Okeechobee Jr Dixie Boys (13 year olds) faced off this morning against the boys from San Antonio. Okeechobee's defense along with Mark Weir, the opening pitcher, faced only five batters in the first inning. With two hits and a stolen base, the boys from San Antonio scored one run with one strike-out in the first inning. Okeechobee followed suit in the bottom of the second inning, also bringing in one run within the first five batters. Tyler Finney reached first base after receiving a full count, using his keen eye to force the pitcher to send him with a base on balls. Justin Morgan placed a sacrifice bunt just outside the batting circle and advanced Finney around to second. Quick base running moved Finney around, placing him in opportune position for scoring. A hit to second base by Noah Wilcox allowed Finney to tease the defense of the San Antonio boys and the duo forced San Antonio to make the play at first, allowing Finney to score.
The second inning also seemed like mirror images with both teams facing six batters and allowing two runs a piece. Timmy Farrell reached first after taking a walk on a full count. Thor Harden smacked a double to right-center, sending Farrell to third. With Farrell on third and Harden on second, Bradley Coleman hit a line drive past the shortstop bringing in Farrell and stowing Harden safely at third. Coleman stole second base and then moved to third when Finney hit a hard grounder to second, scoring Harden. Battling hard, the inning closed with a tied score of three all.
In the third inning the San Antonio boys pulled in two more runs with some very well placed hits. Mark Weir and the Chobee boys closed out the inning after facing only five batters. The Okeechobee boys struggled in the third inning and were sent down after four batters. Mark Weir reached first base with a single to short and was later thrown out at second after a grounder to short, hit by Noah Wilcox. Will Jackson took the first pitch and slammed a ball out to center field. Unfortunately, San Antonio's outfielder made the play but Wilcox turned on the wheels and was able to score. At the bottom of the third inning, the score was a close four to five in San Antonio's favor.
In the top of the fourth inning, Okeechobee pulled in Timmy Farrell to the mound and allowed San Antonio two runs with only one hit and one walk. Okeechobee still did not produce the hits that they have shown in previous tournament play. Thor Harden received a walk and Dean Radebaugh's sacrifice hit to the pitcher pushed Harden on to second. Tyler Finney laid a good solid hit through the shortstop, which allowed Harden to cross the plate. After four innings of play the score was four to seven - San Antonio's lead.
The fifth inning was baseball Okeechobee style. Okeechobee's defense refused to let San Antonio gain any runs. The top of the inning started with two solid hits against Farrell. Although the last three San Antonio batters were able to get the bat on the ball, they fell victim to the quick hands of Okeechbee's defense ending their at bat scoreless. With the rush of a well played defensive inning, Okeechobee's bats came alive with the fierceness that brought them the district title. Mark Weir started the inning with a slammer down the third base line. Followed by Noah Wilcox's well-placed ball to right field. Will Jackson took a hard hit in the back by a San Antonio pitch, shook it off quickly and took his base. This mistake cost San Antonio another run as Justin Morgan crossed the plate. Timmy Farrell also took a ball in the foot which caused Mark Weir to come in. With bases still loaded, Thor Harden came up to the plate. You could see the Okeechobee crowd begin to scoot onto the edge of their seats, in hopes of a repeat grand slam identical to the astonishing feat during the second game of district play against Sebring. Harden slammed a ball far into the outfield, just short of the fence, bringing in three runs: Wilcox, Jackson and Farrell. With Harden on second, San Antonio decided upon a pitching switch. Brad Coleman, facing a new pitcher, smacked a ball past San Antonio's second baseman which brought Harden to third. Mark Weir with his second appearance at the plate in the fifth inning pulled a triple into right field bringing in Harden and Coleman. On his toes, Weir took advantage of a wild San Antonio pitch and came in as well. At the bottom of the fifth inning, the score was quite a new story: San Antonio - seven to Okeechobee - thirteen.
Timmy Farrell returned to the mound in the sixth inning with the strong defense once again behind him. With one out, Ryan Sharber of San Antonio sent a ball out into right field placing him on second. The next San Antonio batter hit a hard grounder to second. Tyler Finney fielded the ball, flipped it to Mark Weir at second who then fired the ball to first in an attempt for a double play. The play was very impressive but missed out number two by a split second. Knowing that they needed to end this inning, Noah Wilcox made a fantastic catch of a solid hit by Ben Suratt for the third out. As Okeechobee came to bat in the bottom of the inning, Will Jackson opened the inning with a hit between the shortstop and third for a single. Thor Harden slammed another ball out over the shortstop's head and Jackson scored on a single by Bradley Coleman. David Skinner was after a sacrifice play to advance our runners but earned his way to first base. Tyler Finney, patiently awaiting his pitch, ended up taking the walk and a hit down the third base line by Justin Morgan allowed Skinner to be tagged out at third, ending the inning.
With Tyler Finney now on the mound, the San Antonio had their last chance at a comeback. Although two runs scored, Finney and the Okeechobee defense fought back. Finney reached deep down with two outs and two strikes on Ryan Sharber, fired a beautiful pitch that threw Sharber for a loop. As Sharber watched the ball pass by and the umpire bellowed the call, the Okeechobee boys knew that they were on their way to playing Sebring tomorrow in the winner's bracket.
Be sure to check back tomorrow for new game highlights.
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