The Vicksburg Misfits’ run in the 16-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup started with a roar and ended with a whimper.

The Misfits walloped The Other Team 8-0 in the semifinals on Sunday, but later fell 3-1 to a young Tri-County club in the finals.

The potent Misfits offense was derailed by Tri-County’s Derek Martin, who threw a two-hit gem and gave up one run in a six-inning effort.

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“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Tri-County coach Todd Driver said. “Vicksburg has a great team. We wanted to come out here and play excellent defense with some good pitching and we couldn’t ask for anything more. He (Martin) was mixing speeds really well and you couldn’t ask for a better performance.”

Vicksburg’s lone run came on an RBI single by Carlos Gonzales, who ripped a shot through the gap to score starting pitcher Clayton Ashley.

Tri-County, a 14-year-olds’ team playing in a higher classification, couldn’t manage much against Ashley, but made it stick when they did.

In the third, Reed Humphries and Nicholas Wilson each had an RBI single as Tri-County took a lead it did not relinquish. Tri-County added an insurance run in the fifth inning. A two-out walk and an RBI hit by Martin made it 3-1.

The Misfits got precious few chances to score thanks to Martin’s control. He walked only two batters in the contest and worked ahead in the count, nibbling on the corners with a fastball and freezing hitters with a deadly curve.

The Misfits only put two runners in scoring position before the final inning.

In the seventh, the Misfits got two runners on. Humphries, though, came in and retired the side to pick up the save.

“This bunch has been incredible, they’ve been a lot of fun,”  Misfits coach Paul Ashley said. “We just didn’t make real good contact with the ball. They had a really good pitcher on the mound.”

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com