 Looking to build on the momentum from a pair of wins on the first day of the tournament, the East Cobb Astros got solid pitching and a home run from Brady Neal en route to a 14-1 (4) win over the Fieldhouse Pirates in the final game of pool play for both teams in the 12u division of the Triple Crown U.S. Club Championships.
“We needed to keep it going today, especially trying to lock up one of those top seeds so we don’t have to come back and play tonight,” said Astros head coach Dalton Martin. “You never know how the tournament is going to play out. Yesterday, we told the boys we needed to take care of business, and today, we told them that they had to do the same thing. Just put up a lot of runs, get on them early, and we did a good job of taking care of pitching and hitting today.” Neal was staked to a 5-0 lead before he ever stepped foot on the mound, but from there, the hurler took care of business. The ECB pitcher did not allow a hit through three innings, as a walk led to a manufactured run for the Pirates in the second inning. “I usually don’t throw very many strikes, but I seemed to throw a good amount today,” Neal said. “It was good to get that lead early so I didn’t have to worry as much.” Neal also provided an offensive spark in the third inning as his solo home run over the fence in right center 265-feet away made it a 7-1 game. “It was a 2-2 count, and I knew he wasn’t going to throw me a curve ball because he just threw one in the dirt,” Neal said. “I was sitting on a fastball and I just made good contact on it.” The Astros would put the game away in the fourth inning with seven runs as the Pirates were unable to mount a rally in the bottom of the fourth. “It’s good to be 3-0 after pool play,” Neal said. “You know you’re going to be one of the higher-seeded teams and you might get one of the lower seeded teams first so you can move on deeper in the tournament.” ECB will now wait for the results of the remaining games Thursday to find out its seed for the 12U Championship Bracket. The Pirates finish pool play 0-3. Tags: Baseball, Triple Crown Baseball, US Club Nationals |
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