STAFF REPORTS

They went down swinging.

Facing a big deficit late in Monday’s Junior League state-tournament game, the West Point all-stars scored four runs in the fifth inning, but it was Hobgood securing the 20-4 victory.

West Point lost both of its games in the six-team, double-elimination tournament that’s being held in West Point and will go through Thursday.

While it was a disappointing way to go out, coach Ernest Ward hopes it was a positive experience for each of the 12 players.

“It’s not every day that guys can say that they played in a state tournament,” Ward said. “My expectation is that they use this experience as a foundation and a building block as they transition to high-school ball.”

After losing to Elbert County 15-0 on Sunday, it looked like West Point could be headed for another shutout loss on Monday.

West Point showed some life in the fifth inning, though, with Mikey Posey delivering an inside-the-park home run with the bases loaded to drive in four runs.

“One of the principles that I was brought up on was to never give up,” Ward said. “No matter how bad it seems, no matter how tough it gets, you never give up because just when you think you can’t do a little more, you can. We didn’t win the game, but that ended on a high experience. The kids enjoyed that.”