Vicksburg squad wins 6-year-olds’ title
Published 12:01 am Sunday, July 31, 2011
The 6-year-olds’ Vicksburg All-Stars already had the state’s biggest trophy stashed safely away in their case.
On Saturday, they added a Governor’s Cup championship to their USSSA state title and put on a show for their hometown fans.
The All-Stars scored 71 runs in four games and beat the Concordia Cobras 9-1 in the tournament final to win the 6-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup title at Halls Ferry Park.
“It feels great. I’m really proud of these boys. They’ve worked really, really hard and they deserve everything they get. We’ve got a talented group,” Vicksburg coach Randy Wright said. “We’re real proud that we’re state champions and real proud that we defended the home turf and won the Governor’s Cup.”
Vicksburg beat Concordia 20-12 in the tournament opener, then took two games from the Madison Longhorns, 24-16 and 19-11, to earn a rematch with Concordia in the championship game.
Braxton McCurley had a two-run inside-the-park home run for Vicksburg and Johnathan Wells added an RBI double, but what put the All-Stars over the top was their defense.
Vicksburg turned a double play in the first inning and four fielder’s choices in the game. Third baseman Preston Lynch added a nice sliding catch on a pop up in the fourth inning.
In an age group where errors and misplays often turn into game-changing rallies, the All-Stars held Concordia without a run after the first inning. In fact, the Cobras only had four hits — all singles — after Rives Reynolds tripled with one out in the first.
The stellar defense allowed the All-Stars to pull away with a modest offensive effort compared to their first three games. They likely would have scored more, but the game was halted after 3 1/2 innings by the mercy rule.
“We made some routine plays, we caught some pop ups, some fly balls and caught some balls on the ground. That’s awesome. If you can make routine plays at this level, you’re going to win a lot of games,” Wright said.
The All-Stars improved their record to 16-1 overall this summer and will try to win a few more games next weekend when they play in the Governor’s Cup 7-year-olds’ tournament.