2011 All Star Season
Letter from the coach,
We (11-12 year old Goodlettsville Little League all-stars) are back from Warner Robins, GA. and the Southeastern Little League Regional Tournament. We were in a very tough "pool" with Alabama, Georgia, and North Carolina. Though we lost to all 3 in pool play, each game was close, and with some timely hits, we could have easily won all 3 games. In the consolation game, we(Tennessee) defeated Virginia 13 to 0. So, we finished on a high note. The kids represented Goodlettsville and the state of Tennessee admirably. If we could have beaten Alabama Monday night, we would have played in the semi-finals Wednesday night on ESPN2, but we lost 4 to 2. We were 2 wins away from going to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA.
All in all, it was a great experience for all of us, especially the kids. I wanted to personally thank all of you for your interest and support. A special thanks goes out to John Robertson and Joey Hale for driving down to watch us play a couple of games.
For our first season in Little League, our Goodlettsville Baseball League faired quite well winning State Championships in the10, 11, and 12 year old levels.
Again, thanks for your interest and support.
Joe Keef
Tuesday, Aug. 09, 2011
Pitching leads Alabama past Tennessee
By DANIEL SHIRLEY
WARNER ROBINS -- Alabama didn’t really get its bats going Monday against Tennessee in the Little League Southeastern Regional tournament.
But with its pitching staff cruising, Alabama didn’t really need much offense. Josh Lewis, Andrew Livingston and Kyle Chandler combined to allow six hits while striking out 11 as Alabama pulled out a 4-2 win. Alabama finishes pool play at 2-1, while Tennessee finishes at 0-3.
“Our pitching was really, really good,” Alabama manager Neal Pepper said. “We didn’t get the bats going a whole lot, but we pitched really well, and that was important.”
Lewis pitched the first 1-2/3 innings, and then Livingston took over and made it through two outs in the fifth inning. Chandler came in to get his team out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam, and he pitched a perfect sixth inning to finish off the game.
Livingston finished with nine strikeouts.
“When we pitch like that, we have a lot of confidence,” Chandler said.
While Alabama pitched well, it had to work hard for all of its runs.
Chandler led off the fourth inning with a double, his team’s second hit of the game, and four straight walks led to Alabama’s first two runs. Gabe Shepard gave Alabama the lead for the first time with a bases-loaded blooper to center field that turned into a fielder’s choice because the runner at second was thrown out trying to reach third base.
Tennessee pitcher C.J. Laws held Alabama in check for the first three innings, but he struggled throughout the fourth.
“We think the second time through we’re going to be able to hit these pitchers, and we got him a little bit and then got some walks,” Pepper said. “We thought we’d go ahead and score 10 runs, but we weren’t able to do that.”
Alabama did get one more big hit as Chandler ripped a solo home run to right-center field in the fifth. Alabama finished with only five hits.
“I guess I just caught it pretty good,” Chandler said with a smile. “It was a curveball, and I was able to hit it pretty hard.”
Challenger League players impress fans with love of the game
By ANGELA WOOLEN -
WARNER ROBINS -- These players have waited weeks for this game. They aren’t out here to win a trophy or a trip to the World Series. For them, it’s all about the love of the game.
“This is baseball in its purest form,” said Larry Snellgrove.
The 20 players from the Blue and Red All Star Challenger teams from the Warner Robins American Little League spent a hot, sunny Sunday afternoon in front of an energized crowd at the Little League Southeast Park in Warner Robins.
Even Southeastern Regional Tournament Assistant Director Peter Frikker got in on the action, doing the chicken dance in the outfield with the eight umpires.
Not unlike their peers who are vying for a spot in the Little League World Series, each player was announced over the public address system.
Instead of talking about their RBIs or lineup position, it was their pets, favorite foods and favorite sports that were broadcast.
Players came out of their dugouts running when their names were called. Some lifted their arms in excitement, getting a huge response from the crowd.
“This is absolutely wonderful,” said Todd Shook, a chaperone for the Irmo, S.C., team. Disabled or not, Shook was impressed with some of the players’ abilities. Many of the children hit the ball into the outfield in the coach-pitched game. Some of them needed a tee to hit it, but all players had a chance to bat in the two-inning game.
Taking the field as buddies to the Challenger League players were representatives from each of the eight teams in the Little League Baseball Southeastern Region Tournament.
Normally fierce rivals while playing the game, this day, it was all about allowing other children the opportunity to play.
One of the buddies who helped during the game, Keaton Allison of the Tennessee team, said he learned something.
“Even if people are disabled, they are just like us,” he said.
Tennessee coach Tommy Biggerstaff had hoped his players would learn that lesson.
The tournament volunteers asked for three players from each team. He said he had at least five who raised their hands wanting to help.
“It makes us appreciate what we have a bit more,” he said.
Players from North Carolina got the wave going in the stands. Teammates from West Virginia did the hokey pokey.
“This is one of the greatest experiences I’ve had,” said Devin Shull of the South Carolina squad.
From the parents of the Challenger League All-Stars’ perspective, Shull couldn’t have been more right.
“He’s had that uniform out for a week,” said Lisa Hall, whose son Jacob Hall played for the Blue team.
Since the parents were informed of playing at the complex, the hardest part was trying to keep their sons and daughters patient enough to wait for game day.
Carmen Hamman said her son Tyler Hamman was very excited about playing.
For a few weeks, “he’s been looking forward to it,” she said.
Annabelle Whitaker has been asking since she received her jersey whether it was time to play.
“Is it ball play day?” she would ask her mother, Heather Whitaker.
Annabelle has watched her sister play ball out at the Warner Robins American Little League fields.
“Now it’s her time to shine,” said Heather Whitaker.
The smiles on the players’ faces and those who were watching the game seemed to mirror the glow.
“Basically this is what baseball should be about,” Biggerstaff said.
At the end of the game, as the teams filed out of the stadium, their chests seemed to swell with pride as they were high-fived by parents along with coaches and players of the Georgia team.
“This is definitely the best game I’ve ever seen,” said former president of the WRALL Mark Knight.
Players for the Blue Team were: Tyler Commenia, Brittany Edwards, Jacob Hall, Jamarcus Hogues, Jabriyl Holmes, Chris Martin, Rebecca Martin, Lena Ruemker, Michael Strom and Rashun Watkins.
Players for the Red Team were: Travis Benson, Matthew Buffkin, Brittany Derr, Hagin Gooding, Alexis Halligan, Tyler Hamman, Kentavien Walker, Trey West, Annabelle Whitaker and Joel Williamson.
12 Year Old Southeast Region in Warner Robbins, GA
Baseball teams arrive in Warner Robins for regional tournament
WARNER ROBINS -- From Reston, Va., the trip to the Southeastern Regional Complex should have taken 11 hours and 23 minutes, according to Yahoo! Maps.
But according to the parents who made the drive, it was much longer.
“It’s been a good 14 hours,” said Torryn Brazell.
She and her husband, Tim Brazell, started the drive Wednesday to see their son, Ty Brazell, represent Virginia in the Little League Baseball Southeastern Region Tournament, which begins Friday.
They -- along with seven other baseball teams from Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina -- arrived in Warner Robins just before the teams were to take aerial and group pictures at Little League Southeast Park at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Brazells drove down to Georgia in a new car. Their 12-year-old van didn’t have air conditioning, and the couple couldn’t see being in Georgia without it.
Though they already planned on getting another vehicle, winning the Virginia state tournament sped up the process.
The heat was a hot topic for parents as well as coaches Thursday. Gatorade and water stations were set up for the arriving teams, as the heat index was expected to reach 100.
While some chatted, others window-shopped.
Moms and players from West Virginia pressed their faces up against the glass of the souvenir shop even though it didn’t open for another hour.
Once open, many went after a gray T-shirt that had all the teams and player names printed on the back.
Meanwhile, Kelley Fulmer, league president for Irmo Little League, which is representing South Carolina, was busy getting decorating ideas for her own ballpark. Parents already have started asking about a covering for their stands as well as getting sunken dugouts.
Steve Hall, father of Tennessee player Dalton Hall, said the dugouts were all his son could talk about upon arrival.
“It’s pretty impressive,” he said of the stadium.
Hall left his father and three brothers in charge of the business while he made the trip down from Goodlettsville, about 20 miles north of Nashville.
Inside, where individual photographs were being taken, some of the out-of-towners were hitting up the locals for information, asking Warner Robins American Little League parents where to take their players on days off.
One North Carolina father asked a WRALL mother about teaming up to take the players to the movies.
Others were making predictions about the outcome.
“We’re going to win,” said Fulmer, wearing her custom yellow and green tennis shoes, which sported the Irmo Little League name along with “LuLu,” the nickname of her daughter, Alex, who plays for the team. Then she was off to spend some money at the gift store.
Saturday, Aug. 06, 2011
Fromm, Arnett pace Georgia to win in opener
WARNER ROBINS -- A welcome breeze blew through Little League Southeast Park on Friday, offering assistance to balls hit toward right field. Jake Fromm’s fourth-inning drive, however, didn’t need any help.
Georgia’s shortstop hammered a 1-2 pitch from Tennessee’s Dalton Hall, sending the ball well beyond the field’s secondary fence and sparking Georgia to a 7-3 win in the pool play opener for both teams at the Little League Southeastern Region tournament.
“He was dottin’ around the zone,” Fromm said. “I was just looking for something I could hit, and that was the pitch.”
Georgia, represented by Warner Robins American Little League, is scheduled to play Alabama at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Tennessee looks to regroup when it takes on North Carolina at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Fromm’s homer, a three-run blast, came with two out and staked Georgia to a 5-1 lead. It also eased some mounting tension in the team’s dugout.
“We started playing more loose and started having fun,” Fromm said.
Georgia suffered understandable jitters while playing before a partisan crowd that numbered some 2,500. The team from Warner Robins committed five errors. And with the exception of Fromm’s homer, Georgia batters went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
“I don’t think we made five errors through all of district and state play combined,” Georgia manager Philip Johnson said. “That’s the tightest I’ve even seen them. The crowd was so big it was like UGA down there by the dugout sometimes.”
Still, Georgia managed to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning. With one out, catcher Jordan Hampton singled off Tennessee starter Heath Pentecost. Georgia center fielder Austin Burnette then lined a triple to the gap in right center to score Hampton.
In the bottom of the third, Tennessee tied the score in similar fashion. Nelson Smith reached base on an error. He then scored when Terron Smith tripled to left field. Smith appeared to score the go-ahead run moments later on a groundout down the third-base line. However, the home plate umpire ruled the ball foul. Georgia pitcher Logan Arnett then recorded three straight strikeouts.
“Logan Arnett did an outstanding job,” Johnson said. “He showed pinpoint accuracy with where he was placing the ball.”
Arnett, who relieved Fromm after the Georgia starter recorded 20 pitches, struck out five in 2-2/3 innings. He was at his best in game situations. Arnett retired each of the nine Tennessee hitters he faced with runners in scoring position.
Georgia used four pitchers, but only Arnett is ineligible to pitch on Saturday because of pitch count rules. Pentecost and Hall cannot pitch Saturday for Tennessee.
A pair of insurance runs were added by Georgia in the fifth inning. Chase Waller of Tennessee hit a two-run home run for Tennessee in the bottom of the fifth to close out the scoring.
Georgia catcher Joshua Goodman injured a finger on his glove hand when he was called for interference. According to Goodman’s father, Mark Goodman, the finger is not broken but is bruised and will need three days of rest.
Sunday, Aug. 07, 2011
Early scoring burst powers North Carolina past Tennessee
WARNER ROBINS -- Having lost its opening game in the Little League Southeastern Regional tournament, North Carolina could ill afford another loss heading into Saturday night’s second-day matchup against Tennessee.
North Carolina made a point early and ensured that its early message stood up, topping Tennessee 5-3 after batting around and scoring four runs in the bottom half of the first inning. North Carolina’s victory came a night after being on the losing end of a wild 14-11 loss to Alabama.
“This was our shot to pick up a little bit of momentum. The gas was let out of us with (Friday’s) loss to Alabama,” North Carolina manager Jeff Henson said. “This was a chance to get our kids believing they are back in the race.”
Perhaps with Monday’s game against Georgia in mind, Henson pulled starting pitcher Holton Ahlers with two outs in the third inning after he had allowed no runs and just one hit.
“He is our No. 1, but I wanted to save him for Georgia,” Henson said. “They’re going to be a lot to deal with.”
North Carolina’s early 4-0 cushion made things easy for Ahlers, who dominated the Tennessee batting order early on, inducing numerous groundball outs.
North Carolina scored its first run on a fielding error with the bases loaded, plating Coleman Sawyer. A single by Holton Clifton made it 2-0 with a fielder’s choice off the bat of Hunter Christopher followed by a passed ball which increased the North Carolina lead to 4-0.
Tennessee pitcher Terron Smith and two other relievers, Ty Sutley and CJ Laws, settled things down, combining to give up just one run on five hits during the final five innings.
“We left so many guys on base after that,” Henson said. “That’s not going to get it at this level. We have got to do a better job at that.”
The pitching, and North Carolina stranding a total of eight runners, gave Tennessee a shot at a comeback. Laws drove in Smith on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Tennessee drew closer in the fifth, starting with a Chase Waller triple. Sutley drove him in one hitter later, with Sutley later scoring on an infield hit. That, however, is as close as Tennessee was able to draw, with North Carolina reliever Phillip Sanderson closing out the final inning and a third to preserve the win.
“If we would have lost, we wouldn’t be going to the semifinals,” Ahlers said.
11 Year Old Southeast region in Greenville, NC
3 Outs From a Championship
The Goodlettsville 11 Blue all-stars entered the all-star season with one goal in particular, play a season of Little League tournament baseball and see where we stand against the rest of our peers. The ultimate goal was to reach Greenville, NC and play against teams from around the southeast to see if we had what it took to make it to the next level, the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA. We found out that these guys have what it takes to go all the way next season. The talk around Elm Street Park was Virginia and Tennessee were the class of the field and after today’s championship game I have to agree that indeed those two teams were the top teams for the week. North Carolina won the game and the championship in the sixth after being no-hit through five innings by Brock Myers but Tennessee and Virginia will take away the knowledge that they will be primed and ready to compete for the real prize next season.
Today’s game felt more like a gift to the victors instead of a loss but in North Carolina’s defense, they had the best arm in the tournament in Sam Menitt who was clocked at 71 mph and in a one game scenario, North Carolina can beat any team in the southeast with him on the mound. With that being said, Goodlettsville pounded out seven strong hits off of their ace with the biggest blast coming from Luke Brown who took him yard over the left center field fence in the fifth inning to extend Goodlettsville’s lead to 3-0 entering the final inning so Goodlettsville passed the final test for next season. Hit the big arm and score runs. Check mark!
These young men improved each week they were together on and off the field. They became best friends and with that, a tight knit group. They endured a very strong Karns all-star team in the state tournament defeating them twice to claim the title. They defeated Montgomery Central in the state as well with big Bill Hamilton on the mound throwing mid to upper 60’s. They fought through two intense battles with Virginia and came out ahead. Virginia was considered every bit our equal and will be a force next season in Warner Robbins, GA.
You couldn’t ask for a better group to watch play the game. The entire week parents and fans from other states complimented Goodlettsville on their excellent play. Goodlettsville entered the tournament as the unknown because we were new to Little League and were unfamiliar to the other teams in the field but by the end of the week everyone knew who these kids were so I would say mission accomplished!
The game might not have been won but the goal was reached. Find out if we belong. The ultimate goal is to reach Williamsport next season not to win this tournament so now the preparation begins on that journey from this point forward and I would have to say these guys will be considered favorites if they indeed make it to Warner Robbins next season. Best of luck to these fine young men as they disband for the winter. Keep the memory of this week fresh in your mind and work to become three outs better next season which is the ultimate prize! It was a pleasure to watch you play the game.
Thanks to Elm Street Park Staff
The Goodlettsville 11 year old all-star team would like to thank the Elm Street Park staff for a wonderful week of baseball and hospitality. Your dedication to the game has no equal and it was an honor to step foot on your field and to be in your presence for the entire week. Our three plus hour rain delay versus Virginia on day two was a small example of your dedication to this tournament and a credit to your field as well and I firmly believe that no field in Nashville or Goodlettsville would have been able to hold a game after the downfall we experienced. My hat is off to Brian and his family as well as my buddy, “I know you,” who was a joy to see each day. Thanks for the online interview my man! Here’s hoping we cross paths again with the fine people of Elm Street Park as Goodlettsville baseball will definitely benefit from the experience. God Bless.
9-10 Southeast Region in Ceredo-Kenova, WV
Goodlettsville Nationals fall in semis
Goodlettsville has placed three teams in the Little League Southeast Region and in my opinion the Nationals have had the most impressive journey to get to this stage. Yes, they fell to Virginia in the semi-finals 11-4, but to actually get this far was an amazing feat in its own right. Remember, this team had to battle from the losers bracket in the state tournament for six consecutive days just to get here and then won two games to reach the semis. Not bad guys, not bad at all.
Pitching is king in Little League as we have all witnessed this post season. Teams that are not deep and rely on one or two pitchers do not last long around these parts. This team was not expected to make it past the American League in the district but win they did. This team was not expected to make it out of the state after losing the second game but win the state they did. I am truly proud of these kids for their improbable run this all-star season. Losing their final game yesterday tells nothing about the season this team of players had. Great job guys and use this as motivation for next season. It should be an even more special year than this.
Tonight at 6:00pm eastern watch the Goodlettsville 11 Blue go for the Southeast Region Championship versus North Carolina!
8/2/11
11 Year Old Southeast Region in Greenville, NC
Goodlettsville 11 Blue in Slugfest with Virginia
Trip to championship game on the line
The Goodlettsville 11 Blue has proven time and again they belong during the all-star season. Today they had to prove themselves once more against and incredibly strong Virginia squad that needed more convincing. The first contest between these two saw Goodlettsville come from behind in the sixth to squeak by Virginia 4-3 and this time it looked as if the same scenario would have to play out again in order for Goodlettsville to advance to the championship game. Virginia jumped out to a commanding 4-0 lead entering the bottom of the second which had the fans in the crowd screaming payback. That was before Goodlettsville stormed back in the second with six runs on three hits taking advantage of two walks and a hit batter. The score now read Goodlettsville 6 and Virginia 4 and the mood of the game had changed dramatically. Both teams knew they had all out Armageddon on their hands as both teams would pressure the opposing pitching each and every inning the rest of the way. Virginia would answer in the top of the third with a lead-off HR to pull to 6-5 but that was as close as they would come as Goodlettsville held strong to close out the half inning. The bottom half would see Goodlettsville answer with a lead-off double by Luke Brown followed by a Jonathan Seals single to move Brown to third. Brown would later score on a passed ball to push the lead back to two before Virginia would close out the inning. Virginia would again answer in the top half of the fourth with another run to pull within one but again Goodlettsville would answer with a run of their own on two hits as Jake Rucker drove in Jayson Brown to extend the lead back to two. With the score 8-6 Goodlettsville, Jake Rucker took the mound to try to close out the game. The fifth would go well as Rucker held Virginia scoreless for the first time for the game but Goodlettsville was unable to pad the lead as Virginia held firm as well. Now we are down to three final outs for a trip to the Southeast Region championship but as has been the case the entire game, Virginia wasn’t ready to go home. Virginia led off the inning with another bomb over the right field bleachers to pull within one once more and you could feel the tension in the air. The next batter would reach with a single to right and now the crowd was feeling the game would soon be tied with an extra inning game on the horizon. This is when the pivotal play of the game took place as the next batter hit a grounder towards Cole Carter at short. Carter quickly relayed the ball to a waiting Lorenzo Butler at second who fired the ball to first for the HUGE 6-4-3 double play. What was once a sixth inning rally in the making Carter, Butler and Andrew Snyder sucked the life from the opposing fans. Two batters later, the game was over as Rucker struck out the final batter for a hard fought 8-7 victory. Virginia outhit Goodlettsville for the game 13 to 9 with three of the thirteen hits homeruns but Goodlettsville was able to weather the storm coming out on top.
Tomorrow’s final game will pit Goodlettsville versus the state champions from North Carolina. North Carolina was able to defeat South Carolina 9-5 in the nightcap. The game is scheduled for 6:00pm eastern standard time. Good luck guys! Bring home the gold!!
8/2/11
9-10 Southeast Region in Ceredo-Kenova, WVA
Goodlettsville Nationals advance to Semi-Finals
We haven’t received any updates from West Virginia so I am gleaming this from the tournament web site. The Nationals first game was suspended on the first day versus North Carolina trailing 3-2 so they played their second game first. Goodlettsville faced the Virginia state champs and as we have mentioned in the eleven year old write-ups this is not your Virginia from Dixie Youth days; these boys can play! Virginia would come from behind in the fifth with four runs to defeat Goodlettsville 4-2. Kennedy Jordan and Haven Mangrum would lead the offensive charge in the game collecting two hits each. Drew Robertson, Courtland Jordan and Marcus Watson would each get one for the game. Christian Dixon would throw 70 pitches for the game ending his eligibility for the rest of the tournament. Haven Mangrum, Hunter Scurlock and Drake Sanson would each share the mound as well.
Goodlettsville would return to finish their rain suspended game versus North Carolina trailing 3-2. After the heartbreaking loss to Virginia one would wonder how they would respond knowing they had to pull this game out to have any chance of advancing to the semi-finals. Goodlettsville would trail 3-2 until the sixth when they would finally break through with two runs to get their first win of the tournament, 4-3.
Game Three
Game three, win and advance or lose and head home. This was the task handed to the Goodlettsville Nationals entering their game versus Alabama. Alabama had lost two games entering the contest so they had nothing to play for except pride but this time, pride would not win out. Goodlettsville had something to play for as well and it showed as the boys in blue got their bats going, pounding Alabama 17-0 to earn the #2 seed entering the semi-final round today.
The Goodlettsville Nationals will play the #3 seed today at 5:30. The 3 seed is Virginia which will be a rematch from earlier in the tournament. Win today and Goodlettsville will advance to the championship game of the Southeast Region. Good luck!
8/1/11
11 year Old Southeast Region in Greenville, NC
Goodlettsville 11 Blue Experiences First Post Season Loss
Today Goodlettsville faced West Virginia in their final pool play game before moving on to the semi-finals tomorrow. The only thing at stake was a one or two seed for Goodlettsville and some pride for West Virginia. Pride would win out as West Virginia would score two unearned runs in the first and would hold Goodlettsville scoreless for five innings. Goodlettsville would collect eight hits against West Virginia’s ace pitcher but couldn’t get any runs across the plate with the hit production. The scoreless streak would last to the sixth when Goodlettsville finally broke through for one run and would put the tying run on third with two out before West Virginia finally recorded the final out giving them their first win of the tournament by a score of 2-1. Goodlettsville held West Virginia to one hit for the game.
Jayson Brown led the team with two hits while Jake Rucker, Luke Brown, Jonathan Seals, Andrew Snyder, Blake Osborne and Mason Potter each had one. Blake Osborne, Luke Brown, Jake Rucker, and Austin Ford shared the mound for Goodlettsville.
The Battle For The #1 Seed
With Goodlettsville losing in the game before them, all North Carolina had to do was win against winless Georgia to secure the #1 seed. North Carolina would fall victim to the same scenario as Goodlettsville, facing a team with nothing to lose and pitching their ace the entire game while North Carolina had to preserve pitching for tomorrow’s games. Georgia would win the game 5-2 but North Carolina was able to hold on to the #1 seed with a runs allowed differential of 0.31 to Goodlettsville’s 0.33. North Carolina allowed 5 runs in three games while Goodlettsville allowed 6 in three. Goodlettsville will face Virginia in a rematch of last night’s thriller while North Carolina will face South Carolina, a 3-2 winner over Florida in the nightcap. Good luck blue! Two wins from a championship!
7-31-11
11 Year Old Southeast Region in Greenville, NC
Goodlettsville 11 Blue Claws Past Virginia
In the days of Dixie Youth, when you had Virginia on the menu you figured you had an easy day at the park. Welcome to Little League boys! Virginia is here to play some ball! Goodlettsville played an extremely tough Virginia squad tonight and survived by the skin of their teeth, coming from behind to claim victory 4-3 in the final inning of play. Virginia jumped on Goodlettsville in the first scoring three runs to close the inning with a 3-0 lead. Goodlettsville was scrambling on the ropes from the start as Virginia gave them their best shot early in hopes of putting them down for the count but the mighty blue would not falter as they got back on their feet and bobbed and weaved long enough to get their wits back getting themselves back in the game.
In the second, Goodlettsville countered with a body blow themselves in the form of a Brock Myers two-run shot over the right centerfield fence to pull Goodlettsville back to 3-2. Now we’ve got a game folks! The score would stay the same entering the sixth due to a great defensive effort on Virginia’s part as they were able to snuff out several Goodlettsville scoring opportunities on the bases. Virginia made a great play in the fifth to foil a Goodlettsville rally as they caught Lorenzo Butler trying to score at the plate from right-center field and then caught Jake Rucker advancing to second for an inning ending double play. Things seemed to be going Virginia’s way. Goodlettsville shook off the bad break and held Virginia scoreless in the bottom half of the fifth to set up the final drama in the sixth.
In tournament baseball, the hardest thing to do is close out a team to earn the victory. Virginia seemed to be heading to a huge victory after catching Cole Carter trying to stretch a lead-off double line drive to the right center field fence for the first out but things would unravel after that. The next four Goodlettsville batters would reach base via base on balls with great at-bats battling the pitcher to full counts allowing Luke Brown to eventually tie the score with the fourth walk. Austin Ford would drive in the eventual game winning run with a single that brought home Jonathan Seals.
Seals would close the game on the mound in the bottom of the sixth as he sat down the 1, 2, 3 hitters in order striking out the final two.
What a game and what a victory for Goodlettsville after such adversity to start the game. With the win Goodlettsville Blue is now in the semi-finals of the southeast region with North Carolina, a 10-0 winner over Alabama. Tomorrow’s game versus West Virginia is for seeding purposes only. A win and Goodlettsville is guaranteed either the 1 or 2 seed entering Tuesday. Great game guys and good luck tomorrow!
Goodlettsville 12's Punch Ticket To Warner Robbins!
The Goodlettsville 12's have had a tough road in the 2011 state tournament. They opened with an easy 14-2 victory but easy was definately not on the menu the rest of the way as they scratched and clawed their way to the state finals. The championship game would be just as difficult as Goodlettsville had to beat the only team to defeat them in post season play not once but twice to earn their trip to the southeast region. To make things even more difficult, the tournament director decided to finish the tournament on Saturday so Goodlettsville had to beat Tullahoma twice on the same day. The first game went easily as Goodlettsville won 10-0 in four. The second game a few minutes later would be more difficult as Tullahoma would not go down without a fight. Goodlettsville managed to hold off Tullahoma by a score of 7-5 to claim their first state championship in Little League after dominating Dixie Youth the past decade. I wasn't there to witness the state but by the scores sent to me and the emails I was given to write the 12 year old game recaps indicated that Little League is definately a step up from where we were. Congratulations to the guys and coaching staff on a job well done. Best of luck in Warner Robbins! I will definately try to make my way down there for at least one game to root the guys on. If you can, try to do the same. It will be a site to remember.
7-30-11
11 year old Southeast Region in Greenville, NC
Goodlettsville 11’s open strong with 7-1 victory
The Goodlettsville 11’s opened the Southeast Region versus one of Little League baseball’s powerhouse states, the state of Florida and in particular Plant City, FL which is in the hotbed section between Tampa and Orlando. This is an area known for winning Little League World Series Championships.
Luke Brown got the start for Goodlettsville and went three complete innings on 35 pitches. Brown held the powerful Plant City bats silent allowing two hits walking none and striking out three. Brock Myers relieved Brown and was held to 20 pitches in 1 1/3 innings of work allowing one run. Jonathan Seals got his first post season action on the mound in relief of Myers and calmly held the Florida bats to no runs. Jake Rucker entered in the sixth with one out and finished off the game in three pitches.
Defense on the Goodlettsville side was stellar again as several players made great plays highlighted by a line drive catch in center field by Jayson Brown and a hard grounder to second that Lorenzo Butler fielded as if it was a routine play.
The bats were equally strong as Plant City put two hard throwing right handed pitchers on the mound. Goodlettsville handled the speed scoring one run in the first and four in the second to take a commanding 5-0 lead through two. Plants City brought in their second hard throwing pitcher to end the second and left him on the mound in the third to try to stall the Goodlettsville momentum. Jonathan Seals led off the inning with a single to right and Austin Ford followed with the first homerun of the tournament, a first pitch fastball that he promptly parked in the right field stands. The score now stood 7-0 after three. Goodlettsville would not score again but the lead was enough as the pitching and defense held strong for the rest of the game.
Austin Ford was the offensive leader with two hits off the bench while Jake Rucker, Luke Brown, Jonathan Seals, Blake Osborne and Lorenzo Butler each had one.
Next up will be a game tomorrow at 4:00 versus the Virginia state champs. Virginia won 12-2 over Augusta, GA in impressive fashion. A win tomorrow and Goodlettsville is automatically qualified for the semi-final round that begins Tuesday.
12 Year Old State in Knoxville Karns, TN
Goodlettsville passes neighborly test
Tonight’s battle was an old neighborhood fight between two teams that are a mere miles apart on the map. That close proximity was displayed on the scoreboard as well as both teams battled neck and neck for four innings before Goodlettsville was able to slightly pull away in the top of the fifth 5-3. Heath Pentecost took the mound for Goodlettsville and was masterful for five innings allowing three runs on five hits, striking out ten. CJ Laws entered in relief to close out the game, a game eventually won by Goodlettsville 9-3. Goodlettsville had nine hits on the evening with Terron and Nelson Smith leading the way with two hits apiece. Chase Waller, Heath Pentecost, Ty Sutley and Dylan Kelly each had one.
It’s always a relief to a coach when his team gets on the board in the first inning. Chase Waller was the relief the Goodlettsville coaches were looking for. Waller went deep to give the Goodlettsville stars a quick 2-0 lead that would help get his team going in the right direction. Gallatin would respond in the bottom half with two runs of their own and would answer again later in the game when Goodlettsville moved ahead 3-2. It seemed that these teams were a mirror image as one would score and the other would answer. Goodlettsville would manage to break the trend in the fifth and again in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
Tomorrow, at 10:00am, Goodlettsville will get a second crack at Tullahoma, the team that gave them their only loss of the post season. Gone is Tullahoma’s star lefty so one can only guess who Tullahoma will bring to the mound for the first and hopefully second games tomorrow. A Goodlettsville win and both teams will square off again at 12:00pm for the championship. Good luck guys! Bring home a third Little league State Crown this season!
11 year old Southeast Region in Greenville, NC
Words can't describe the beauty of Elm Strret park, the site of the eleven year old southeast region. Goodlettsville has been to eight Dixie Youth World Series tournaments over the last ten years and none compare to this place. Elm Street is a true treasure the boys will remember for the rest of their lives!
The team plays tomorrow against Florida at 1:30. If you are by a computer, check out the game via web cast through the link above.
12 Year Old State Tournament in Knoxville Karns, TN
Goodlettsville 12’s falter in winner’s bracket final
Goodlettsville and Tullahoma faced off last evening in the winner’s bracket final with a trip to the championship on the line. Goodlettsville read the same script they have been reading for the past two games, falling behind in the second. This time the ending was re-written as Tullahoma’s ace left hander was able to keep the Goodlettsville hitters from crossing home plate. The Tullahoma defense played well to aid their lefty in his task as they were credited with 14 defensive put-outs for the game. Goodlettsville left the bases loaded twice in the game as well.
Terron Smith, CJ Laws, Dalton Hall and Steven Biggerstaff shared the mound for Goodlettsville with Smith and Hall unavailable to pitch today. Tullahoma went the distance with their ace leaving him unavailable for the remainder of the tournament.
Goodlettsville will play next door neighbor Gallatin today at 7:00 in an elimination game to determine who will play Tullahoma for the championship. To my knowledge this will be a first time meeting between these close neighbors as Goodlettsville has been affiliated with Dixie Youth until this season.
7-26-11
12 year old state at Knoxville Karns
A Tale of Two Games
We’ve all heard it time and time again, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish that counts. Tonight’s game versus the Goodlettsville All-Stars and the Morristown National All-Stars was a prime example of a tale of two games; a game that began horribly for one and ended horribly for the other. Luckily for Goodlettsville, they would enjoy the latter half of the book to the tune of 9-8.
The Goodlettsville 12’s were in another tussle with a big lefty as the Morristown Nationals sent their giant to do battle with David once again in a clash of unbeatens. Goodlettsville was able to take down the first strong lefty they encountered in game one; could they do it again? At first glance, one would think tonight would be the night Goodlettsville would fall as they fell behind 5-0 in the top half of the first due to an off night on the mound. Through two innings, the score read 7-2 Morristown and you could sense the fat lady warming up on the opposing side of the field. Goodlettsville held Morristown scoreless for the next two stanzas and decided to do some singing of their own in the bottom half of the fourth. With the score 7-3 in favor of Morristown, Goodlettsville finally got their bats playing the right tune, scoring five runs in the inning to surge ahead 8-7 allowing the crowd at long last, to exhale.
With the lead, new life was breathed into the players and fans as Heath Pentecost capitalized on the new surge of emotion, holding Morristown scoreless in the fifth. Goodlettsville decided not to buy insurance in the bottom of the fifth, going scoreless, which would prove costly. Morristown led off the top of the sixth with a double and shortly afterwards, runners were on the corners with one out. The next batter bunted to try to score the runner at third so Goodlettsville went to the plate for the tag but was unable to hold on to the ball. Score tied!
Now it was the Morristown fans exhaling and feeling confident that their team would be able to right the ship and finish with a victory. The feeling was short lived as Pentecost kept the damage at one run so now the Goodlettsville stars would come to the plate with the score tied 8-8 and the game in their hands. Would they shrug off the run and finish the improbable comeback or would they give in after a long road back and allow the game to slip away? Who would blink first?
Now is when I bring you back to the beginning of the article and remind you of the tale of two games. Goodlettsville endured the opening pages and bounced back with vigor, now it was Morristown’s time to face the ending. The same scenario played out as Morristown loaded the bases with walks. With the bases loaded and the infield playing in to get the force at home, Dylan Kelly hit a sharp grounder up the middle that the short stop could not handle allowing Keaton Allison to cross home plate and close the book on a great game. The opening lines of the book and the closing lines were almost identical as one team opened the game under pitching distress and the other closed under the same circumstances. Goodlettsville had passed the test and showed great character in the process.
Nelson Smith and Ty Sutley each had two hits for the game. Terron Smith, CJ Laws and Heath Pentecost each had one. Dalton Hall, Ty Sutley and Heath Pentecost shared the mound for Goodlettsville with Heath Pentecost picking up the win. The team has the day off and will play Tullahoma tomorrow at 8:00pm in the winner’s bracket final. The winner of that game will advance to the championship game. Good luck to the guys and keep fighting hard!
7/25/11
12 Year Old State Tournament at Knoxville Karns
Goodlettsville 12’s Pass First Test
The path to a state championship is proving more difficult this year as Goodlettsville moved to Little League from Dixie Youth. The first test came last evening as the Goodlettsville 12’s went up against Karns, a traditional east Tennessee power. The game would be a nail biter as both teams raced side by side the entire game with Goodlettsville nosing out Karns 5-4 at the line. Hits we at a premium as both teams struggled against each other’s pitching so in the second, after going down on three K’s in the first, Goodlettsville got a lead-off double from Chase Waller and from there small ball was the name of the game as the next three Goodlettsville batters laid down perfect bunts followed by a hard grounder from Sam Ayers that the third baseman threw away. The bunts and error allowed Goodlettsville to take a huge 3-0 lead entering the bottom of the second.
Karns would answer in the third with a two-run homerun to pull within one and then took the lead with another two-run homerun in the bottom of the third. Entering the fourth Karns had the advantage at 4-3 with their big lefty still on the mound. Terron Smith would be relieved in the fourth by CJ Laws who would go the rest of the way for Goodlettsville. It would take Goodlettsville until the 5th inning to finally pull back even as Chase Waller got his second hit of the game, a towering homerun to tie the game at 4-4. Steven Biggerstaff showed his wheels reaching base on a swinging bunt and Dalton Hall would bring him home with a high fly ball to right that the right fielder couldn’t come up with. Hall would reach second and Biggerstaff would use his hot wheels to round the bases giving Goodlettsville the lead once again at 5-4. Laws would contain the Karns bats for the rest of the game allowing Goodlettsville to nose past Karns for the huge victory.
Next on the menu will be a battle against another east Tennessee power, the Morristown Nationals. Morristown defeated Columbia on the first day and was off today. The game will be played tonight at 8:00 which will be Goodlettsville’s third game in the tournament. A win today and Goodlettsville moves to the winner’s bracket final on July 27th. A loss and they will have to play tomorrow against the Clarksville/Gallatin winner. Clarksville is the defending 11 year old state champ. Good luck guys!!
7-24-11
12 year old State Tournament at Knoxville Karns ballpark
Goodlettsville 12’s begin tournament strong
The twelve year old state began today in Knoxville, TN with the Goodlettsville 12’s playing the Colonial Heights all-stars from east Tennessee. Not much is known about the teams the 12’s would be facing in the tournament as this is the first year of Little league play for Goodlettsville so some anxiety was expected as the teams took the field for the start of the game. The apprehension would subside as Goodlettsville would jump out to a commanding lead early and eventually close out the game in four innings 14-2. Nelson Smith, Terron Smith, CJ Laws and Ty Sutley would lead the team in the batter’s box collecting two hits each. Terron Smith and CJ Laws played some long ball as well as they both went yard in the game.
Today’s games are rained out so Goodlettsville has the day off and will play tomorrow at 8:00 versus the Karns all-stars. Karns is expected to challenge for the title so the road gets tough out of the gate. Good luck to the guys.
7-23-11
9-10 State Tournament in Dandridge, TN
Nationals complete improbable run to 2011 Little League State Championship
I’m sitting here at my computer looking at the 9-10 state tournament bracket and I’m thinking how in the world did these young men win this tournament under such heavy odds? To play Eight straight days of games, six coming after a second round loss to Morristown National ending with a victory over Johnson City American not once, but twice and in convincing fashion to claim the state championship? Unbelievable indeed!! I think the Gauntlet or even Mission Impossible would be two good storylines when you look back on this week of baseball. Dirty Harry and even Tom Cruise would be pleased with these guys. I’m still scratching my head here…..wow!
Pitching is a premium item in Little League all-star tournaments at this level and my gut told me that the run would HAVE to end at some point with the opponents getting a day of rest before playing another game which obviously helps them manage their pitching better. I knew Haven Mangrum, Hunter Scurlock and Christian Dixon would be “burned” at some point, which they were, but it didn’t seem to faze these guys. Jordan Kennedy, Andrew Waters, Chance Merrithew, Drake Sanson, Drew Robertson and maybe a few others I’m unaware of stepped in and held down the fort in impressive fashion. Again…..wow!
This portion is for the unsung heroes of this tournament, the parents, especially the moms. I’m pretty sure these guys couldn’t possibly have pulled this off without clean uniforms each day. A clean uniform makes a happy ballplayer and a happy ballplayer is a player who plays well. Imagine having to clean 13 uniforms every day for eight days to be ready for the next day’s game. I’ve been through several tournaments in my time so I know how this unseen portion is handled by a few volunteers who stay up late each night in a cramped hotel wash room or, in some cases, a coin laundry, washing and drying the uniforms for the next day. It’s really a lot of fun…….NOT! You guys deserve all the credit because we know without those pretty clean snazzy uniforms they couldn’t have possibly pulled this run off. Coaches…. Nah they had nothing to do with it. It’s all about the uniform; wink.
This is the bracket I’ve been marveling at this morning. Look how impressive this run was. Clarksville National Blue was the defending state champion. Morristown National was the tournament favorite coming in, Spring Hill won the 12 year old state last season, Karns Blue is, as we have found out, one of the top Little League programs in east Tennessee and Johnson City is another east Tennessee power known for winning championships. I know those of you familiar with high school basketball are familiar with Science Hill. Put Johnson City in front of that name and you get the idea about the talent pool in this area. Again, unbelievable run!
The championship game itself was anti-climactic in nature as Goodlettsville completely dominated from the start, eventually winning 14-4 in four innings. I’m going on hearsay at this point since I didn’t get a game update.
The next challenge will be a trip to West Virginia for the 9-10 Little League Southeast Region this weekend. Tennessee........, sounds good huh, plays North Carolina at 3:00 Saturday. These games can be viewed online via a live feed so be sure to follow these guys and the elevens as well. The link to the 9-10 southeast tournament web site is http://www.mitchstadium.com/TOSC/. You will have information on the history of the tournament as well as past champions and other information. It’s a good site so be sure to check it out.
Again, great job guys. I truly didn’t think you could pull it off but I’m extremely pleased you did!
7-23-11
11 Year Old State Tournament in Portland, TN
Championship Saturday
Dynamic Duo Strike at the 11 year old State Tournament
Luke Brown provided the offense and Jake Rucker provided the arm as the two combined to help the Goodlettsville 11 Blue all-stars claim the 2011 eleven year old Little League State Championship 2-0. Jake Rucker went the distance holding the powerful Karns all-stars to zero hits for the game. Karns defeated the Tullahoma Nationals 16-3 earlier to reach the title game so the task at hand was great. Rucker took the challenge head on keeping the Karns batters off balance for the entire game. Through three innings, Rucker had struck out 6 and allowed one batter to reach base by a walk. Karns threatened in the fourth getting two on base through walks and another through a fielder’s choice. The runners reached 2nd and 3rd with two out when Seth Marlin handled a hard grounder to second to end the threat. From this point on, Karns was unable to get anything going as Rucker continued to pound the strike zone with fastballs and breaking balls finishing the day with 11 K’s.
Our hometown Tennessee Titans had Chris “first down” Brown but the Goodlettsville 11’s have Luke “Downtown” Brown. Brown was an absolute terror to opposing pitchers in the state tournament hitting six homeruns during the run to the championship. The final two sending Goodlettsville to victory. Brown went yard again today in the bottom of the fourth launching a Karns breaking ball over the left field fence for a game winning two-run homerun. Brown hit the game winning walk-off homerun last evening to give Goodlettsville the victory over Karns in the winner’s bracket final. Karns held Goodlettsville to four hits, its lowest hit total of the all-star season in the championship game with spectacular pitching and defense.
The next challenge for the Goodlettsville Blue will be a trip to Greenville, NC for the eleven year old Southeast Region. Goodlettsville opens play Saturday against the champions from Florida at 1:30 EST. The games can be viewed online. A link will be provided when we have more information. Follow the provided link to view the tournament web site. http://www.toscgreenvillenc.com/
7-22-11
9-10 Year Old State Tournament in Dandridge, TN
Goodlettsville Nationals Continue Improbable Run
The Goodlettsville Nationals took one more step towards the Little League 9-10 State Championship by defeating Johnson City American 14-4 In five innings. Christian Dixon got the start and held the last undefeated team in the tournament hitless until the final inning and out to record the win. The tournament comes to a close today at 10:00AM as both teams meet again for the title. Good luck guys and great tournament win or lose!
7-22-11
11 Year Old State Tournament in Portland, TN
Brown’s Blast Propels Goodlettsville Blue
Tonight the Goodlettsville 11 Blue all-stars faced the Karns 11 Blue all-stars in a battle of the last unbeatens of the state tournament. At stake was a birth into the championship game while the loser would have to play another game to get a second shot at the victor. For six innings a winner could not be determined as both teams proved that they were worthy of a win but in the seventh Luke Brown decided he had seen enough and took matters into his own hands when the coach gave him the green light, blasting a 3-0 fastball into the trees behind the left field fence for a walk-off homerun. The final score read Goodlettsville 6 Karns 4 in seven grueling innings of play. Goodlettsville collected nine hits on the evening with Cole Carter leading the way going 2-4. Luke Brown, Jayson Brown, Jake Rucker, Andrew Snyder, Jonathan Seals, Lorenzo Butler and Mason Potter each had one hit for the game.
Momentum was a fading fancy for the Goodlettsville Blue on the evening as the team couldn’t take hold of the game due to the strong defensive and offensive effort of their counterparts on the field. It seemed that the game was in hand entering the fifth with Goodlettsville leading 3-1 but Karns capitalized with a 2-run homerun to tie the game and seize the momentum. In the seventh, after failing to close the game with runners on second and third in the sixth, it seemed that the game was going to slip away. The leadoff batter for Karns reached base with a single to center which brought the number three batter to the plate. Cooper hit a bouncer over the outstretched glove of Brock Myers on the mound and into the waiting glove of Jake Rucker who quickly went to Lorenzo Butler at second allowing Butler to relay the throw to first for a huge 6-4-3 double play. The next batter struck out and the momentum had finally switched back to Goodlettsville’s side as the boys returned to the dugout with new fire and desire. The rest, as we say is history, as moments later Luke Brown came up with his clutch hit to send Goodlettsville into the championship game.
Goodlettsville has to wait for tomorrow’s 10:00AM game between Tullahoma and Karns to see if they play tomorrow or Sunday. A Karns win will pit Karns and Goodlettsville in a rematch at 12:00PM but a Tullahoma victory will move the final game to Sunday with rain heavily in the forcast. Good luck to the guys and here’s hoping the game can be played tomorrow.
7/21/11
9-10 State Tournament in Dandridge, TN
Don’t Judge A Book by Its Cover
Looks can be deceiving. That was the case last night when the Goodlettsville National coaches got a look at the Karns Blue warming up before their contest last night. Karns was unassuming in the cage which filled the Nationals with a false sense of confidence. That was until the Karns pitcher took the mound and began throwing rockets on the mound. Everything changed in an instant and they knew they were, once again, in for a long evening. Only three Goodlettsville batters were able to connect on the evening which fortunately for the Goodlettsville Nationals was enough to subdue Karns in a gut wrenching battle 2-1.
Hunter Scurlock would get the ball for the game, holding the Karns bats in check through two complete innings. Karns, the visiting team, would break through the ice first in the top half of the third scoring one run off of a lead-off triple and a ground out to bring the run home. Scurlock would bear down the rest of the inning to keep the damage at a minimum. In the bottom half of the third the Goodlettsville bats would answer the Karns challenge. Hunter Scurlock led off with a walk and would advance to second on a passed ball. Haven Mangrum calmly hit a hard grounder through the third baseman’s legs to bring home Scurlock to even the score at one apiece. Marcus Watson stepped to the plate and moved Mangrum to second with a single. The hit that eventually would give Goodlettsville the win was hit by Alex Dillard who stepped to the plate after Watson. Dillard hit a line drive up the middle to score Mangrum in what would be the final run of the game for both teams.
Scurlock would last to the fifth inning when Andrew “Rain Man” Waters would come on in relief. With one out and two on, Waters knocked down a hard hit ball back to the pitcher and recorded the out at first to bring the out total to 2. Drew Robertson took over for Waters and walked the first batter to load the bases. Never one to worry, Robertson got the next batter to ground out to end the inning and the Karns threat. The fifth inning went quickly as neither team could mount a challenge so the game and the tournament lives of both teams would move to the final and deciding inning. The Nationals were unable to bring across an insurance run so the game and the tournament season came down to one final at-bat for the Karns Blue. Robertson walked the first batter which is never a good sign. The next batter hit what was surely a clean base hit to right center field by all in attendance but to Goodlettsville’s relief, Harrison Hitt was patrolling the infield at second and made a diving grab on the line drive and quickly made a heads up throw to first for a HUGE double play. The sails were now full of holes and the ship was going down fast for the Karns Blue as the next batter popped up to end the game. PHEW!!!!! That’s one down and two to go for the Little League 9-10 state championship. The Goodlettsville Nationals play Johnson City American, the only undefeated team left in the tournament tonight at 7:00. If they win, both teams will meet again tomorrow for all the marbles. Good luck guys, win or lose, you guys deserve a huge round of applause for a tournament well played under seemingly impossible odds.
7/20/11
9-10 State Tournament in Dandridge, TN
In the 9-10 year old state tournament, if you lose a game you are put behind the proverbial eight-ball having to play day after day to survive with no day off in sight. The Goodlettsville Nationals have been running that gauntlet this year after losing their second game of the tournament to the Morristown Nationals 13-3. To date, the Goodlettsville Nationals have played July 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th where they faced the team that put them in this situation, the Morristown Nationals. In order for Goodlettsville to continue on their long path to the championship, the Morristown Nationals had to go.
Assigned the task of dispatching their nemesis was Goodlettsville’s Haven Mangrum. Mangrum would pitch valiantly in the game going the full 75 pitches in four complete innings of work before giving way to Drew Robertson. At this juncture, the game was still in the balance with both teams unwilling to let their all-star season end. That’s where the fortunes of one team would improve and the others would slowly begin to deteriorate.
Water has a way of eroding things over time and on this day water did its job again. Andrew Waters, fresh off his four RBI evening a day earlier blasted a 2-out full count change-up over the left field fence for a much needed two-run homerun to give Goodlettsville a 7-5 lead. Morristown would come back in the bottom half and score one to pull within 7-6 but the damage had been done and it was now only a matter of time.
Feeling a little giddy after watching Waters go deep, Drake Sanson decided he would do his own rain dance and lifted a solo shot over the center field fence in the sixth to increase the lead to 8-6. The Morristown pitchers slowly began to drown under the heavy rain of hits in the sixth succumbing by a final score of 15-9.
The Goodlettsville bats finally got on track tonight as several players contributed to the downpour. Andrew Waters, Drake Sanson, Alex Dillard, Haven Mangrum, Courtland Jordan, Marcus Watson and Drew Robertson had key hits for the winners while Haven Mangrum, Drew Robertson and Chance Merithew contributed on the mound to subdue the Morristown bats for the evening.
The Goodlettsville Nationals play Karns Blue today at 7:00 to see who gets to play Johnson City American for the 2011 9-10 Little League State Championship. Good luck to the guys! The end of the gauntlet is finally in sight!
7/20/11
11 year old State in Portland, TN
Goodlettsville 11 Blue get big win over Johnson City Major 14-0
Today’s state tournament battle between the Goodlettsville 11 Blue and Johnson City Major pitted two undefeated teams against each other. The air was tense with anticipation as the crowd felt that Johnson City would be able to do what no other team has been able to do the entire tournament; Give Goodlettsville a tough game and possibly take down the high scoring boys in blue. Today, Jake Rucker and company would have none of it as they once again displayed why many feel this team has the best chance to claim the 2011 state championship crown. Rucker was dominant on the mound for three innings allowing no runs on two hits and striking out four before giving way to Luke Brown.
At the plate, the Goodlettsville bats needed a couple innings to get going as Johnson City Major played lights out defense to keep the boys in blue at bay but in the third, Johnson City couldn’t come up with the big play and the flood gates opened. With one out, Jayson Brown walked and Jake Rucker reached on an error to give Goodlettsville two runners on base with Cole Carter walking to the box. Carter hit a single to left center field scoring Brown and sending Rucker to third. Luke Brown followed that up with a bases clearing double to put Goodlettsville in the lead 3-0, an advantage they would never relinquish. With Brown on second, Austin Ford promptly parked a fastball into the right center field parking lot for a two-run homerun to push the lead to 5-0. Johnson City Major was unable to answer in the bottom half of the third as Rucker finished his evening of work with 35 pitches and a 5-0 cushion.
The next inning saw Goodlettsville go on the offensive again. Jayson Brown led off the inning with a single to center field. Rucker followed with a stand up triple to right scoring Brown. Cole Carter brought Rucker home with a bullet single up the middle and Luke Brown moved him to third with a double down the third base line. Blake Osborne entered the game and calmly drilled a single to right, scoring Carter. After a Mason Potter walk, Jonathan Seals decided to get in the act by lining a single up the middle to score Brown and Osborne. Seth Marlin entered the game next and hit a single to left to drive in Potter and Seals. As has been the case for the Goodlettsville Blue, the guys batted around and ended the inning with nine more runs to up the tally to 14-0. Luke Brown entered the game in relief of Rucker in the bottom of the fourth and promptly dispatched the Johnson City Major bats in order, 1…2…3. The final score read, Goodlettsville 14 and Johnson City 0 after four innings of play.
With the win, the Goodlettsville Blue gets a day off before returning to the field to play the final undefeated team in the tournament, the Karns Blue. Karns has won both games by ten runs so another challenge is ahead in the quest for a championship. The game is scheduled for Friday at 6:00PM.
7-19-2011
9-10 State Tournament in Dandridge, TN
Waters Rains on Morristown Americans
It was raining in Dandridge Tennessee tonight but the rain was not from cloudy precipitation. The rain was from a different sort, the bat of one Andrew Waters. Waters rained on the Morristown Americans parade by driving in four of the Goodlettsville Nationals seven runs for the game propelling the Goodlettsville Nationals to a 7-1 victory. With two men on in the first, Waters blasted a double to bring home both runs and from there the Nationals were off and running. Waters later added another double to drive in two more runs and extend the Goodlettsville lead to 5-1 allowing the Nationals to coast across the line in victory.
On the mound, Hunter Scurlock got the start keeping the Morristown bats at bay. Scurlock was followed by Dixon, Jordan and Sanson. Drake Sanson had the enviable task of entering the game with no outs and bases loaded in the fifth with Goodlettsville holding on to a slim 3-1 lead. Sanson was up to the challenge as he got the first batter to pop out and struck out the next two to foil the potential rally.
Defense wins championships
Sanson and Jordan were stellar, once again, in the field as Sanson punched out a runner trying to score from third at the plate while Jordan continued to show off his dancing with the stars moves catching another long ball over the shoulder in center.
Tonight we have round two between the Goodlettsville Nationals and the Morristown Nationals. Morristown National defeated Goodlettsville 13-3 earlier in the tournament so redemption will be on Goodlettsville’s mind as Haven Mangrum takes the mound this time around. The game starts at 8:00 in Dandridge, TN.
11 Year Old State
The games yesterday were rained out so Goodlettsville plays Wednesday at 8:00PM instead of today.
9-10 State Tournament in Dandridge, TN
Goodlettsville Nationals Bounce Back
Bouncing back from a difficult loss is a hard thing to do in tournament play. The Goodlettsville Nationals were faced with that task yesterday against the champions from Spring Hill and passed with flying colors. The National bats came to life, running away with a comfortable 9-2 victory to move on to the next round versus the Morristown Americans.
The Morristown Americans lost in the District 4 championship to the Morristown Nationals. The Nationals defeated Goodlettsville 13-3 a day earlier so today could be another tough challenge for Goodlettsville in their quest to win the state championship.
Haven Mangrum took the mound for the Nationals against Spring Hill throwing 35 pitches before giving way to Hunter Scurlock and Christian Dixon who both threw 20. Chance Merithew finished off the game for the Nationals.
Kennedy Jordan continues to have a great tournament, this time with the bat as he helped Goodlettsville extend their lead to 4-0 by hitting a bomb over the centerfielders head to drive in two runs. The extra runs gave Goodlettsville a little breathing room and propelled the team to their 9-2 win.
Defensively, Drake Sanson had the play of the game when he fielded a sharp hit to RF and came up throwing, punching out the runner trying to advance to third to foil a Spring Hill rally and keep Goodlettsville comfortably ahead.
Goodlettsville plays today at 8:00PM versus the Morristown Americans in Dandridge, TN. Good luck to the guys!
6 Year old World Series in Georgia
The Goodlettsville American 6 year old all-stars played three games today and were victorious in two of the three. The American bats were alive and well in the first two defeating their opponents by scores of 15-7 and 17-2. Runs were a little harder to come by in the final game as the little ones lost a close one by a score of 7-6.
World Series play continues tomorrow. Good luck guys!!!
9-10 State Tournament in Dandridge, TN
Goodlettsville Nationals suffer first tournament loss
The Goodlettsville Nationals were not able to put it all together today against tournament favorite Morristown, losing by a score of 13-3. Morristown held a one run lead heading into the fifth inning when Goodlettsville’s opponent was able to get their bats going with the help of a few errors along the way to increase their lead and claim a big victory.
With the loss, the Nationals must play again tomorrow at 8:00 to stay alive in state tournament play.
11 year old state in Portland, TN
Brown and Myers overwhelm Lebanon 23-2
Luke Brown and Brock Myers, that’s a pretty good combination. They go together as well as Oscar and Myer, Starsky and Hutch, Sponge and Bob; you get the idea. The Lebanon all-stars would rather see less of these two for a few days because after the carnage they left behind on the field in Portland, TN it may take a few days of disaster relief efforts to put the team back together. Brown and Myers combined for four homeruns for the game to help propel the Goodlettsville 11 Blue to another lopsided victory in state tournament play. The blue combined for 15 hits, allowing only one.
Jake Rucker continued his impressive play in the box gathering three more hits in three at-bats while Andrew Snyder had two. Luke Brown was a perfect 3-3 with the first two at-bats homeruns. Not to be outdone, Brock “Oscar” Myers was 3-4 with two homeruns as well. Myers was credited for the win on the mound as well going 1 1/3 innings before giving way to Andrew Snyder and Blake Osborne.
With the win, the Goodlettsville Blue gets a day off from tournament competition. The next game will be Tuesday at 8:00 versus Johnson City Major, a 12-2 winner over Tullahoma on opening day. Johnson City got a two day bye and will play their second game against Goodlettsville.
In other news from the tournament, Montgomery Central, Goodlettsville’s opponent from opening day bounced back in spectacular fashion, defeating Lexington 18-2. The Central bats were smoking hot the entire game as they never let up in dismantling Lexington in every inning. At least 4 homeruns were stroked by Central hitters. Tomorrow Central will play Columbia with the services of big Bill Hamilton available once again. Both teams have strong offenses so this one should be a barn burner!
9-10 State Tournament in Dandridge, TN
Big plays and bats propel Nationals
The Goodlettsville Nationals opened State Tournament play against the defending state champions from Clarksville National. The game stayed close through four innings as each team was unwilling to give an inch but by the fifth the Goodlettsville bats came alive, pushing across four runs off solid hitting from Courtland Jordan, Haven Mangrum, Marcus Watson and Christian Dixon. The final threat was squashed by Kennedy Jordan in the bottom half of the fifth when Clarksville loaded the bases with the next batter hitting a blast to the fence. Jordan raced back and made a leaping catch to foil the rally and preserve the Goodlettsville lead. After the big play Drew Robertson was able to take the mound and finish off the game in relief. That’s one tough game down and one more to go; a date against Morristown, the tournament favorite at 2:00 today. Good luck to the guys!
Goodlettsville 11’s open State Play Strong
The Goodlettsville 11 Blue opened state tournament play today versus a big and strong team from Montgomery Central. The task at hand was overcoming Central ace and mountain of a kid #50 Bill Hamilton. Hamilton posed a definite challenge to the Blue hitters but as has been the case this all star season, the bats were up to the challenge jumping on Hamilton from the start scoring three first inning runs highlighted by a Luke Brown homerun to right center field. The score stood 3-0 after one but the Goodlettsville Blue weren’t satisfied as they scored one run on two hits in the second off of Hamilton before Central changed pitchers to end the inning 4-0. The third inning was an offensive show for the Blue as they batted around twice and scored 12 runs to put the game out of reach.
Luke Brown got the start for the Blue and was strong going 1 2/3 innings before giving way to Jake Rucker due to the pitch count. Rucker was just as strong going 2 1/3 innings on 14 pitches while Austin Ford finished up to end the game. The final tally was Goodlettsville Blue 20 Central 0 with the Goodlettsville bats collecting 13 hits on the day.
Offensively Jake Rucker was 3-3 on a double and two singles, Cole Carter got in on the action going 2-3 with a double and a single, Austin Ford was 2-3 with a double and a homerun, Jonathan Seals, Blake Osborne, Mason Potter and Jayson Brown all collected one hit each. Luke Brown was the offensive star of the game going 2-3 with two homeruns.
Next for the Goodlettsville Blue is a date, Sunday, with the Lebanon All Stars at 3:00 at Portland’s Elvis Brown Park.
Goodlettsville 11’s Begin State Tournament Play!
Come support the Goodlettsville 11’s as they begin State Tournament play in Portland, TN today at 12;00pm. All games are being held at Elvis Brown Park off W. Market Street.
News from the 6 and 7 year old World Series in GA
The Goodlettsville American 6 year old all stars won 22-0 in their first game
The Goodlettsville 7’s won their first game 20-0
7/13/11
8 year Old State
In Hixson, the 8U Nationals got off to a fast start in pool play with convincing victories on opening night 17-2 against the host team Hixson, followed by a dominating performance over East Ridge 21-7. As the team was riding high on these wins, real tragedy struck the Goodlettsville Baseball family. Carl Cutrell, Sr., father of the team's first base coach, Dustin, and grandfather to 2nd baseman Colton and left fielder Caden, died unexpectedly early Saturday morning. With heavy hearts the families headed back to Goodlettsville to deal with the loss of a man they held dear, who will be missed and remembered as a staunch supporter of Goodlettsville Baseball.
It is said that adversity does not develop character, it reveals it. That would certainly be the case for this team.
With Goodlettsville being new to Dizzy Dean and quickly realizing that all the teams were from the towns immediate to Chattanooga, parents and coaches sought the lay of the land from a competitive standpoint. The best teams were unanimously offered up as being Ooltewah, Bradley North, South Pittsburg, Bradley County Cubs, and The Middle Valley Patriots. Rather than a random draw of teams, the pool play was arranged so that these favorites were kept separated in pool play.
Not one to back down from a challenge, the Goodlettsville Nationals adopted the team motto of 11 for 13- in honor of the two missing players. After vanquishing Bradley North in the final pool play game, the Nationals headed into the Championship Bracket. Opening with a "play in" game due to the 10 team format, the Nationals put forth one of their best efforts of the tourney and drubbed the Dayton "A" team 18-3.
On Sunday, a heavyweight match was set between the Middle Valley Patriots and the Nationals. The game was all you could have hoped for with Goodlettsville claiming a 14-12 nail biting victory in the intense mid-day heat. The Nationals jumped out early 10-3, but the heavy bats of MVP would not be silenced for long. The stout Patriots pushed themselves and the Nationals to their physical limits and both teams were left wringing wet under the sweltering sun.
In only one hour, the Nationals would return to take on the tourney favorite, Ooltewah Owls. The 8U Owl team was runners up in state at 6U and 7U the previous two seasons, so Goodlettsville would face a well-coached team that was entering their 3rd year together. The Owls were as good as advertised. The team was excellently coached and prepared, as well as being filled with some big, big boys. I think if both teams were fresh it would have been an epic battle. The fatigued Nationals, however, could not keep up with the Owls and fell 11-3.
Undaunted, the Nationals fell to the loser's bracket determined to fight their way back to Ooltewah. The next step on Monday would be a re-match with Bradley North. Goodlettsville would again take down the boys from Bradley in short order, 15-6.
The nightcap would feature another re-match, as the Middle Valley Patriots would look to avenge their earlier defeat. It would become one of the strangest games anyone had ever witnessed. MVP jumped quickly on the Nationals 4-0, only to have Goodlettsville battle back to 4-2. In the bottom of the 3rd, the Nationals trailed 5-2 and loaded the bases with Jerrett Webb coming to the plate. In Webb's first at bat, the home plate umpire issued a warning for a slung bat. On the 2nd pitch of the at bat, Webb sent a ball deep into the night sky and the crowd erupted with the Grand Slam that gave Goodlettsville a 6-5 lead. It was not be. The home plate umpire deemed a bat that went straight to the ground spinning was a slung bat. Runners were replaced, Webb was out, and the runs were removed; A tough blow to the morale and hopes of the team.
The Nationals would fall behind 9-2 as the MVP bats continued to turn it on, riding the wave of emotional events of the previous bat slinging inning. Usually an 8 year old kid would give up under such pressure and hard luck but not this team because in the bottom of the 5th, the Nationals would post five big runs, three coming on another blast to the parking lot by none other than Jerrett Webb. Now we move to the final inning with the Nationals trailing 10-7 and the game waiting to tip one way or the other. With two runners on, Jerrett Webb was again at the plate looking for more magic. Webb would hit a hard shot and a play at first was made that pulled the player off the bag. As the field umpire came in to clarify, he was given the news that Coach Hitt had already received, the batter was once again called out for another slung bat, game over. Lightening had struck twice. A great game had ended due to a judgment call from the home umpire. Both teams played their best and deserved to win. It was a shame the game ended in such a controversial manner.
The Goodlettsville Nationals showed great resolve and never quit at any point. Not with the devastating loss in their baseball family, the loss of two starters, or the loss of a grand slam. If you know any of the players, shake their hands and let them know you are proud. They certainly have earned it.
Individually, Kaleb Powell led the Nationals hit parade with 6 round trippers, followed by Jerrett Webb's 4, and Brown Norton's 3.
7/10/11
12 year old District Results
The last time we visited the 12 year old all-star team they were methodically dispatching the strong South Nashville All-Stars 12-2. Since that day, the boys in blue played in the winner’s bracket final versus the host team from Mt Juliet. Terron Smith and CJ Laws both shared the mound for the game allowing one base runner via walk to combine for a four inning no-hitter, striking out half the batters they faced for the evening. The offensive sparks were provided by a combination of players. Heath Pentecost got the party started blasting his first homerun of the tournament, a three run blast that put Goodlettsville ahead 4-0 after two innings of play. The third saw the Goodlettsville 12’s add three more runs to the total with Chase Waller, Nelson Smith and Heath Pentecost collecting hits to bring the lead to 7-0 after three. The fourth saw more offensive action as Dylan Kelly and Chase Waller reached base before Dalton Hall ended the game with a walk-off homerun to make the final score Goodlettsville 10 Mt Juliet 0.
Chase Waller continues to imitate Mr. Perfect from old WWF wrestling fame collecting two more hits in two at-bats while Heath Pentecost and Dalton Hall got in on the RBI parade driving in three runs apiece. The team had nine hits total for the game. The next game will be against the winner of Mt Juliet and South Nashville for the District 7 championship.
The District championship ended up being a rematch between South Nashville and Goodlettsville. In the previous game, the boys in blue easily dispatched the South Nashville stars in four innings with an impressive showing on offense and defense. Today, the South Nashville squad was determined to prove that the first game was a bad outing on their part and that they had much more to offer in the way of competition for the Goodlettsville stars.
Goodlettsville was the visitor and wasted no time getting on the board as they cruised through the lineup scoring six runs in the top half of the inning. The big blast of the inning was provided by CJ Laws who belted a grand slam to cap off the innings run total. At this point, the Goodlettsville all-stars and fans were undoubtedly feeling pretty comfortable with memories of the previous game fresh in their heads and a 6-0 lead but the South Nashville stars would have none of it as they scratched and clawed their way back into the game over the next four innings to tie the game at six apiece. Pitching and defense proved difficult for the boys in blue this time around as the arms on the mound struggled and the defense followed suit, committing six errors for the game. To top it off, the offense uncharacteristically stranded nine runners on base to turn what was once a feeling of joy and confidence into a feeling of dread as the game was now in the balance. But never fear, Terron Smith is here, to once again save the day for the Goodlettsville 12’s.
A week earlier in a pre-all star tournament, the Goodlettsville 12’s were in an intense battle against the Columbia 12’s, the 2010 11 year old state runner-up and an opponent that Goodlettsville will have to face in the State Tournament this season. Things were going astray in that game as well when Mr. Smith took the mound and shut down Columbia allowing Goodlettsville to come from 4-0 down to win the game 6-4. Terron’s services would be needed in the same fashion today and once again, he delivered in the clutch shutting down South Nashville long enough for Goodlettsville to score one more run in the top of the sixth off of a Dalton Hall single to right that scored Nelson Smith from third. Terron took the mound to start the sixth and got one out before giving way to CJ laws. Laws entered with the tying run at third and one out so it was important to throw strikes to keep the runner stranded. CJ did just that getting the first batter he faced to strike out moving Goodlettsville within one out of the championship and a trip to the state. The next batter grounded to the waiting glove of Dalton Hall at third and the rest was history. Three away and the celebration began! The Goodlettsville stars had survived a strong challenge from South Nashville to win by a score of 7-6. Offensively, CJ Laws was the man going 3-4 with four RBI’s while Nelson Smith provided spark as well collecting two hits for the game.
For the tournament, Chase Waller led the team, batting .700 with 7 RBI’s. Heath Pentecost and Ty Sutley batted .500 while Nelson Smith was a close .462.
Good luck to the Goodlettsville 12’s as they take their show down I-40 to Knoxville Karns for the Little League 12 year old State Tournament!
All Star Accomplishments to date:
The tally for Goodlettsville baseball through July 9 is as follows. The 6 year old all-stars finished 1st and 2nd in the state tournament in Chattanooga, the 7’s finished runner-up, the 9-10’s finished 1st and 2nd in the district, the 11's finished 1st and 2nd in the district and the 12’s finished 1st in the district. The 9-10, 11 and 12’s will be moving on to the Little League State over the next weeks while the 6’s and 7’s will be in Georgia for the World Series. The 8’s are presently 4-0 in State Tournament play as well and will hopefully bring home the title. We are so proud of all of our teams representing Goodlettsville baseball 2011! Good luck to every team moving forward and keep the updates coming in so we can reward these fine young kids for their outstanding accomplishments.
9-10 District FInal
Goodlettsville Nationals Outduel Americans
Emotions were high on both sides of the fence as the Goodlettsville National and American Leagues battled for the District 7 title. The American League jumped out to a 2-1 lead after one but that would be the only lead they would enjoy the rest of the game as the National League steadily scored run after run to take a commanding 6-2 lead. The score stood at 6-4 entering the sixth when Reid Nelson led off with a bunt single to give the American League hope but today was not their day as Haven Mangrum stayed calm on the mound finally closing out the game with a long fly ball to center field. Marcus Watson made the catch one foot from the fence to secure the final out allowing the party to begin on the third base side of the field. Years of frustration had been wiped away as the National League had finally come out on top in a game that mattered over their nemesis, the American League. Congratulations to the National league on a well played tournament and best of luck in the State Tournament in Dandridge, TN. Bring home the title!
7-7-2011
11 year old District Finals
The finals of the District 7 tournament was an all Goodlettsville affair as the Goodlettsville Blue squared off against the Goodlettsville Gold. The Gold reached the finals by defeating Mt. Juliet 14-9 a day earlier but a toll was taken on the pitching staff as flame thrower John Williams went the full allotment of pitches to subdue the valiant Grizzlies. That left the Gold with one true threat to pitch against the Blue; hard throwing right-hander Justin Smith. Smith is as dangerous as Williams when he has that 60+ mph fastball going so the Blue knew they had to be prepared in order to come out on top.
On this night, the Blue were up to the task as they proceeded to collect 19 hits and score 17 runs in a four inning victory. Christian Brinkley got the start for the Gold and took the loss while Brock Myers got the win for the Blue. Luke Brown had another stellar day at the plate going 2-2 with a three-run homerun to keep him perfect at the plate for the tournament. Brock Myers got into the act as well going 2-3 with a mammoth grand slam in the fourth. Jake Rucker, Cole Carter, Andrew Snyder and Jonathan Seals had multiple hits for the winning Blue while Austin Ford had one hit to keep him perfect for the tournament as well. The next step for the Blue is a trip up I-65 to Portland for the 11 year old State Tournament with a ticket to Greenville, NC on the line. Their first game will be Saturday at 12:00 versus Montgomery Central, the District 9 champions.
9-10 District at Madison Little League
Dixon Blast Ignites 9-10 Nationals
Momentum: A moment, a soaring rise in emotion. Momentum is a powerful thing. The moment and rise of emotion was on the side of the Goodlettsville American League for 6 1/3 innings as the Americans steadily pulled away from the Nationals 4-0 behind a stellar pitching performance from Goodlettsville American ace Hayden Layne and timely hitting by the American League bats. Layne baffled the National League for 6 1/3 innings until leaving the game due to the pitch count. That’s when the moment and fortunes changed for the American League.
Momentum:
The National League would like to add a photo of slugger Christian Dixon to that definition after what transpired last night. With two runners on base and the game seemingly over, Dixon snatched the game from the hands of the American League and put it firmly in the lap of the National League launching a three-run homerun an estimated 240 feet over the left field fence. Dixon was fooled by a perfectly placed breaking ball on his first swing but wasn’t fooled on the second as the ball was left up in the zone allowing Dixon to take advantage with his mammoth blast. The shot ignited the fans and put the momentum squarely on the side of the National League as they rode the wave to a stunning 6-4 victory. The challenge for the American League will be to put this game behind them and focus on Mt Juliet tonight. A win over Mt Juliet and the American League will have another chance to right what went wrong. Here’s hoping we, as fans, get another chance to see these two teams battle once again. As T.O. famously stated, “Get your popcorn ready.” I’ve got mine!!
7-5-11
Final news from the State Tournament in Chattanooga
The seven year old all-star team was in the championship game needing one win to claim the championship. Their opponent had to beat them twice so the odds were in the seven year olds favor. Fate would have other plans as the seven year old all-stars would fall two times in the same evening to finish runner-up in the state championship. Nice run guys and good luck in the World Series!
Six year old State
The National league was in the same position as the sevens needing one win for the title while their opponent would have to beat them twice. The opponent for the National league was the Goodlettsville American League and the battle that followed will be remembered for years to come. The first game would go to the American league by a score of 27-26 as I recall. That set up a winner take all final for the gold. The second game would go the National leagues way as they took the state crown by a score of 17-16. Both games were nail biters and the kids on both sides should be complimented on some well played baseball. Way to go teams for finishing first and second in the state this season and good luck in the World Series.
News from the 11 year old District in Mt Juliet
The eleven year old District was a matchup tonight between the Goodlettsville Gold (dressed in white….again) and the Goodlettsville Blue. You could feel the excitement in the air as the game was expected to be close after the gold’s 15-5 victory a few days earlier versus the Mt Juliet all-stars. Tonight’s game would not go their way as the Blue jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back, winning by a 16-0 margin in four innings. The Blue bats were alive and well, collecting 17 hits on the night. Jayson brown, Jake Rucker and Austin Ford each had three hits while Cole Carter Luke Brown Seth “Little Fish” Marlin and Mason Potter each had two. Jake Rucker got the start and went two strong innings while Luke Brown and Austin Ford each pitched one in relief. The Goodlettsville Blue now await the winner of the Goodlettsville Gold and Mt Juliet in a rematch of their previous game. The championship game is scheduled for 6:00 Thursday.
9-10 District from Madison Little League
The 9-10 District has, up to this point, been a two team race between the Goodlettsville American League and the Goodlettsville National League. Both teams have yet to allow a run in the tournament and are now on a head on collision Thursday night at 8:00 in the winner’s bracket final. The winner of this game will be in the driver’s seat getting a day off while the loser will have to play the following day for a chance at redemption. If you are planning on coming out and watching any of the Goodlettsville teams in action, this is the game you may want to see. I expect some major fireworks in this one as both teams look strong in every area on the field. By the way, both teams won tonight. The Goodlettsville American won 16-0 and the National League won 13-0 in case you were interested.
7/3/11
Early 4th of July Fireworks
Balls were flying in this one as the Goodlettsville 12’s scored early and often against a strong group of all-stars from South Nashville. South Nashville entered the game on a high after pummeling the Murfreesboro National All-Stars 19-1. Several key South Nashville all-star players were missing from their pre-season tournament a week earlier so expectations were this one would be a battle against a Goodlettsville team that hadn’t hit their stride the entire all-star season. Goodlettsville hit their stride today as the team came out fired up and immediately jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind a lead-off double by Nelson Smith and a two-run homerun from Terron Smith. The South Nashville All-Stars would answer in the bottom half with a two-run shot themselves but that would be the climax of the day as the Goodlettsville 12’s smothered any thoughts of a South Nashville victory with 4 more homeruns over the next three innings, winning 12-2 in four innings of work. The hot bat for the Goodlettsville 12’s continues to be Chase Waller who has two homeruns in the event and has yet to make an out in the tournament. CJ Laws was 2-3 for the day with both hits homeruns while Terron Smith and Dylan Kelly were 2-3 as well. Chase Waller led the team with a 3-3 outing. On the mound, the Goodlettsville 12’s sent Terron Smith and CJ Laws. Both combined to hold the South Nashville stars to 3 hits on the day.
Goodlettsville plays its next game Wednesday at 8:00pm versus the winner of the Mt Juliet All-Stars and the Murfreesboro American All-Stars at the Mt Juliet Little League complex. Come support the guys as they continue their first season of post season play in Little League baseball.
District Play Begins for 9-12's
The 12 year old all-stars opened district play versus West Park and walked away with a 10-0 victory. Next up is a date, Sunday at 2:00, vs. a strong looking South Nashville squad who won impressively vs Murfreesboro National.
11 year old District
The Goodlettsville 11 Gold (dressed in white) defeated the Mt Juliet all-stars 15-5. Justin Smith was stellar on offense going 3-3. Smith, John Williams and Zach Eichstadt combined to shut down the Mt Juliet offense. Next up is a date with the Goodlettsville Blue on Tuesday
9-10 District
The Goodlettsville National all-stars played the Mt Juliet national at Madison Little League and were victorious 15-0.
The Goodlettsville American all-stars played the Mt Juliet American all-stars and were victorious 21-0 as well. Both teams play Tuesday.
9-12 year old District Play Begins!!
The 9-12 year old players begin district play this weekend across the area. The nine and ten year olds will be opening play tomorrow night at Madison little league. The National league opens at 7:00pm versus Mt Juliet National while the American league has a date with the Mt Juliet American league. That game is scheduled to start at 7:00pm as well.
The 11 gold 11 blue and 12 year old all star teams are in Mt Juliet for their district.
The 11 gold all-star team plays tomorrow at 1:00 versus the host team Mt Juliet while the 11 blue will play the winner of that game Tuesday at 6:00pm.
The 12 year old all star team begins district play against the West Park All-Stars at 1:00pm also.
Come out and support the teams as they start a new era in little league play! Good luck to all the teams.
News from the State Tournament in Chattanooga, TN
6-30-11
State Tournament Recap
The Goodlettsville 7 year old all stars entered a new era of baseball this season. The new challenge was a move to Dizzy Dean Baseball from their long standing roots of Dixie Youth. The 5-8 division from Goodlettsville has had incredible success in state tournament play to date so entering Dizzy Dean was expected to be more of the same. The 7 year old squad has been pleasantly surprised to face several teams in the tournament that are up to the challenge as they went 2-1 in pool play. That loss, to Middle Valley, opened their eyes and gave notice that they were no longer in Kansas and had to bring their “A” game if they want to claim the title as the Dizzy Dean Tennessee State Champions.
The first opponent in bracket play was East Brainerd, a pool play winner with a record of 3-0. East Brainerd is an area of Chattanooga long known for solid baseball and softball. The 7’s were able to take down East Brainerd 8-3 in a hard fought battle of defense. Next on the list was another undefeated pool play team, the 5-0 ballers from Snow Hill. This one would take extra innings to decide a winner as Goodlettsville squeaked through by a score of 14-12. Tyler Jones was the hero as he extended the game by throwing out a runner at second from left center field. The winning run was rounding third as the final out was recorded at second.
The next challenge was a winner’s bracket final versus the only team to defeat the Goodlettsville 7’s in the tournament; the mighty men from Middle Valley. Middle Valley is the defending 6 year old state champions and a second championship is their goal once again. Entering the sixth, it seemed that Middle Valley would get the best of the boys in blue as they held a commanding 7-4 lead and showed no hint of giving an inch. The boys dug deep in the sixth an orchestrated a furious rally to finally take the lead in the top half, 9-7. Middle Valley was unable to answer in the bottom half as the defense raised up to close the game.
With the big win over Middle Valley, Goodlettsville is in the enviable position of getting to sit and wait for these three teams to knock each other off in the hopes of facing Goodlettsville for the title. Whoever the opponent may be has to defeat Goodlettsville twice to claim the Dizzy Dean State Championship. Good luck to the sevens. Bring back the trophy!!
6 year old bracket
The 6’s finally met in the winner’s bracket final the other night. The American league had looked like the team to beat the entire tournament until they faced their season long foes from the park, the Goodlettsville National League. This game was supposed to be a formality for the American League as they have dispatched every team in their path with ease but the national league had other plans as they walked away with the win by a score of 17-15. The National League will now wait and see who their championship game opponent will be and are comforted in the fact that they too must be beaten twice. One win and the National League claims gold. The word around the tournament site says the American League will be the opponent when the time comes and an all out war will ensue for the championship trophy. Good luck and congratulations to both teams on a tournament well played.
