BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
PRESTONSBURG — The Martin County Cal Ripken All-Stars played in the District 3 tournament at Stonecrest over the weekend. The 8U and 10U teams picked up wins, with 12U facing the two toughest squads of the tournament.
The following is a recap of last week’s tournament action:
Martin Co. 8U vs. Magoffin Co. – The 8U All-Stars started Saturday morning off with a dominating win over Magoffin 16-8.
Maci Yates and Willie Porter led with singles. After some stolen bases, the two were batted in to score for Martin County.
Wesley Gilkey and Zander Tackett put two more on the board in the second for the Cards.
Cardinal Waylon Porter made a leaping catch at first to end the top of the fourth with a tie score 4-4.
Waylon stayed on fire when he crushed a double and teammate Luke Howell drove him in for a 5-4 lead.
The All-Stars were shining bright in the bottom of the fourth. Yates, Collin Chapman, Waylon, Tackett, Howell, and Kash Jude all crossed home plate to put a total of 11 on the board for Martin County.
Magoffin responded and pulled within three runs in the top of the fifth. With runners on, Yates threw to first for the third out and put Martin Co. back up to bat.
Yates continued her stellar play when she hit a single to load the bases. Willie smacked a single to drive in a teammate. Chapman hit into a fielder’s choice to score Bash Stacy for a 13-8 lead.
The All-Stars tacked another three runs on for a 16-8 win over Magoffin to move on to the next round.
“We stopped the ball, hit, and we’ve done all the good stuff,” 8-year-old Elijah Mollette said after the win. “We played hard. They had the lead but we came back and got our win.”
Waylon, Tackett, and Yates each scored three runs for Martin County. Willie crossed home twice. Chapman, Jude, Howell, Gilkey, and Stacy each put a run on the board.
8U vs. Belfry – Belfry pushed through five runs in the third and Martin County couldn’t recover. The 8U All-Stars were defeated 9-5 to wrap up their tournament play.
Willie Porter, Collin Chapman, and Waylon Porter crossed home in the third inning to pull MC within three.
Both Porters rounded the bases in the sixth, but it wouldn’t be enough.
10U vs. Lawrence Co. – Martin County took down the eventual runner-up in the first round of the tournament on Friday by a 6-3 score.
The 10U All-Stars dug themselves into a 3-0 hole to begin the game.
The fourth inning was a spark for Martin County when Blaine Williams led off with a single. With two outs on the board, Kayden McCoy singled on a fly ball to left field.
Nolan Muncy belted a single to score Williams and put MC on the board.
Parker Stafford ripped out a line drive to advance to second and plated two runs to knot the score at three a piece.
Pitcher Rocco Maynard held the bats in check and it was three up, three down for the All-Star on the mound.
Jayce McCoy kept the streak alive and singled to center field to lead off the top of the fifth. Maynard and Williams each clubbed another single to load the bases.
Kash Howell saw four errant pitches go by him to take a free trip to first and gain a 4-3 lead.
Pinch runner Landon Parsley came in at first for some speed around the horn.
Kayden hit into a fielder’s choice to make his way to first. Muncy would be walked to force another runner home.
Stafford kept the bats going when he singled to drive in Parsley for a 6-3 score.
Martin County would go on to win after flipping the game around.
Stafford led with three RBIs and went 2-3 at bat. Howell started on the mound for the Cards and struck out three hitters. Maynard pitched relief and allowed zero runs while striking out seven.
Williams was 1-3 and scored two runs for the 10U All-Stars squad.
10U vs. Lawrence Co. – After falling to eventual champion Pikeville in the winner’s bracket, Martin County faced off against Lawrence for a rematch. Louisa walked it off in the bottom of the final inning to win 8-7.
MC outhit Lawrence 10-6 for the game, but errors would prove to be costly.
Rocco Maynard tied the game in the top of the sixth. A Lawrence Co single drove in a runner in the bottom of the final stanza to win the game.
Kash Howell struck out three runners as the starting pitcher.
Kaiden Bertling led Martin County with two runs batted in and went 1-3.
Maynard and Parker Stafford both went 1-3, scored a run and had one RBI.
Blaine Williams had a hit and scored one run for MC. Nolan Muncy was 2-3 at bat, driving in one teammate and crossing home plate once.
Kayden McCoy was 2-4 in the batter’s box and plated two runs. Jayce McCoy went 1-3 and scored one run for the All-Stars.
12U – The 12U Martin County All-Stars did not have the luck of the draw for the District 3 tournament. They faced off against the future Champion and Runner-up for their tourney play.
A men-among-boys Pike County team rolled past the Cards 17-2 in Martin County’s opening play.
Ryder Little and Beckam Spaulding scored the lone runs for Martin County, coached by Ryan Wilson.
