By Mark Carpenter-
All of the June rains played havoc with the summer softball and baseball schedules of the Southern Hills Youth League, but with this week of warm and muggy days and night the league is catching up with tournament action and on June 28, the 10U baseball tourney title was on the line at the West Union Rec Park as the Peebles Indians battled Eastern for the crown.
The Indians had only suffered one loss during the regular season, that being a 4-3 defeat to Eastern, and on Friday night, the Peebles nine was looking to avenge that loss and take home a tournament championship. The path to the title game saw the Indians with a first-round bye, and then wins over Ripley in the quarterfinals and Manchester in the semis, setting up the rematch with Eastern.
On a very humid evening, the hungry Indians took the lead in the top of the first inning, one they would never relinquish. Peebles scored two times, getting base hits from Braylen Stephens and Cooper Meade, and a two-bagger from Conner Gross. The damage could have been worse as walks to Caiden Spires and Gage Smart filled the bases, but a strikeout by Liam Shoemaker ended the inning.
Eastern got one of those runs back in the bottom of the first and the score remained 2-1 Peebles until the Indians came to the plate in the top of the third. Singles by Meade and Gross opened the inning and both of them raced home when Spires lined a triple just inside the right field line. Spires later came home with the third run of the frame to give the Indians a 5-1 advantage.
Peebles added one more to their lead in the top of the fourth when Bo Johnson drew a walk and came home later on Meade’s third hit of a four-hit game.
Eastern came into the championship game undefeated and they weren’t going down without a fight as they plated four runs in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Peebles lead down to a single run at 6-5, and after both teams went scoreless in the fifth, the Indians added a big insurance run in their half of the sixth, again with Johnson reaching base and eventually scoring.
Eastern came to bat in the bottom of the sixth, their last opportunity to erase the two-run deficit, but they went down 1-2-3 and the Indians could celebrate their triumph and their SHYL tournament championship.
“We had a goal when the season started of going wire to wire but fell short with the regular season loss to Eastern,” said Peebles coach Jr. Lane. “We finished 11-1 overall and never gave up, always telling the boys that this was their year. This group has basically been together since tee-ball and it all came together for them in this tournament. We took the field knowing this was our game to win and we did!”
“I’m so proud of these young men and all the coaches and parents that supported this team.”
The 10U champions were coached by Lane, Ty Stephens, Josh Johnson, Dave Stephens, Eric Meade, and Kyle Chamblin.
