Gators fall in Governor’s Cup opener|[8/5/06]
Published 12:00 am Saturday, August 5, 2006
The Vicksburg Gators let one get away Friday night in the opening round of the 10-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup at Halls Ferry Park.
Billy Cameron of the Pan South Drillers scored the game-winning run on a fielder’s choice in the bottom of the fifth inning to deliver an 8-7 win over the Gators.
Coach Matt Rohrer’s Gators must now win twice today in the completion of a pool play in order to advance to single-elimination play. There are a total of 16 teams in the 10-year-old tournament.
“It was a tough loss but they (Pan South) had a good little team,” Rohrer said. “We had a situation where we were set up to pitch the bottom half of their order in the last inning. But we walked three at the end of the fourth and couldn’t pull it off.”
Three walks to the Drillers’ Nos. 8-10 hitters with two out in the bottom of the fourth, proved costly to the Gators in the last inning.
That’s because despite being down 7-6, the Drillers had their best hitters up in the fifth against Gator closer Steven Busma.
Austin Odom reached on a throwing error after a bunt and Cameron walked. A single by Shane Brown, his third hit of the game, scored Odom with the tying run. A wild pitch moved Cameron to third and he then scored the winning run off the fielder’s choice.
The Gators got eight hits and benefited from six errors by the Drillers.
They led 5-4 after two innings but the Drillers got two back in the third to go up 6-5 following Brown’s second double of the game.
The Gators retook the lead at 7-6 when Busma knocked in Michael Rohrer with the tying run and Matthew Foley followed by beating out an infield single that scored Busma.
Busma and Rohrer each had two hits and scored two runs to lead the Gators.
Brown led the Drillers going 3-for-3 and driving in three runs. He also got the pitching win in relief. Jonah Masterson and Rohrer pitched two innings and combined to allow six runs off seven hits.
Hurricanes 12, Forest Hill 1.
The Vicksburg Hurricanes, the state runner-up in the Babe Ruth 14-year-olds’ tournament at Meridian, got off to a good start in the Governor’s Cup Fridayby pounding the Elite from Forest Hill by 10-run mercy rule in four innings.
Forest Hill 22, River Rats 10.
Forest Hill scored six runs in its last three at-bats to beat the River Rats in 7-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup play.
Tanner Burr led Forest Hill by reaching base all four times and scoring four runs.
Justin Rushing went 3-for-3 to lead the Hurricanes. Stephen Evans had a single and a double while scoring two runs.
Regan Nosser had two hits and scored twice while Pierson Waring also scored two runs.
Colby Key went three innings, scattering three hits while striking out two to grab the win.
V’burg Stars 11, Bandits 4.
The Vicksburg Stars scored six runs in their first at-bat and went on to beat the Vicksburg Bandits in 7-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup action Friday.
The Stars built a 10-4 lead through three innings. Rett Verhine, Joshua Brown and Camden Kurtz each scored two runs to lead the Stars.
Benchwarmers 6, Alpha A’s 4.
Blake Tarnabine pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth to key the Vicksburg Benchwarmers in the 16-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup win Friday night at Bazinsky Field.
Tarnabine went five innings to grab the win while Andrew Brown pitched the final two innings for the save.
A base hit by Josh Hill and one from Tyler Hill keyed a two-run inning in the top of the fifth to provide the Benchwarmers with their winning margin.