Braves finish third at state tournament
The C-town Braves, a 12-and-under boys slowpitch softball team from Centertown, recently took third place in the Sporting Events Association of America’s state tournament at Cane Creek SportsPlex in Cookeville.
The Braves took a tough loss to open the tournament, falling to Team Worth 27-11. After taking a 4-3 lead in the first inning, Team Worth blew the game open in the second, scoring 12 runs.
A.J. Parker, Aaron Miller, Kendall Wooten and Tucker Higgins had two hits each for C-town, which posted four runs in each of the third and fourth innings to cut its deficit to 16-11. But Worth responded with six runs in the third, and plated five more in the fourth to seal the victory.
Going up against Linwood BP, it was the Braves’ turn to post the big inning, and they needed every run they could manage to come away with a win in a 24-23 slugfest.
Down 3-1 after one inning, C-town’s bats came to life in the second, as they sent 15 men to the plate to score 12 runs, including a home run by Wooten.
Both teams scored five runs in the third, and Linwood came back to make the game close with a nine-run fourth. The Braves expanded their lead with four runs in the fifth, but Linwood came right back with five of their own to take a 23-22 lead.
Parker tripled to lead off the sixth, and scored on a hit by Miller to tie the game Miller came home on a single from Justin Fults, giving C-town what would prove to be the game-winning run.
Wooten finished with three hits and three runs, while Fults had a four-hit game and reached base all five times he came to the plate. Houston Simons had four hits and scored a pair of runs, while Miller, Justin Evans and Brandon Hodges all had three hits.
Parker finished with a pair of triples, while teammates Russ Reedy and Tucker Higgins also had two hits each.
The Braves’ run at the tournament ended via the 10-run mercy rule, as they were dealt a 17-7 loss at the hands of the Scorpions, who plated five runs in the first and six more in the sixth inning to clinch the win.
C-town put up three runs in the first inning, one more in the second, another in the third and two in the fifth. Justin Fults finished 3-for-3 with a runs cored, while Justin Evans had a pair of doubles and Parker added a triple with two runs scored. Brandon Hodges, Tucker Higgins, Houston Simon and Bradley Stregg also had hits.