Pinemark Defeats VFW 12-1 For 14U SBA Championship

In their final game, Pinemark left a mark on the league that many of its players would be saying goodbye to. They defeated VFW 12-1 to win the 14U Championship in the Sullivan Baseball Association. Both teams battled one another for the title on Thursday, Jun. 18. 

Pinemark came in hot, setting the tone with eight runs in the first two innings. They gave up their only score to Eli Mattingly, who homered during VFW’s final at-bats.

Coach Joe Witt could not be any prouder of Pinemark’s championship-worthy performance. “They finally played to their capability,” he exclaimed. “These boys, as they get older, they make a lot of decisions of whether they’re going to play hard or not play hard. They all played hard tonight, so they all showed up. They wanted to win, so that’s kind of what happens at this age group. When they want to win, they win. When they don’t, they don’t.”

Lucas Starr was lights out at the plate, topping Pinemark with 4 RBIs and 3 hits. He batted 3-for-4, which included a triple, a three-run double and an RBI single. L. Starr also scored on a passed ball and stole two bases.

Kain Soisson was Pinemark’s leading scorer with four runs. He also stole a team-high six bags, singled for the first two RBIs and earned himself two walks.

Austin Duncan and Jace Bradford each delivered an RBI double, stole a base and scored.

Blake Wallis punched it home twice and stole a pair of bags.

Jacob Marts racked up two stolen bases, a single and a run.

Hunter Smith recorded two walks, a stolen bag and a run.

Tyson Witt walked twice and crossed the dish once. 

Marts started on the mound for Pinemark, throwing five strikeouts. Soisson would follow and put away two batters, then L. Starr shut the door on VFW with 4 Ks. 

Winning the championship was also a bittersweet moment for Pinemark. Many of its players would be graduating from the Sullivan Baseball Association. This included the sons of Pinemark’s coaches, J. Witt, Joe Starr and Johnathan Tripp. For those reasons, J. Witt described this season as being “one for the record books.” 

He hopes his players will continue to win each and every day, even when not on the field. The coach explained, “We want them to show up. We want them to try. We want them to win because that’s the only way they’re going to be successful in life… A lot of people don’t like hearing that, but that’s what life is about. You have to seize the opportunities, and you have to try to win every day. So, I think both teams… were all out there trying. They all care about it, and the nice thing is they all care about each other at the end of the day.”

J. Witt also thanked the Sullivan Baseball Association and the City of Sullivan for caring for these players. He shared, “[It was a] phenomenal job by Joe Starr this year being the league president. It’s been a sloppy few years that he’s inherited, [but] things went really well. We had a lot of rainouts this year; things got scheduled. 

“[I’d like to thank] the City of Sullivan [for] keeping up with the fields. The fields look great. We went to a couple [of] different towns, and you can just tell that we’re trying so much harder. And we’re setting that example for these players that, ‘Look, this is what we do for you, for our facilities, for our league, for our umpiring.’

“[I’d like to give a] shout out to Wesley Henricks. He’s the umpire in charge, and he makes these guys train. They kind of got to test into these groups… So, it just shows that we care. We care about our kids. We care about this community.”

VFW Falls To Pinemark In 14U Championship

Despite VFW losing the championship, Coach Donnie Mattingly views their whole season as a victory in itself. He believes his players have all “learned something” and “will move on to high school with a better knowledge of the game.” The coach also hopes VFW will remember how fun it was to “play baseball all summer” with their friends.

Coach Mattingly also praised his team for not giving up, even when falling behind in the championship. “This group of boys, above all, they never quit,” he shared. “They tried all the way to the end, as we’ve seen evident with Eli’s home run. They just don’t quit. So, I’m proud of them, very proud of them.”

E. Mattingly’s homer came in the bottom of the fifth and was his first of the season. “I was hyped,” he exclaimed. “I thank the team for celebrating with me. It was pretty nice.”

VFW’s lone scorer also shouted out his teammates for always being there for him. He remarked, “[They] don’t let me down. They [are] always cheering, cheering me on [and] cheering my other teammates on. That’s what we like to hear.”

E. Mattingly went 1-for-2 at the plate with his homer. He also stole a base in the bottom of the third.

Greyson Camp led VFW with three stolen bags while walking a total of three times.

Parker Young batted 1-for-2, hitting a single, stealing a base and taking a walk.

Jaxson Ahrens recorded a stolen bag and a walk for VFW.

Carsyn Cooper earned a walk in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Ashton Hunyar, Evan Ransom and Elijah Schansberg also went to the plate. 

Young was VFW’s starting pitcher, putting away eight batters. Schansberg relieved him in the top of the third and would throw four strikeouts. Ransom was last to take the mound for VFW, recording three Ks in the fifth inning.

In his final message, Coach Mattingly wanted to “thank the parents for supporting this team.” He shared, “They came to every game, supported us, even through losses. You know, it was tough [tonight].  We’d like to [have] got this one, but they don’t all work out for you.”