ulrich. LP -- Gavin Williams. 3B -- Jon Kellams (P). 2B -- Chance Howard (P), Luke Haines (CH). Multiple hits -- Charleston: Tim Fox 3-5, Haines 2-5, Jason Mattison 2-4, Cody Payne 2-4, Ty Householder 2-3; Portageville: Derrick Priggle 2-4, Chance Howard 2-4.
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Piedmont outlasts Poplar Bluff 4-2 in 10 innings
CHARLESTON, Mo. - The Piedmont Riverdogs outlasted Poplar Bluff 4-2 in 10 innings in a winner's bracket marathon at the Senior Babe Ruth state tournament Friday afternoon.
Piedmont tallied the game-winning run in the top of the tenth inning when Tyler Griffin reached base on a one-out single and Austin Chilton followed with a one-out RBI double. The Riverdogs added an insurance run when Riley Burns recorded a sacrifice fly that scored Chilton from third base.
Austin Ayers, who entered the game in relief with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, struck out the side in the bottom of the tenth inning to secure the victory.
"It took us a while to get it done," Piedmont coach Jerry Alcorn said of the extra-inning victory. "Both pitchers who started the game threw very well and Austin Chilton, Tristan Holmes and Bryce Alcorn came up big at the plate for us at opportune times late in the game."
Blakeney Kearby pitched the first 8 1/3 innings for Piedmont. He was lifted when Poplar Bluff loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Alex Lewis drew a bases-loaded walk off of Ayers to cut the deficit to 3-2 and Lane Spencer followed Lewis' at-bat with an infield ground out that drove home a runner from third base to tie things up at 3-3. Poplar Bluff missed a chance to secure a walk-off victory later in the bottom of the ninth when Lewis was thrown out attempting to take home from third base on a wild pitch.
Piedmont took a 2-0 lead in the top of the eighth inning. Bryce Alcorn led off the top of the eighth with a single and later scored on a one-out RBI triple by Tristan Holmes. Poplar Bluff added an insurance run when Holmes scored from third base when Ayers hit a sacrifice fly down the right field line.
Both teams had runners thrown out on the base paths earlier in the marathon.
Piedmont's first two hitters reached base in the top of the fourth inning when Burns walked and Alcorn followed with a single. Poplar Bluff starting pitcher Spencer retired the next two hitters. The top of the fourth inning ended when Poplar Bluff catcher Lewis threw out a runner attempting to steal third base.
Piedmont threatened again in the top of the sixth inning when it put runners on first and second with two outs when Burns reached base on a two-out single and Alcorn was hit by a pitch with two outs. The scoring threat ended when Burns was thrown out by Lewis attempting to steal third base.
Piedmont lost another runner on the bases in the top of the seventh inning when Ayers reached base after being hit by a pitch with two outs, advanced to second on a wild pitch and was thrown out at home when he attempted to score from second base on a hard-hit single off the bat of the bat of Wyatt Kirkman.
Kearby lost a no-hitter when Lewis recorded a one-out double in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lewis advanced to third base on a wild pitch. He was thrown out at home when he attempted to score from third base when Spencer flew out to shallow left field.
Spencer allowed six hits in seven innings pitched. He struck out four, walked two and hit two.
Wes Pyles relieved Spencer at the start of the top of the eighth inning. Trey Hampton drew a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth inning. Pyles struck out the No. 2, 3 and 4 hitters in the lineup following Hampton's leadoff walk.
Joe Darlin, who pitched two innings in Poplar Bluff's 6-1 win against the SEMO Strokers Thursday, relieved Pyles at the start of the top of the ninth inning. He pitched the final two innings.
Kearby allowed two hits and struck out eight.
Alcorn finished 4 for 4. He reached base in all five plate appearances.
"He struggled yesterday, but came up big today," coach Alcorn said of the 4 for 4 performance. "We are a young team of 15, 16 and a couple of 17-year-olds. They came up big today. If they want to play at the next level playing in games like today is what is going to help them get there.
"I'm tickled for the boys," Acorn continued. "They stayed together and cheered each other on. That's what I like to see."
Piedmont Riverdogs 4, Poplar Bluff 2
PIED 000 000 002 1 -- 4 11 1
BLUF 000 000 002 -- 2 2 0
WP -- Austin Ayers. LP -- Joe Darlin. 3B -- Tristan Holmes (P), Austin Chilton (P). 2B -- Alex Lewis (PB). Multiple hits -- Piedmont: Bryce Alcorn 4-4.
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Leopold Pirates blister Leadwood 13-0
CHARLESTON, Mo. - The SEMO Pirates of Leopold blistered Leadwood 13-0 in five innings in a second-round contest at the Senior Babe Ruth state tournament Friday morning.
Leopold tallied three runs in the bottom of the first inning before adding 10 more in the bottom of the second frame.
Logan Carter finished 3 for 3 with two RBIs, Brad Freed went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, Landon Johnson was 2 for 2 with three RBIs, Garrett Potts finished 1 for 2 with a two RBI single, Jacob Trammel was 1 for 1 with two RBIs and Austin Bucher went 1 for 3 with one RBI.
Dustin Houart finished 2 for 2. Kyle Moore went 2 for 3.
Leadwood collected its only hit in the top of the third inning when Hunter Hathcoat recorded a one-out double.
Trammel pitched the first two innings for Leopold. Blake White pitched the next two innings and Eric Urhahn pitched the top of the fifth inning.
Trammel allowed no hits, walked one and struck out one. White allowed one hit, struck out one and did not walk a better. Urhahn got all three hitters he faced to fly out in the fifth.
SEMO Pirates of Leopold 13, Leadwood 0 (5 Innings)
LEAD 000 00 -- 0 1 2
SEMO 3(10)0 0x -- 13 15 0
WP -- Jacob Trammel. LP -- Josh Camillo. 2B -- Landon Johnson (SEMO), Hunter Hathcoat (LEAD). Multiple hits -- SEMO: Logan Carter 3-3, Brad Freed 2-3, Johnson 2-2, Dustin Houart 2-2, Kyle Moore 2-3.
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State Tournament Schedule & Results
The Missouri Senior Babe Ruth state tournament continues Saturday at Hillhouse Park in Charleston.
View an updated schedule / results for the state tournament below:
The state tournament bracket is available at this link: View Bracket Here
Scores may be viewed and posted at this link: View Scores Here
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THURSDAY, JULY 10
Game 1: Leopold SEMO Pirates 3, Riverbend Ducks 2
Game 2: Poplar Bluff 6, SEMO Strokers of Advance 1
Game 3: Piedmont Riverdogs 15, East Prairie 5 (5 Innings)
Game 4: Portageville Bulldogs 19, vs. Senath-Hornersville 4 (5 Innings)
Game 5: Charleston Fighting Squirrels 13, Arch City 3 (6 Innings)
Game 6: Potosi 6, Jackson 3
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FRIDAY, JULY 11
Game 7: Leopold SEMO Pirates 13, Leadwood 0 (5 Innings)
Game 8: Piedmont 4, Poplar Bluff 2 (10 Innings)
Game 9: Charleston 7, Portageville 3
Game 10: Boonville 9, Potosi 5
Game 11: Senath-Hornersville 12, Arch City 2 (5 Innings)
Game 12: SEMO Strokers of Advance 16, East Prairie 0
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SATURDAY, JULY 12
Game 13: Jackson vs. Poplar Bluff, 10 a.m. at Notre Dame
Game 14: Riverbend Ducks vs. Portageville, 10 a.m.
Game 15: Leadwood vs. Senath-Hornersville, 12:30 p.m.
Game 16: SEMO Strokers of ADvance vs. Potosi, 3 p.m.
Game 17: SEMO Pirates of Leopold vs. Piedmont, 5:30 p.m.
Game 18: Charleston vs. Boonville, 8 p.m.
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SUNDAY, JULY 13
Game 19: Winner Game 15 vs. Winner Game 13, 10 a.m.
Game 20: Winner Game 14 vs. Winner Game 16, 12:30 p.m.
Game 21: Winner Game 17 vs. Winner Game 18, 3 p.m.
Game 22: Loser Game 17 vs. Winner Game 20, 5:30 p.m.
Game 23: Loser Game 18 vs. Winner Game 19, 8 p.m.
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MONDAY, JULY 14
Game 24: Winner Game 23 vs. Winner Game 22, 5:30 p.m.
Game 25: Loser Game 21 vs. Winner Game 24, 8 p.m.
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TUESDAY, JULY 15
Game 26: Winner Game 21 vs. Winner Game 25, 5:30 p.m.
Game 27: Winner Game 26 vs. Loser Game 26 (if-necessary)
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<form method="post" action="http://www.dailystatesman.com/scripts/poll/vote.php">Which team will win the 2014 Missouri Senior Babe Ruth state baseball tournament? Piedmont Riverdogs East Prairie Portageville Bulldogs Senath-Hornersville Lions Arch City Sidewinders Charleston Fighting Squirrels Jackson Potosi Elks River Bend Ducks SEMO Strokers of Advance Leopold SEMO Pirates Poplar Bluff Boonville Leadville Pirates
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