Hampton youth baseball, softball championships provide drama
The Hampton Athletic Association held its baseball and softball championships Saturday. Though the heavy rain Friday delayed the playoff structure and left the fields at McCully a little damp, the U8 softball, Pinto 7-8-year-old and Bronco 9-10-year-old leagues saw championship action.
The Andrews Royal team captured the Bronco crown in dramatic fashion with a 6-5 victory over Brockway Power Orange. With the score knotted 5-5 in the bottom of the sixth, Negussie “Goose” Wright reached third base with one out.
In a show of gamesmanship, Brockway Orange intentionally walked the Royal third and fourth hitters, Zach Carr and Brady Long, loading the bases for Brock Varley.
Though Varley made two key snags at first base late in a semifinal game to help secure an 8-7 win over Moser Maroon, he wouldn't need any heroics this time around.
“Goose has pretty good speed,” Royal coach Scott Andrews said. “I told my third-base coach to be aggressive with him and get him down the line. We're not allowed to straight steal, but you can steal on a passed ball.”
Sure enough, the second pitch found the dirt, and Wright broke for home and slid in a close play at the plate.
“It was a walk-off home steal, if that's what you want to call it,” Andrews said. “It was awesome.”
Carr earned the win, pitching the final two innings in relief after Wright and Long split the first four.
In the Pinto 7-8 Division, Cary Hughes' Gray team took down the Red team in a 10-7 victory that started off as a rout but slowly became interesting.
After staking a 7-0 lead in the first two innings, the Gray team saw that lead evaporate as the Reds crept back to within one after a four-run fifth. But a two-run sixth provided the cushion needed for victory.
“Any given day, any team can win,” Hughes said. “I was fortunate enough to have players that were able to make plays at the right time. Making timely plays is part of the game of baseball.”
Hughes gave credit to the Reds, who had only eight players.
For the Grays, Ethan Hughes went 3 for 4 with a double, Carter DelGrosso went 4 for 4 with a triple, Matthew Noll went 3 for 4 and Teddy Klocko went 4 for 4.
The U8 softball playoffs didn't see that kind of drama. For the Hampton Bananas, there was no doubt about it.
The Bananas blew by Purple, 24-8, in the semifinals before securing its second consecutive U8 crown with a 20-3 win over the Navy team.
“We only had eight girls, so they got to bat around a lot,” coach Dave Inerthal said. “It was fun.”
Molly Inerthal, Ellie Klocko and Emily Malloy, who switched between pitcher, catcher and third base throughout the season, were the driving forces behind the team's playoff success.
Devon Moore is a freelance writer.
