Cumming, Georgia
The 6-4-3 DP Tigers (11U) squad opened the 2015 fall season in strong fashion by going undefeated in their first tournament of the year. The team finished particularly strong coming from way behind in the last two games to win each game in the bottom of the last inning. In the semi-final game against a big hitting Bartow Canes squad, the 11U Tigers were down 5-1 going into the bottom of the fourth inning. Key hits by Nate Jones, Miles Moss, Brady Martel, and Kameron Douglas got the team back in the game and tied it up with a 7-7 score going into the bottom of the last inning, where Brayden May ripped a clutch RBI single to win it for 6-4-3 and advance the team to the final game. In the championship game, the 11U Tigers were again down 8-1 (this time going into the bottom of the 5th!) and again didn't roll-over but instead fought back on key hits by Brady Martel, Ayden Farrow, Miles Moss, and ultimately the game winner, a frozen rope in the gap smashed by Kameron Douglas, to bring home the hardware. Other offensive efforts included Colton Lusk and Cooper Orr who each contributed key hits. In addition to the great offensive effort, the 11U Tigers got the job done on the bump with strong pitching efforts from Marshall Benton, Ayden Farrow, Nate Jones, Ethan Goodhart, and Sam Reavis. A number of impressive defensive plays, including a key pick by Nick Olson at first, a couple of great catches by Brayden May in right field, a diving catch by Ethan Goodhart in left field, a key putout at first base by Marshall Benton from right field, and a ridiculous backhanded stab by Ayden Farrow at shortstop, all contributed to the effort as well. The team showed a tremendous amount of heart while battling a couple of injuries, being short a couple of players, and down a bunch of runs, but they never gave up and capped off a great first effort for Coach Chip Benton's team. Congratulations to the 11U Tigers for their fine weekend performance.