Williamsburg First Championship at Boys Invitational

The Williamsburg 12 year old all star baseball team recently completed a four game run over eight days to capture the first Williamsburg championship in the 52 year history of the Boys Invitational Baseball tournament at Shepherd Stadium in Colonial Heights.

Over the years hall of famers like Mickey Mantle, Satchel Paige and Bob Feller have thrown out the first pitch in the tourney and players including David Wright have gone on to play in the majors. During that time, Williamsburg’s best previous finish had been third place.

Williamsburg’s first game in the 17 team single elimination tournament was a 3-1 pitchers duel against Chesterfield as each team collected only 3 hits. Brendan McGinty walked in the first and scored on a passed ball in the first and Brandon Hamm hit solo homers in the fourth and sixth. Patrick Daly singled for Williamsburg. Blake Otey struck out 9 and scattered 6 walks and 3 hits in 4 innings to pick up the win. Mark Seaman picked up the save. Hamm also made a great play at third in the last inning to help preserve the win. Williamsburg was error free.

Next the locals beat Prince George 10-7 in a thrilling quarter final game that had a bit of everything. Prince George got 3 in the top of the first but Williamsburg responded with 5 of its own in the home half. JJ Boyd and Mark Seaman walked and Matt Keane drove them in before Brendan McGinty’s 2 run homer put Williamsburg ahead. A brilliant relay from from seaman in right to first baseman Daly to catcher Jeremiah Antle ended a Prince George threat in the third. McGinty’s double in the third scored Matt Keane as Williamsburg went ahead 6-3. However a 2 out error in the fourth allowed Prince George to score 4 in the fourth before another great tag by Antle at the plate ended the inning. Down 7-6 Williamsburg answered with 4 of its own to take back the lead at the final score of 10-7. Williamsburg got 4 hits in the fourth including clutch 2 run singles from Otey and Daly. Otey picked up the win and Seaman another save.

In the semi finals Williamsburg bested its neighbors from Newport News 7-2. Starter Thomas Chisam went the distance with 6 strong innings to pick up the win. He allowed just 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 8. Great catches by Seaman in right, Boyd in center and Alex Boren in left were part of another error free game. Seaman scored 3 times and Ryan Benson once for Williamsburg who got a key RBI double from Boyd and a 2 run single from Keane. Chisam helped himself with 2 RBI.

In the championship game Williamsburg faced Dinwiddie it what shaped up to be a pitchers duel as Otey returned to the hill against a Dinwiddie pitcher who had 3 wins and allowed just 3 runs in 18 innings coming into the game. Williamsburg won 9-3 as Otey was brilliant and the Williamsburg bats took over. Brandon Hamm’s single plated Brendan McGinty to stake Williamsburg to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. It remained that way until the fifth when Williamsburg scored 3 times. Seaman and Keane opened with doubles followed by a single from McGinty who later scored on Chisam’s third hit of the game. Dinwiddie rallied in their half and had the tying run at the plate when a hard line drive hit Otey in the chest. He bravely picked the ball and got the third out before collapsing in pain. Williamsburg then exploded for 5 in the sixth to lead 9-1. McGinty’s 3 run blast broke it wide open. Dinwiddie managed 2 runs off Chisam before Seaman came on to strike out the final 2 batters to seal the championship and earn the eleven Williamsburg boys their place in the BIB history in their last game as little leaguers.

Otey picked up 3 wins allowing just 5 earned runs with 24 strikeouts and was named tournament MVP. Offensively in the tournament, McGinty scored 7 runs while Seaman and Keane each scored 6 times. McGinty lead the team with 7 RBI while Keane drove in 5. Chisam played in 2 games and batted .571 while Hamm had 7 hits and batted .467.

By Kevin Hughes, WYBL, 8/5/09

Romero Leads Williamsburg Baseball to 1st Regional Title

Roger Romero has won state swimming medals. He can now add a Southeast Regional Baseball title to his collection. Romero had 11 hits, including 2 homeruns and 3 doubles, and drove in 8 runs to lead the Williamsburg Wolfpack 11 year old squad to the regional title in Alexander City, AL, the first ever won by a team from Williamsburg. His last homerun staked the squad to an early 2-0 lead in the championship game, propelling them to an 18-1 victory over the team from Cookeville, TN.

Romero got some help from his teammates in their undefeated run through the ten team tournament. The Wolfpack were pitted against teams from Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Reeves Trott, the 2-time state tournament MVP, collected 6 hits and drove in 5 runs. Kent Klyman continued his mastery on the mound as he picked up 3 of the Williamsburg wins while allowing only 1 unearned run in 9 innings of work. Klyman struck out 9 and yielded only 5 hits in the tournament.

In the first game of the tournament, Klyman pitched 4 innings of 1 hit baseball in leading the Wolfpack to a 7-1 victory over the Tallahassee, FL state championship team. Cole Jones didn’t yield a run in his 2 innings of work to seal the win. Sean Hughes, who had 2 hits and scored twice, drove in the first run as the team got RBIs from Ryan Mason, Austin Cohn, Cole Jones and Klyman. Romero also had two hits and scored twice while Luke Bruce had 2 hits. The team turned 2 double plays with Bruce, Mason and Hughes recording the first one and Trott, Mason and Bruce combining for the second.

The second game pitted the local boys against the state champion from Alabama. They downed the Southern squad by a count of 7-1. Bruce earned the victory on the mound with 4 innings of work, striking out 5 and surrendering only 3 hits. He also had 3 RBIs, including a two-run single in the 2nd that pushed the Wolfpack to a 5-0 lead. Trott socred twice, had 3 hits and 2 RBIs and Cohn added another. Trott, Romero, Hughes, Bruce, and Klyman ran off 5 straight 2-out hits to break the back of the Southern squad. Evan Lowery picked up the team’s final hit to keep the pressure on. Trott and Klyman combined for a double play to quell a brief scoring threat from the Alabama team.

In the semifinal game, the Wolfpack faced the Cookeville squad in a pre-cursor to the championship tilt. They prevailed 10-0 behind Romero’s 1st homerun of the tournament, a 2-run blast that was the 1st of his 3 hits and 4 RBIs for the game. He drove in Trott, who had a double and 3 RBIs. Klyman scattered 3 hits over 3 innings to earn the win, getting good defensive help from Ryan Mason, who had 6 putouts for the game. Braden Ricks, Lowery, Christopher Jones, Cohn and Hughes joined Trott and Romero in scoring runs with a balanced offensive attack.

The team got off to a great start in the championship game when Romero homered in the 1st. Austin Cohn broke open the game with a 2 run single to give Williamsburg a 4-0 lead. Trott drove in a run with a double and Bruce chipped in with a single to give the team an 8-0 lead after the 1st inning. Romero had 4 RBIs on 2 2oubles and a HR, Trott tripled and drove in 3, Mason doubled and drove in 3, and Christopher Jones, Joshua Nellis, Bruce, and Klyman each drove in runs. Hughes, Cole Jones, Romero and Bruce scored two runs each while Ricks picked up a key hit. Klyman earned the win with 4 strikeouts and only 1 hit yielded. Mason, who pitched the final 2 innings, started a double play with Trott and Bruce to end the 1st inning. The game ended when Hughes recorded the last of his 3 putouts with a throw from 3rd to Bruce at 1st to begin the celebration. 

By Kevin Hughes, WYBL, 8/5/09

Williamsburg has its first Region Champs!  Congratulations 11 Year Old All-Stars!!

• 8s - 2nd in District
• 9s - District Champions, State Runner-up, competed in Regionals
• 10s - District Champions, State Champions, competed in Regionals
• 11's - District Champions, State Champions, Regional Champs
• 12's - 3rd in State
• 13's - District Champions, 4th in State
• 14's - 3rd in state, winner of Team Sportsmanship Award

Preston Goodbar and his Williamsburg all-star teammates went to Herndon last weekend with one goal in mind — a state championship.
The left-fielder more than achieved his goal, as the Warriors edged Glen Allen 9-7 in the championship game to earn a berth in the U-11 Cal Ripken Baseball Southeast Region tournament. Goodbar drove in two run in the championship game to earn tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Williamsburg outscored its opposition 54-9 in four preliminary games to earn a spot in the semifinals.
 

The Warriors scored 12 runs in the sixth inning to earn a decisive 22-6 victory over Arlington in their first-round matchup.Chris Lansford  and Luc Lipcius collected two hits and drove in a run to lead Williamsburg. J.J. Burns, Preston Goodbar, Ryan Jones, Brady Vandygriff and Andre Lipcius also contributed offensively. James West and Mitch Barrick pitched brilliantly in relief to secure the win. The next two contests weren’t nearly as close as Williamsburg posted blowout victories over Southwest Virginia and Manassas. Pitching dominated the win in Game 2 as Luc Lipcius, Beau Lejeune and Vandygriff combined on a five-inning no-hitter against the Lumberjacks.
Offensively, the Warriors scored nine runs in the first inning and coasted to a win.
Lansford and Vandygriff tallied two hits apiece and drove in a run to lead Williamsburg. Preston Goodbar, Garrick Colorado and Andre Lipcius drove in runs.

In Game 3, Williamsburg’s offense continued to dominate in a 12-1 win. Vandygriff drove in a pair of runs to lead the charge. Andrew Barrow also added a two-run hit. Ryan Jones, Luc Lipcius and J.J. Burns also drove in runs in the win. James West earned his second win of the tournament. Madison County slowed down Williamsburg’s run through the first round with a 2-1 victory. Aaron Yowell limited the Warriors’s potent offense to one run on three hits in six solid innings of work. Trailing 1-0 in the sixth, Madison County scored two runs in the top of the inning to secure the win. Chris Lansford scored the lone run for Williamsburg on a passed ball in the fourth inning. Mitch Barrick and J.J. Burns held Madison County to just two hits in five shutout innings of work.

Williamsburg’s bats returned to life in the semifinals, with a 10-0 win over the Herndon Hawks.Andre Lipcius belted a two-run homer in the first and the Warriors erupted for seven in the second to build a 9-0 lead.West scattered three hits in four strong innings of work to improve to 3-0 in the tournament.

In the finals, Williamsburg avenged last year’s loss to Glen Allen with a 9-7 win. The Warriors came from behind three times and took the lead with a two-run fifth inning. Barrick and Goodbar drove in two runs apiece to lead Williamsburg. Vandygriff drove in the game-winner with an RBI-double in the fifth. Lansford added an insurance run with an RBI-single. Andre Lipcius retired the side in order to earn the win.
 

By John Harvey, VA Gazette, 7/22/09

Luke Bruce was a factor with his bat and his arm last weekend, leading Williamsburg’s U-11 all-star team to another Cal Ripken Baseball Virginia state title. Bruce homered and drove in a team-high nine runs during last weekend’s state tournament. He also picked up two wins on the hill, including an 8-4 win over Glen Allen in the championship game.

Williamsburg opened the tournament with a solid 4-3 victory over North East Augusta. The Wildcats jumped out to a 4-0 lead and then held on for the one-run victory. Reeves Trott struck out the final batter with the bases loaded in the sixth to secure the win for Williamsburg. Trott also scored the game-winning run on an RBI-single from Christopher Jones.

The Wildcats rebounded in Game 2 with a convincing 17-0 victory over Rappahannock County. Bruce, Ryan Mason, Sean Hughes and Cole Jones combined to throw a no-hitter for Williamsburg.
The quartet struck out nine batters, including the final six, and yielded just three base runners. Roger Romero and Austin Cohen each belted three-run homers to pace the offense. Bruce drove in four runs, while Evan Lowery and Kent Klyman added RBIs. Josh Nelis and Branden Ricks also reached base for the Wildcats.

Pitching dominated once again in Game 3 as Williamsburg outlasted Glen Allen 2-1 in nine innings. Klyman gave up an unearned run on three hits and struck out seven in six solid innings of work for Williamsburg, but didn’t factor in the decision. Trott picked up his first win of the tournament in relief. He fanned five of the nine batters he faced in three scoreless innings of work. Trott also got the job done at the plate, scoring both runs. Hughes delivered an RBI-single in the first to give Williamsburg a 1-0 lead. Bruce hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth with the bases loaded to score Trott with the game-winner. Romero led the charge offensively with four hits. Cole Jones a pair of doubles in the win.

In the championship game, Williamsburg bolted out to a 6-0 lead and held on for the victory. Hughes and Bruce drove in two runs apiece to lead the Wolfpack. Trott scored both runs on RBI’s from Hughes, an RBI single in the first and the game-winning sac fly in the ninth. Romero had four hits and Cole Jones added two doubles. In the championship game, Williamsburg’s offense bolted out to a 6-0 lead and held on for the victory. Bruce double and homered and drove in three runs to lead the Wildcats. Hughes had a two-run single in the fourth. Christopher Jones, Romero and Cole Jones also drove in runs. Glen Allen trimmed the lead to 6-4, before Bruce homered in the top of the sixth to seal the win. Bruce earned the win and Trott struck out the last hitter to earn the save.
 

By John Harvey, VA Gazette, 7/22/09