Marietta, Georgia (Cobb County)
Congratulations to the 6-4-3 DP Cougars 10U team for winning the Perfect Game Southeast Elite Spring Championship this weekend! The Cougars swept their pool play games and won their two bracket games as well. The final score of the championship game was 9-5 against the ECB Astros Orange. Congrats to Ethan Pai for being selected as the Most Valuable Pitcher by Perfect Game!
According to Head Coach Danny Pralgo, the 10U Cougars contributed yet another total team effort over a great weekend of baseball. Nothing came easy for the Cougars this tournament as they, once again, faced some of the top 10U pitchers in the state. However, the Cougars hitters competed extremely well at the dish and plated 33 runs in four games.
In the semi-final game of bracket play, the Cougars fought for every run against a strong Dingers team (final score 5-2). Drew McGee led the way offensively for the Cougars going 1-for-1 with two runs scored. Baserunning was a big factor for the Cougars as they were able to add several runs while being stymied by outstanding Dingers arms. On the mound for the Cougars, Ethan Pai and George Moore kept the Dingers hitters off balance by locating their pitches well and changing speeds effectively. Pai contributed four innings of work with four strikeouts. Moore contributed two innings of work with four strikeouts.
In the championship game, the Cougars faced a very talented ECB Astros Orange team. The Astros came out hot putting up three runs in the top of the first inning. The Cougars answered with five runs of their own in the bottom half of the first inning. Drew McGee set the tone for the Cougars at the plate with a 2-strike approach, opposite-field laser over the right fielder’s head for a triple. Ethan Pai followed with a laser of his own…an RBI single to centerfield. Parker Lively and George Moore added great at-bats going deep in the count to earn huge walks. Luke Rohlfs followed with an opposite-field double that scored three. Luke Borden contributed a huge, opposite-field single as well. Other big hits in the game were a hard single to centerfield by Madden Hernandez, a single to left field by Parker Lively, a double to left center by Drew McGee, and extremely well-hit doubles over the centerfielder’s head by George Moore and Luke Rohlfs. Key RBI were also plated by Luke Borden and Chase Webb. Luke Rohlfs settled in on the mound, walked only one, and struck out six to get the Cougars into the fifth inning. Mason Bennett relieved Rohlfs and located his pitches very well to close out the game. Defensively, Parker Lively was a bulldog for the Cougars behind the plate. Aiden Moulder and Ethan Pai worked the bag at first base to perfection. And Jackson Dodge came up with a huge running catch in left center to save a run and prevent a potential big inning from happening.
Congrats again to all the 10U Cougars players and coaches for their solid team effort and strong team performance on the diamond last weekend!