Mike Vukovcan For the first time this All-Star season, the Hopewell 9-Year-Old All-Stars reached the championship game but unfortunately they came up just short.
The Vikings started the day by beating Seneca Valley in the semifinals before losing to Blackhawk in the finals.
Hopewell vs. Seneca Valley Recap:
*Top 2nd- The game was tied at 1 going to the top of the second. Jordan Peck was on the mound and had an easy time of things. Peck got the first two outs via ground balls and the final out with a strikeout.
*Bottom 2nd- Hopewell then broke things open in the second. With 1 out, Quinn Zappa reached on an infield single which was followed by a single by Deacon Ankrom. DJ Towler then stepped to the plate and after fouling the first pitch off, Towler hammered a ball over the center field fence for a 3-run HR. Hopewell led 4-1.
Hopewell wasn’t done. Tristyn Trkulja drew a walk and immediately scored as Michael Kurta ripped a triple to left field. Hopewell then scored 2 more runs as Viking batters drew four straight walks, the final two by Jonah Honess and Aaron Ackerman. Hopewell led 7-1.
Top 3rd- The rest of the game was all about Hopewell’s pitching. Ackerman took over in the 3rd and recorded two of the three outs via strikeout.
Top 5th- Brody Benson took over in the 5th and had no problems. Out No. 1 came on a comebacker to the mound that Benson fielded. After giving up a walk, Brody struck out the next batter and got the final out on a fly out to Trkulja in center.
Top 6th- Benson started the inning with recording a strikeout. Honess then replaced him on the mound and got the final two outs of the game on a fielders choice and a strikeout.
Final: Hopewell 7 Seneca Valley 1
Hopewell vs. Blackhawk Championship Game:
This was a tight game through 4 innings as Hopewell held a 3-2 lead. In the top of the 5th, Blackhawk pulled away by scoring 6 runs and Hopewell couldn’t recover.
The two bats in Hopewell’s lineup were Honess with 3 RBI and Peck with 2 hits.
Trailing 8-4 in the last inning, Hopewell tried to make a comeback.
Peck led off the inning with an infield single to third, which was followed by a single by Benson. With runners at 1st and 3rd, Honess then reached on an error which brought in Peck and Benson. Hopewell now trailed 8-5.
However, Blackhawk recorded the next 3 Hopewell batters on fielder choices and that was the game.
Final: Blackhawk 8 Hopewell 5
