BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — The Martin County Cal Ripken League wrapped up the season Saturday with exciting Softball, Coach Pitch and Little League tournaments in Inez.
Below is a recap of the tournament action.
Softball
INEZ — The Vipers are softball champions. In a league that was evenly matched for the season, the girls in pink pulled through to defeat the Angels in the championship game.
Softball games began May 24 with the Angels taking on the Cardinals. The Cards won 18-11 to keep their names in the winner’s bracket. For the Angels, Kylee Grace and Aaliyiah Carter were 3-3 at bat. Sophie Hinkle and Jalynn McGinnis were 2-2. The Cards racked up six hits.
The Vipers had won out the regular season, so they received a bye. The Vipers took on the Cards for game 2 and won in convincing fashion 16-6.
Game 3 was a rematch between the Angels and Cardinals. The Angels were out for vengeance. They redeemed their earlier loss by a score of 17-4. J. McGinnis and Lexi Bowen each had a single. Hinkle had an inside-the-park home run. Laken Blevins and Kiley Wright knocked in a triple each for the Lady Cards. Lanie Jewell had an inside-the-park homer.
The Vipers remained in the winner’s bracket. They would have to be defeated twice to lose the tournament. Game 4 was a tight one, but the Angels kept their streak alive winning 11-8. Brooklyn Rush and Harleigh Maynard drove in runners with their singles.
Game 5 would determine this year’s champion. Going into this game, the Angels had split games with the Vipers 3-3. The Vipers, through grit and determination, decided it was their night. They defeated the Angels by a final score of 15-8 to become the 2022 Cal Ripken Softball League Champions. The Angels picked up eight hits on the day. The Vipers had six in-the-park home runs to go with their 10 hits to seal the deal.
Coach Pitch
In possibly the most exciting game of the league, the Braves defeated the Cardinals in the championship game 10-9 on a single by Landon Parsley that drove in Waylon Porter for the winning run.
Game 1 of the tournament was between the Tigers and Phillies. The Tigers would prevail to move on to the next round. The Braves would win game 2 against the Phillies and continue to advance. Game 3 saw the Royals defeat the Cardinals. This set up game 4 between the Cardinals and Phillies. The Cards won to take on the Tigers.
Game 5 began the semifinals between the Braves and Royals. The Braves stayed on their winning streak to advance to the finals.
Game 6 of the Semis was the Cards and Tigers. The Cardinals persevered to set up the championship showdown with the Braves.
The Cards came out swinging in the first of game 7. Five of their singles brought home a runner on error. Harper Runyon, Macie Callaham and Hank Reed were each looking at two strikes when they smacked their line drives.
The bottom of the third was a tie game 6-6. Over the next two innings, Callaham, Isaiah and James scored three runs for the Cardinals.
The Braves trailed the Cardinals 9-6 going into the sixth and final inning. They hadn’t scored a run since the third. Lyric Howell stepped up to the plate and knocked a shot to centerfield. He turned on the jets for his ninth inside-the-park home run of the year.
Blaine Williams was next up for the Braves. He crushed a deep ball to left field for a double to continue the rally.
Parker Stafford stepped up to the plate with a runner on. He smoked a line drive to center for a double and Williams came home to bring the score 9-8.
W. Porter came up clutch with a single to the outfield. Stafford sped home for the tying run.
With one down and the game on the line, Parsley took a deep breath and stepped into the batter’s box. W. Porter was sitting on first. Parsley made contact for a single. Porter sped around the horn and scored the winning run to cement the Braves as Coach Pitch Champions.
(Chad Williams contributed to this story.)
Little League
Game 1 of the Cal Ripken Little League Tournament was between the Diamondbacks and Braves. The Braves won to advance.
In Game 2 the Reds defeated the Astros to remain in the winner’s bracket.
The Diamondbacks stayed alive by defeating the Astros in Game 3.
The Braves stayed hot on their streak by winning against the Reds in Game 4.
The winner of Game 5 would send a team to the championship game. The Reds rallied in the fourth inning to win a close game 10-8.
Game 6 was the final game of the Cal Ripken League for the 2022 season. The Reds took on the Cards after winning the bottom bracket. Kruze Howell and Dylan Hale put on a show at the mound. Each player pitched two innings and threw a no-hitter for the Braves. The Braves played both sides of the ball well and ended up with 17 hits for the game. Brock scored the final run to conclude the game 10-0 to make the Braves the 2022 Little League Champions.
