Flyers 14U-Edwards wins Turfmania 2
For the second year in a row, PF Flyers 14U-Edwards won the Kings Sports Turfmania 2 tournament against some of the state’s top teams.
Last year, Coach Brandon Edwards’ team (then competing for a different organization) beat the No. 2, 3 and 4 ranked teams in Ohio en route to the tournament championship.
This year the team captured the top seed in pool play, going 2-0 and allowing only two runs. The Flyers, at the time ranked No. 3 in the state by Travel Baseball Rankings, faced the second-ranked Cincinnati Riverbats in the semifinal.
Flyers pitchers Bryce Eckert and Rhys Canan outdueled two of the top pitchers in Ohio to win 5-4.
The Riverbats jumped out in front early 3-0, but the Flyers responded with three in the bottom of the first.
The Flyers took the lead in the bottom of the second and never looked back.
Brayden Schmittou singled with one out. After Schmittou stole second base, Tyler Schumacher ripped a triple over the right fielder’s head. The next hitter, Lucas Basta, drove in Schumacher with an RBI groundout for a 5-3 lead.
Meanwhile, Eckert settled in on the mound. After the first inning, Eckert didn’t allow a hit. He went four innings, allowing 2 hits and three earned runs.
Canan took over in the fifth. After a scoreless fifth, the Riverbats mounted a one out threat in the sixth inning, which ended up as the final inning because of the time limit. A walk, a hit batter, a single and an infield single, brought home one run and loaded the bases with two outs. But Canan struck out the final Riverbats hitter to end the game and earn the save.
The Flyers fell behind in the Championship game against the Mid Ohio Bullets. The Bullets scored two in the top of the first. Again, the Flyers responded in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 2-2.
Meanwhile, right-hander Jack Phillabaum kept the Bullets off balance. Phillabaum ended up going 5 2/3 innings allowing only the two unearned first inning runs and only two hits.
The score stayed tied until the fifth. Dane Dudley scored on a wild pitch to give the Flyers a 3-2 lead. That set up an open base. The Bullets intentionally walked Basta to face Phillabaum. Phillabaum made them pay with a line drive single to left, scoring Carson Collins. As the defense returned the ball to the infield, Basta realized no one was covering third base and raced to third. Meanwhile, Phillabaum tried to take second. He ended up getting in a rundown while Basta broke for home. The play resulted in Basta scoring the Flyers’ sixth run and Phillabaum safe at second.
Righty Caleb Driessen relieved Phillabaum on the mound and closed out a 6-5 win and tournament championship.
In pool play, Dudley set the tone for the weekend’s excellent pitching with a complete game in a 3-1 win against J.B. Yeager. Leadoff man Schmittou sparked the offense. He was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and two runs scored.
The Flyers used six pitchers in the second pool play game, a 7-1 win against the Cincy Knights. The Flyers’ staff piled up 10 strikeouts, allowing only three hits.
The tournament featured the No. 2, 3, 4, 7 and 15th ranked teams in Ohio.
After the tournament, Travel Baseball Rankings moved the Flyers up to a No. 2 ranking in Ohio.
