First Assembly routs Pearls of Christ for ‘A’ league crown
First Assembly erupted for 22 runs in the championship game of the Warren County Church League’s Men’s “A” division tournament Thursday night, capturing the title with a 22-5 victory over Pearls of Christ.
The two championship squads finished the first frame tied at 4-4, but an eight-run second inning from First Assembly took the wind out of their opponents’ sails, and the eventual champs pounded out 10 more runs over the course of the third and fourth to seal the victory via the mercy rule.
With one out in the bottom of the second, four straight First Assembly batters reached base. The squad sent 13 men to the plate in the inning, posting eight runs thanks to a walk, four errors, and base hits from Bobby McCormick, Darek Elrod, Sammy Lee and Ricky Ledbetter.
A triple from Ronnie Talbert and an Elrod double highlighted the third inning, during which First Assembly posted four more runs to take a 16-5 advantage.
In the fourth inning, which eventually decided the game, Ledbetter led off with a home run which counted for an out due to league rules. But Dustin Cherry, Sammy Lee, Mike Lee, Bobby McCormick, Terry Ables and Talbert connected for consecutive hits following that first out, providing the final game-winning margin.
Pearls of Christ displayed most of their offense on the night in the game’s first inning, posting four runs thanks to doubles from Chris Wanamaker, Tim Bouldin, Jim Bob Rymer and Travis Wanamaker, as well as singles from Jason Hobbs and Chris Paris. Rymer doubled and scored in the third for the team’s only other run.