Martin County District 3 Cal Ripken coach pitch, 10-and-under and 12-and-under baseball All-Stars played their hearts out June 15-17. They were fighting to survive and advance in tournament play and all brackets were double elimination.
A good crowd showed up to watch the action. Below is a recap.
Coach Pitch 8U All-Stars
SALYERSVILLE — Magoffin County hosted the 8U Coach Pitch All-Stars games. The Martin County All-Stars, coached by Chad Howell, Larry Howell and Jesse Reed, opened against Lawrence County Friday at Ramey Park.
This was over early, with the Lawrence County defeating Martin County in four innings by mercy rule.
This dropped the MC All-Stars to the loser’s bracket to play Magoffin County Saturday. Martin County dropped 20-11 to Magoffin County to bring the season to a close.
Baseball 10U All-Stars
PRESTONSBURG — Floyd County hosted the 10U All-Stars tournament at Stonecrest.
The Martin County 10U All-Stars, coached by Robert Howell, defeated Belfry 16-1 in four innings in their opening game.
Jonah Mills started on the mound for Martin County and got the win. Mills recorded nine strikeouts, three hits and four walks.
Martin County scored one run in the first inning behind a base on balls by Brock Fields and a single by Blaine Williams. They exploded for seven runs in the second inning, three in the third and five in the fourth to end the game by mercy rule 16-1.
Several Martin County All-Stars collected hits. Blaine Williams knocked four hits, two singles, a double and a triple. Brock Fields collected three hits, a single, double and triple and scored three runs. Parker Stafford had two hits with a single and a double, while Kayden McCoy belted two singles.
Jonah Mills, Gunner Broaddus, Beckham Spaulding, Rocco Maynard and Kash Howell all knocked singles.
Martin County advanced to play Pikeville Friday. This game was over quickly. Pikeville exploded for nine runs in the first inning and seven in the second and got the 16-1 win after three innings. Martin County dropped to the loser’s bracket and played Johnson County Saturday.
Johnson County plated three runs in the first inning, one in the third and two in the fourth, giving them a 7-0 lead.
Martin County rallied in the sixth inning to score two runs, but it was not enough as Johnson County moved on for the 7-2 win. The loss ended the 10U Cal Ripken season.
Baseball 12U All-Stars
Martin County 12U All-Stars, coached by Brady Endicott, took on Magoffin County in their opening-round game Thursday in Prestonsburg.
The score was tied 1-1 in the second inning. Magoffin County scored three runs in the third to pull out a 4-1 win in six innings.
Martin County dropped to the loser’s bracket and played Johnson County Friday. Kruze Howell toed the rubber and pitched a shutout to defeat Johnson County 10-0 in five innings. Howell recorded 14 strikeouts, gave up two hits and walked three.
Several Martin County All-Stars collected hits. Mason Phillips, Zaiden Tackett and Connor Harmon each had a single. Skyler Green and Kruze Howell each knocked two singles. Brayden Hammond collected a single and a double. Davis Wilson belted two singles.
Martin County would have to go through Magoffin County to keep their season alive. The two teams faced off for the second time Saturday.
Martin County had a 5-0 lead going into the fourth inning. They scored four in the first as Phillips, Harmon and Hammond each knocked singles. Luke Preece singled in the fourth and Zaiden Tackett doubled to plate another run.
Magoffin struck in the fourth inning with seven runs to go in front 7-6.
Kruze Howell and Mason Phillips knocked singles in the fifth to tie the score 7-7.
Magoffin County put up four runs to go up 11-7 and pull out their second win over Martin County.