Mike Vukovcan BAUERSTOWN– Winning isn’t easy and that is especially true when it comes to championships.
The Hopewell 12-year-old All-Star team took on Bauerstown last night in the championship game of the Bauerstown All-Star Tournament.
The Vikings played on the same level as Bauerstown for five of the six innings, unfortunately that one inning was too much to overcome as they lost 9-5.
Bauerstown threw two good pitchers, which were able to keep Hopewell’s dangerous lineup in check for most of the game.
GAME RECAP-Â
*Top of 1st Inning– Hopewell was able to get on the scoreboard first in this game. Rilynn Davis led off the way with a single, stole base, and then with 2 outs, Henry Dunn came through with a clutch 2-out single to score Davis. Hopewell led 1-0.
Hopewell’s Rilynn Davis steals second base.
*Bottom of 1st Inning– Bauerstown tied the game and were threatening to score more but starting pitcher was able to pick off the base runner at first with a nice move and followed that up with a strikeout. Game tied at 1.
Hopewell’s Rhett Rankin
*Bottom of 2nd Inning– Nothing doing for either team in the 2nd inning. Hopewell’s defense was able to turn a 6-4-3 double play as shortstop Kruz Krotec flipped to Connor Eiler at second, who fired to Davis at 1st base. Game remains tied at 1-1.
*Bottom of 3rd inning– The pitching was dominating early as we had another scoreless inning. Hopewell advanced a runner to second base with 2 outs, but they were left stranded. Rankin was dominant in the bottom of the third inning as he struck out the side.
Hopewell’s Rhett Rankin
*Top of 4th Inning– Hopewell was able to jump back on top as they manufactured a run. With 1 out, Krotec reached base with an infield single. Kruz then stole second and third and scored on an error by Bauerstown. Hopewell led 2-1.
Hopewell’s Kruz Krotec
*Bottom of 4th Inning- Bauerstown’s offense came to life in the 4th inning as they collected 6 runs on 7 hits. Bauerstown led after four innings, 7-2.
*Top of 5th Inning– Hopewell tried to chip away as they were able to add a run in this frame. Rankin was hit to lead off the inning. Rhett advanced to second on a bunt by Wes Gigliotti and would score on an RBI single by Connor Eiler. Hopewell got two runners on but were unable to get them in. Bauerstown 7-3.
*Top of 6th Inning– Bauerstown scored 2 more in the bottom of the 5th inning to increase their lead to 9-3 so Hopewell went to the last inning needing to score 6 runs. With 1 out, Davis was hit by a pitch and went on to steal 2nd and 3rd base. Rilynn would then score on an RBI single by Austin Gallagher. With 2 outs, Dunn walked to put 2 runners on, and Gallagher would score on an error by Bauerstown. Unfortunately, that’s all Hopewell would score.
FINAL SCORE- BAUERSTOWN 9 HOPEWELL 5
It was their first All-Star tournament of the summer, and second place is nothing to be upset about so congrats to the players and coaches. The next tournament for this 12-year-old team is a big one as they host the Hopewell Tournament this weekend. It will be the final time these players have the chance to play on their home field. VSN will post the schedule later this week.
FYI, the pictures in this game were taken by VSN’s Ed Thompson. Later this morning, we will be posting a photo gallery of yesterday’s game.
