PF Flyers 14U wins dramatic championship game to earn tourney win
After scoring three runs to force extra innings, Alex Ward lined a walkoff single in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the PF Flyers 14U an exciting come-from-behind win in the championship game of the Cincinnati Shootout put on by Tournaments for a Cause.
The Flyers trailed three times in the game before Ward’s heroic single earned the team its first tournament championship of 2024.
The Flyers fell behind 8-5 in the sixth inning, which because of the time limit was the last inning.
Rudy Glotfelty started the bottom of the sixth with a single to center. Ward followed that up with a single. Jack Andolina walked. Kaiden Raible walked to force in a run. Gavin Rutherford singled to make the score 8-7.
Wes Canan fouled off a 3-2 fastball before lining a game-tying single to right.
Two outs later with the winning run still at third the center fielder made a diving catch on a sinking line drive by Alessandro Madrigal to keep the score tied at 8-8.
That set up extra innings. Each team started with runners on first and second and nobody out.
Those two runners moved up to second and third in the top of the seventh, but Carson Tabler struck out the hitter for one out. The next hitter lined an RBI single to center. The runner on third scored, but the runner on second got caught in no-man’s land thanks to a perfect relay from Glotfelty to Andolina. The Flyers executed the run-down for the second out. One play later, Tabler got the strike out to end the inning with the Flyers trailing 9-8.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Flyers put their baserunners in motion with Tabler stealing third and the throw went into left field allowing him to score the tying run. One out later, Ward lined a single past the drawn-in infield for the winner.
That was after Ward pitched 4 1/3 innings, allowing only two earned runs.
Canan was 3-for-3 in the game with a stolen base, two RBI and two runs scored, including a perfectly executed push bunt single that started a rally earlier in the game.
Tabler was 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI. Logan Hardesty was 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Rutherford was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Tabler earned the win in the championship game with 1 1/3 innings pitched. He allowed no earned runs and struck out three.
The Flyers earned the top seed in the tournament after going 2-0 in pool play.
Andolina led the Flyers to a 9-4 win in the first game of pool play. He went 3-for-3 at the plate and pitched 4 innings, allowing two runs. Mardigal went 3-for-3 in that game with two stolen bases, a double, three runs scored and three RBI.
Madrigal led the Flyers to a 10-2 win in the second game of pool play. He went 4-for-4 with 4 RBI. Sawyer Williams went 3-for-4. Ward and Glotfelty each threw two scoreless innings.
The wins on Saturday moved the Flyers to the semifinal. Corwin Wang pitched a six-inning compete game, allowing four runs and striking out three.
Williams went 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Carter Stone started the key rally in the fifth inning by hustling out a ground ball to first that ended with him reaching on an error. That started a four-run rally.
That sent the Flyers to the championship game. Where the Flyers had a series of incredibly clutch plays to earn the win, including a game-saving diving catch by Raible in right field with the bases loaded in the sixth inning.
Canan hit .667 in the tournament with six runs scored. Mardigal hit .615 with 9 RBI and 7 runs scored. Williams hit .533 with 4 RBI. Mardigal and Raible each stole five bases in the tournament.
The Flyers are now 10-5. They head to Grand Park next weekend.
