Caitlin Harper, left, of the Culkin Cubs, barely beats Nicholas Clay of the Vikings to first base for the force out.(The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[07/29/01] The Culkin Cubs came up short in the finals of the 5-6-year-olds Governor’s Cup, falling to the Delta Giants of Greenville 23-13.

“I hate that we won every game to this point till the one that mattered,” coach Lanny Barfield said.

Culkin was 3-0 going into the championship game. They had already beaten Delta earlier in the day, 30-29.

The Cubs were held to one run over two innings after scoring six runs in both the first and second innings.

The Delta Giants’ Ryan Dobbing hit a three run home run in the first inning. Will Thaggod hit a pair of two-run homers, one in the third and one in the fifth.

“Anytime you win it, it feels good, especially when you come back from an earlier loss,” Delta coach Brown Jacobs said.

The Culkin Cubs were led by Michael Mason, Mathew Jones, and Austin Hurley with two RBIs apiece.

“We had some hard practices this week and hit the ball pretty hard,” Barfield said.

Jacobs also spoke highly of how the tournament was run.

“I’ve traveled for 20 years with youth baseball and this is one of the best programs there is,” Jacobs said.