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The Braves celebrate their City Championship in front of the scoreboard at Waggoner Park. The team includes (front row, from left) Kevin Dibble, Brennan Buckner, Grant McGuire, Kaysen Carter, Eddie Garland, manager Jim Daugherty, (back row, from left) coach Brian Buckner, Levi Burns, Alton McKee, Sam Daugherty, Ian Burns, Forrest McCreary, coach Billy Bates and Chris Sfirakis, owner of Gondola Restaurant, which is the Braves’ sponsor. Not pictured: John Michael Moore. (Photo by Brian Knack)
An explosive fifth inning carried the Braves to the Tullahoma Little League City Championship Saturday night at Waggoner Park.
The Braves topped the Rays 13-12 after scoring eight runs in the fifth inning. The Braves then held the Rays scoreless in the top to the sixth to hang on for the win.
The two teams combined for 15 runs in the fifth inning after a relatively well-played first four innings. In those first four innings, Rays pitcher Amauri Burks and Braves pitcher Forrest McCreary had a virtual standoff.
Burks went 4 1/3 innings, giving up six hits and seven runs, while striking out seven and walking three. McCreary countered with four innings of work, giving up six runs on 10 hits, while walking six.
The game was tied at two apiece after the first inning and knotted at 5-all after four innings.
But when Burks and McCreary were lifted, the floodgates opened and it was an offensive extravaganza. The Rays, representing the American League, scored seven runs in the top of the fifth inning. The National League champion Braves came back with an eight-run scoring spree that delivered the team’s first city championship since 2000.
Both Kobe Burks and Amauri Burks had a home run in the game for the Rays. Teammate Jared Sebourn had a three-RBI triple in the fifth inning.
However, McCreary pounced on a pitch in the fifth inning for a grand slam and the Braves rode that momentum to the win. McCreary finished 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, the homer and six RBIs. Kaysen Carter went 2-for-3 and Ian Burns added a triple.
Following Saturday’s championship game, the league held closing ceremonies and announced all-star teams. The district championship for 9- 10-year-olds begins Friday in Huntland. The tournament for 10- 11-year-olds is set to begin June 30 in Winchester, while the district tournament for 11- 12-year-olds begins June 29 in Winchester.
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