13 year old Greater Loudoun Team Wins PA Title
LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA - Ever since their first tournament together in late March, the 13 year old Greater Loudoun Babe Ruth World Series Host Team had been looking for a solid winning streak. After anxious anticipation, the team finally found their stroke in the ECTB July 4th Blast in Reading, Pennsylvania.
The team powered their way to a perfect 6-0 record over the June 30th weekend, including a 4-0 record on Championship Sunday. Over those six games, the team compiled 57 runs and 65 hits en route to outscoring their opponents 57-24.
During pool play the Lions defeated ASBA 4-0, the Mt. Airy Bulldogs 7-4, and the Blue Bell Tigers 15-8. In the game against the Tigers, the Lions used two consecutive seven run innings to score the final 14 runs of the game and come back from an 8-1 deficit. After those games, the team finished tied for first in their pool but because of their runs allowed they placed 3rd.
The team didn't care about their ranking as they continued their offensive run with a 14-9 come back nail-biter against the 2nd seed Pennsylvania Rattlers. The team advanced to the Semifinals and had a solid victory against the Eckley Reds 6-3. Afterwards the team moved right into the Championship Game against the Hershey Baseball Academy. However, the limited break did not cause any trouble for the Lions as they easily defeated the Academy 11-3 in 5 innings.
The team was led offensively throughout the tournament by outfielder Marco Verdi, who went 9-16 with a HR, 2 2B, and 11 RBI. Verdi was assisted offensively by Matt MacMahon who added a HR and 5 RBI and Tyler Saleck with 2 2B and 6 RBI.
Another key to the tournament victory was the consistency of the team's pitching. The team had five different winning pitchers: Saleck, MacMahon, Mitchell Bowers, Travis Burke, and Billy Arens who pitched a complete game. The team also had solid pitching performances from Nick Collins, Ryan Rentfro, and Matt Reed.
The team hopes to continue their success in upcoming tournaments including a week in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina July 24-28. Afterwards the team will begin its final preparation as they await teams from across the nation to come to Fireman's Field in Purcellville August 17-24 for the 13 Year Old Babe Ruth World Series.
