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It was a great end to a beautiful three-day weekend at the Sports at the Beach complex near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, as the 13u Potomac Generals recorded three consecutive upset victories during Monday’s knockout round to claim the Columbus Day Classic championship. Cameron Stork, who pitched six tough innings for the championship game win, was named Tournament MVP.
For their victory, the Generals players (pictured, above) each received a red Under Armour baseball windshirt emblazoned with “Sports at the Beach Tournament Champion” on the chest.
On Saturday, the first day of pool play, the Generals defeated Jack Cust Diamond Jacks 13u Gold 5-3, but dropped their second game to the Vienna Bombers, 8-7. The game against the Bombers was particularly tough as the team battled back from a 7-1 deficit in the top of the 7th to tie the game at 7, only to lose on a squeeze play in the bottom on the inning.
On Sunday, the General got back on the winning track with a 10-1 win over Virginia Patriots 13u. In their final game of pool play, the Generals took a 1-0 lead over Summit Point into the 6th inning, only to lose 7-1.
With a 2-2 record, the Generals squeaked into the Monday round of six with just the fifth seed. In their first game against the 4th seeded Bombers, Tom Shue pitched 6 innings and struck out 12. The offense did their part, exploding for six straight singles in the four run second inning. Needing a few insurance runs, Isaac Peress KONGED a homerun to deep right center in the top of the 7th to seal the 10-3 win.
In the semifinals, Kaz Kishimoto toed the rubber and pitched brilliantly, allowing one earned run in a complete game 6-5 victory over NJ Super 13. The Generals battled back from a 5-2 deficit and saw the eventual winning run score via a balk by the Super 13 reliever.
In the championship game, the Generals came in as major underdogs to a Summit Point Prodigy team that had smacked them around in the latter innings of their game on Sunday. Fortunately, Coach Witchey had big game pitcher Cameron Stork still ready to roll. The offense was ready too, as seemingly everyone hit the ball as the Generals stormed out to a 6-0 lead after two. Summit Point wouldn’t die and put up three runs in the bottom of the 3rd. Faced with bases loaded and no one out, Stork calmly threw strikes and got his team out of the inning with minor damage.
The Generals kept hitting and by the top of the 7th scored their 10th run. With Super Closer Jake Abruzzi on in the bottom of the 7th, the Prodigy could only manage one more run before a ground out to short ended the championship game, 10-4.
This marked the first tournament win for the Generals after four tries over three seasons. The win was even more special because all 15 players contributed in meaningful ways. Aaron “Buck” Buchwald had five or six straight hits at one point. Alexander Owen played lights out defense at first base and leftfield. Casey Lauer hit three balls off the fence. Eli Galliano chased down everything in centerfield. Panos Lagos caught everything hit to him, as did Miles Bolin. Tristan Lee had a big double in the championship game. Joe Davis played a great third base and had several clutch at-bats. Eric Thronson also had a gaggle of big hits and played his usual top-shelf defense behind the plate – blocking lots of pitches and even throwing a runner out. The team’s leading hitter, Daniel Albrittain, gritted out the first two days of the tourney despite a nasty bug.
Congrats to the Potomac Generals!
