Brookwood wins tournament title

Published 11:37 pm Sunday, March 4, 2018

Brookwood rallied from a 5-1 deficit to beat Pace (Fla.) 7-5 on Saturday in the championship game of the LaGrange Toyota Invitational.

Pace seemed to be in control after taking a 5-1 lead through four innings, but Brookwood tied it with four runs in the fifth inning before taking the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Pace was unable to answer in the bottom of the seventh, and Brookwood walked away with the tournament championship with a 4-0 record.

Will Banfield, Brookwood’s standout catcher, put his team ahead with a two-run single in the sixth inning.

Pace got a man on in the top of the seventh, but Brookwood turned a double play to end it.

In Saturday’s third-place game, Buford scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth to get within two, but Johns Creek answered with four runs in the top of the seventh on the way to a 12-7 victory.

In the fifth-place game, Florence (Ala.) beat The First Academy (Fla.) 10-9 in a slug-fest.

Florence took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, and it held First Academy scoreless over the final two innings.

Venice (Fla.) beat LaGrange 9-2 in the seventh-place game.

OF NOTE: For much more on Saturday’s championship game and a tournament recap, see Tuesday’s sports section.