Eagles Finish Year with Big Win and 11u USSSA Super State Title
Photo Submitted by R. A. Potts
June 18-19, the Jefferson County Eagles traveled to Domtar Sports Park in Kingsport to compete in the USSSA 11u Super State Tournament.
In the first of two pool play games on Saturday, the Eagles squared off against the Virginia Heaters, downing them 8-0. Eli Briggs set the standard for Eagle pitching for the tournament when he went the distance on the mound, throwing a four hit shutout backed by strong defensive play, all highlighted with a diving catch by left fielder, Talan Higgins. The catch resulted in a double play to help secure the shutout. Maddux Rogers led the way offensively going 3 for 3, while Jace Dobbins, Owen Grimsley, and Nate Breeden all added two hits each.
Game two saw the Eagles face the Rangers out of the Tri-City area. Grimsley, Tyler Chrisman, and Landon Thomas each had two hits for the Eagles, while Thomas also turned in another complete game for the Jefferson County pitching staff, giving up four hits and allowing just two runs in the 5-2 victory. The game ended on a perfectly executed 4-6-3 double play by Dobbins, Grimsley, and Chrisman. The two game sweep on Saturday secured the Eagles the number one seed for Sunday’s elimination play.
Sunday’s first game was a rematch of Saturday’s first against the Heaters. Dobbins took the mound and pitched his way to a 5-2 complete game victory, third of the tournament for Eagle pitching, scattering seven hits in the process. At the plate, Chrisman went 3 for 4, while Grimsley and Hunter Vaughn both had two hits. Once again, the defensive had another strong performance and held the Heaters to just two runs. The win propelled the Eagles into the championship game.
Jefferson County faced the Rangers in the championship game, who fought their way with two wins to setup the rematch. The Eagles went up early 4-0, but mid-way through the game the Rangers tied it up 4-4 in the top of the third. The Eagles then pushed three runs across the plate to regain the lead at 7-4 after three innings of play. The Rangers closed the gap in the top of the fourth to 7-5, but Jefferson County took command of the game on offense by scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the fifth to win the game by mercy rule 13-5, and captured the 11u USSSA Super State Title. Maddux Rogers matched the performance of the rest of the Eagles pitching staff by throwing a complete game, giving up five runs off 10 hits. The offensive charge was led by Grimsley hitting 4 for 4. Thomas was 2 for 2, while Breeden and Drew Potts both went 3 for 4, including Potts’ walk off double scoring Grimsley to end the game.
“They had a great weekend,” commented Manager Richard Alan Potts. “Hard to ask much more from them. They go undefeated in the tournament and all the pitchers throw complete games. We didn’t use our bullpen once the entire tournament. They put runs on the board, especially late in the championship game when they could sense that the win was close. And the defense, well, you don’t beat teams 5-2 without playing solid defense, and they did it twice. Most of these boys have been playing together since they were eight, so they’ve been working for this for a few years. We added two new players this year, Charlie Byerley and Talan Higgins, who’d never played travel ball before, and they worked their tail off all year to make up that difference. They are definitley not the same two players that walked into the cages in January. Very proud of how far they’ve come. The boys accepted them instantly and the team had great chemistry all year. That’s a big reason why they were able to do what they did this weekend. I couldn’t be prouder! Every player did something to help the team win. They had a great year! They did great!”
