The Greenfield 12s came into Saturday's championship double-header having lost one game convincingly and won another one by a tighter margin than the final score would indicate. They would need to find a way to win both games against the South Hills "Wild Things" if they wanted to hoist their third trophy this tournament season.
In the first game, they did it with defense and patient offense. On offense, there was no breakout inning. The boys in green picked up one run in the first inning, another in the second, two more in the third, and so on. The basic procedure was to get someone on base and move him around the diamond with steals, base hits, and fly balls. Shockingly, there were no home runs by either team.
On defense, the load was shared well between the pitchers and the rest of the fielders. Samson Hill, Brandon Twigg, and Bryan McCann each took two innings and struck out their share of batters, but no pitcher was going to toss a no-hitter against the Wild Things.
The Greenfield outfielders did an excellent job of keeping the ball in front of them and limiting South Hills batters to singles on their hard-hit balls to the outfield. Ethan Heidel-Roberts was in left, Isaac Koerber in center, and Luther Harper in right.
By addings ones and twos each inning, the Greenfield 12s built a 6-0 lead before the Wild Things put two on the board in the fourth inning, and the boys in green continued that pace till the end, winning by the final score of 10-2.
A brief rest period between games gave all the kids a chance to get some food and hobnob with the competition.
In the first game, they did it with defense and patient offense. On offense, there was no breakout inning. The boys in green picked up one run in the first inning, another in the second, two more in the third, and so on. The basic procedure was to get someone on base and move him around the diamond with steals, base hits, and fly balls. Shockingly, there were no home runs by either team.
On defense, the load was shared well between the pitchers and the rest of the fielders. Samson Hill, Brandon Twigg, and Bryan McCann each took two innings and struck out their share of batters, but no pitcher was going to toss a no-hitter against the Wild Things.
The Greenfield outfielders did an excellent job of keeping the ball in front of them and limiting South Hills batters to singles on their hard-hit balls to the outfield. Ethan Heidel-Roberts was in left, Isaac Koerber in center, and Luther Harper in right.
By addings ones and twos each inning, the Greenfield 12s built a 6-0 lead before the Wild Things put two on the board in the fourth inning, and the boys in green continued that pace till the end, winning by the final score of 10-2.
A brief rest period between games gave all the kids a chance to get some food and hobnob with the competition.
In the second championship game, the Greenfield defense still had all its bolts tightened, but this time they were ready to light the offensive fireworks as well.
In the bottom of the first inning, with the bases loaded, Brandon Twigg hit a shot to left center field for his first career grand slam. That run roundup gave Greenfield a lead they would never relinquish.
Those loaded bases were set up by Jordan Osborne's leadoff triple, and everyone on the Greenfield side kept their bats hot from the first game. The bottom of the lineup was especially helpful, with Isaac Koerber hitting one over the left fielder's head, against the fence, Ethan Heidel-Roberts hitting in the gap, and Luther Harper sending the ball for a ride over the center-field fence.
In a later inning when the Greenfielders cranked up the offense despite having two outs, Mike Twigg knocked in some RBIs with a hard line drive single. Everyone on the team got a hit, if not an RBI.
The Wild Things didn't give up, and they continued to play at a high level, but the Greenfield pitchers--again Samson Hill, Brandon Twigg, and Bryan McCann--were routinely either striking out batters or getting them to hit soft grounders to one of the waiting fielders.
Twice, when Wild Things runners were on first, threatening to steal second and get in scoring position, Brandon Twigg threw a rope from the catcher's position to the low, right hand side of second base, right where it could hit McCann's glove for an easy tag. Those textbook, no-nonsense throw-outs at second were real confidence boosters for the team.
The Wild Things kept fighting and brought some runs across, but the game ended in the top of the sixth with the third out getting caught in a run-down between first and second. Greenfield came to the championship focused and ready to play, and they won the final game in convincing fashion, 15-5.
In four tournaments, the Greenfield 12s won three first place trophies and one second place, losing only three games overall. Congratulations to the Greenfield 12s for an outstanding tournament season!
In the bottom of the first inning, with the bases loaded, Brandon Twigg hit a shot to left center field for his first career grand slam. That run roundup gave Greenfield a lead they would never relinquish.
Those loaded bases were set up by Jordan Osborne's leadoff triple, and everyone on the Greenfield side kept their bats hot from the first game. The bottom of the lineup was especially helpful, with Isaac Koerber hitting one over the left fielder's head, against the fence, Ethan Heidel-Roberts hitting in the gap, and Luther Harper sending the ball for a ride over the center-field fence.
In a later inning when the Greenfielders cranked up the offense despite having two outs, Mike Twigg knocked in some RBIs with a hard line drive single. Everyone on the team got a hit, if not an RBI.
The Wild Things didn't give up, and they continued to play at a high level, but the Greenfield pitchers--again Samson Hill, Brandon Twigg, and Bryan McCann--were routinely either striking out batters or getting them to hit soft grounders to one of the waiting fielders.
Twice, when Wild Things runners were on first, threatening to steal second and get in scoring position, Brandon Twigg threw a rope from the catcher's position to the low, right hand side of second base, right where it could hit McCann's glove for an easy tag. Those textbook, no-nonsense throw-outs at second were real confidence boosters for the team.
The Wild Things kept fighting and brought some runs across, but the game ended in the top of the sixth with the third out getting caught in a run-down between first and second. Greenfield came to the championship focused and ready to play, and they won the final game in convincing fashion, 15-5.
In four tournaments, the Greenfield 12s won three first place trophies and one second place, losing only three games overall. Congratulations to the Greenfield 12s for an outstanding tournament season!
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