Riding the wave of a perfect 5-0 run, the Colbert Leopards captured their own tournament title last weekend as they closed with a 5-4 championship win against Amber-Pocasset.
Coach Zach Crabtree’s squad blasted their way to run-rule opening wins over Rock Creek (8-0) and Haworth (10-0). They followed with a 6-4 triumph against Vanoss before bouncing Rock Creek (9-0) in the semifinals.
Colbert then held off a late Am-Po rally to pick up the title.
Hudson Sanchez had a massive game at the plate for the Leopards in the tournament opener, driving in half the Colbert runs himself while also adding three hits. Dalton Cummins scattered four hits over four shutout frames to take the pitching victory.
Cameron Nottingham twirled a two-hit shutout over Haworth and homered as Brewer Crabtree chipped in two hits and three batted in.
The Leopards ran out to a 6-1 fourth inning lead against Vanoss but had to hold on for their lives as they managed just three hits and committed four errors. Isaiah Lopez came on to strike out the final two Wolves batters to earn the mound save.
Offense was much more abundant for Colbert in the Rock Creek semifinal as Blake Wigington homered and drove in two while Kevin Davis added a double and three RBI. Ian Jordan was stellar in the complete game pitching performance, yielding just two hits with five strikeouts.
Colbert once again built a nice lead in the finals despite just three hits offensively, but was forced to slam the door on the Panthers as Lopez garnered the pitching triumph in six frames of work.
Silo Rebels
Another massive week for the Rebels resulted in five straight wins, including a second straight tournament crown as they claimed the Tupelo Tournament while remaining undefeated at 11-0.
The Rebels won a 5-4 thriller over Rattan to begin the week’s action and then cruised through the trio of Roff (19-1), Calera (13-3) and Latta (8-0) on the way to a championship showdown with unbeaten Tupelo in which Silo prevailed 2-1 in another nailbiter.
Coach Eddie Jeffcoat’s troops raced to a 5-1 lead over Rattan but had to hold off the Rams down the stretch as Cannon Atwood earned the pitching win in five innings of work with Aiden McCarty escaping a bases loaded jam to notch the save.
Silo got a two-run homer offensively from Doc Nuffer and doubles by Jacob Wright and Nolan Northcott.
The Rebels erupted for 11 in just three innings to rout Roff with McCarty and Wright each belting home runs with Warner Bradley adding a double as part of his two hits and three batted in.
Calera snagged an early 2-0 edge in the Bryan County battle but watched the Rebels erupted for 11 runs with two outs in the second inning and never look back.
Wright doubled twice in his three hits and drove in five runs with Atwood also producing three hits, including a pair of doubles and three RBI.
Blane Beauchamp was stellar on the mound in the Latta victory as the senior fired a one-hit shutout that included seven strikeouts. Wright and Paxton Scoggin each homered as Northcott tossed in two doubles.
The finale saw the duo of McCarty and Northcott combine to twirl a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts over seven innings.
Silo trailed 1-0 however until Ty Hatley’s two-out, tworun single in the fifth gave the Rebels the lead for good.