SOUTHAVEN, Miss. —
The Valdosta Sluggers finished second in the consolation bracket at the Dizzy Dean Baseball World Series.
The Sluggers, the 10-year-old All-Star team from the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority, reached the consolation final on Tuesday, but lost 7-5 to the Bradley County All-Stars.
The Sluggers finished sixth overall at the World Series. Each player received a medal for finishing second in the consolation bracket.
“These kids had an absolute blast,” Sluggers head coach Timm Samples said. “It’s been an amazing summer. It will definitely be one that we, as a group, will not forget any time soon.
“We ended up being the runner-up in the consolation bracket. All in all, a wonderful experience. Great times, great memories were made with a wonderful, wonderful group of kids.”
According to Samples, against Bradley County, a team from Tennessee, “We couldn’t get any hits put together back-to-back. We’d get a guy on, (but) we just couldn’t get multiple hits back-to-back (and) couldn’t get them in.”
Andrew Clark and Cameron Carter both had a triple for the Sluggers, and Jake Hamlin hit a double.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Sluggers routed Southaven, Miss., the host team, 14-1. That win put them in the consolation final.
Wade Holton and Drew Anderson drove in four runs apiece for the Sluggers in the win. Every member of the team had at least one hit.
Drew Harrell pitched the first three innings, and held Southaven without a run. Carter pitched a scoreless fourth inning, and Hamlin got the final three outs to close out the win.
“(Anderson and Holton) were the two big bats in that game. ... Pitching was just solid,” Samples said.
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On Monday, the Sluggers fell to East Walker (Ala.) 16-6 in the championship bracket. The loss was the Sluggers’ second loss of the tournament to East Walker, and dropped them into the consolation bracket.
The Sluggers then beat Southaven 14-10 in the first game of the consolation bracket.
The game was tight throughout, and both teams held the lead on multiple occasions.
After tying the game at 10-10 in the top of the sixth inning, the Sluggers found themselves in a difficult situation in the bottom of the sixth. Southaven loaded the bases with no outs and needed just one run to win the game. That’s when the Sluggers’ defense came alive to get out of the jam.
Anderson, the first baseman, caught a pop fly in the infield, then threw the ball to Holton, the second baseman, to complete a double play.
With two outs and runners at the corners, Southaven decided to get aggressive on the basepaths, but the move backfired. Sluggers catcher Andrew Clark caught the runner at first trying to steal second, ending the inning.
In the top of the seventh inning, the Sluggers scored four runs to take a 14-10 lead. They then shut down the Southaven offense in the bottom half of the inning to secure the victory.
Local Sports
Sluggers finish 6th at Dizzy Dean World Series
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