Sports

HAMILTON — Manager Brandon Taylor watched with nervous anticipation Wednesday night, June 25, as his West Side Pizza Chef Athletics managed to do what they did most of the Minor League season.

Win a baseball game.

The Athletics withstood a furious rally by the East Hamilton Eric's Auto Service Braves in the Hamilton City Tournament championship game, getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth to record an 8-6 victory at the West Side Little League complex.

"I was just hoping to claw and hang on," said Taylor, whose squad finished 19-2. "I never dreamed of winning the city title this year. I thought we'd be good, but I didn't think this. Everything these kids deserved, they got. We won two games all of last year. We went from the outhouse to the penthouse."

Zach Evans was the key figure for the Athletics, going 3-for-3 with a triple, two RBIs and two runs. He also came on in relief of starting pitcher Jake Pennington with no outs in the fifth inning and made a clutch defensive play to end the game.

The Braves loaded the bases in the sixth on an error, a walk and a two-out single by Charlie Faraci. Jeremy Zambo then lifted a 3-2 pitch behind the mound, where Evans made a nice catch in traffic.

"Right in no man's land," Taylor said. "I thought our second baseman had a bead on it, and then our shortstop and everybody was making a beeline for it. The only thing I had going through my mind was seeing the ball fall in and dribble away."

It was a disappointing finish for the Braves (17-2), who had rallied from an 8-1 deficit.

"I thought we could come all the way back — we did it so many times this year," Braves manager Damion Sneed said. "We made a lot of mistakes early. If we didn't make those mistakes, I think we could've taken them. But it is what it is.

"I'm proud of the team," he continued. "They came for me every day. They gave me 100 percent."

Vince Sanford had an inside-the-park home run for the Braves, while DaVaughn Sneed was 3-for-3 with a triple, two runs and an RBI. Jonah Bilek and Faraci each added two hits, Blake Sharrock notched an RBI triple, and Kelsey Prado drove in a run.

Sneed and Sharrock did the pitching for the Braves, combining for nine strikeouts. Pennington and Evans totaled 10 whiffs on the hill.

The Athletics' top hitters included Koren Thompson (2-for-3, two RBIs), Aivery Thompson (double) and Nick McQueen (2-for-2, triple, RBI).

"It seemed like a year of maturity made a big difference with our team," Taylor said. "It's just a good group of kids, and we had great support from the parents."

Other members of the championship squad were Maddie Taylor, Grant Fansler, Jacob Metzler, Josh Terry, Robbie Clark, Kayla Connelly and John Scrimizzi.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2194 or rcassano@coxohio.com.