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The Troup County Parks and Rec 10U all-star national team made its presence known at the Dixie Youth Tournament in Madison over the weekend, finishing second in the state.

 

GAME ONE: 

TROUP COUNTY – 15

COLUMBIA COUNTY – 10 

 

The action started for Nationals on Thursday as the team took part in a doubleheader. The Nationals bats were cracking in the first game as they routed the Columbia County all-stars 15-10. Asher Humphries led the way in game one offensively by going 2-for-3 with three RBIs. He was not alone in the multi-hit column for the Nationals in game one as Andrew Tanner was able to go 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. 

The Nationals were able to jump out to a big lead early, 11-0 after two innings, and never looked back despite surrendering 10 runs in the game. 

 

GAME TWO:

DUBLIN-LAURENS – 7

TROUP COUNTY – 6

 

With the first game in the bag, the Nationals took on Dublin-Laurens County in game two, which proved to be a riveting encounter that saw a late Troup rally fall just short in a 7-6 loss. The Nationals were able to advance the tying run to second base in the bottom of the sixth but could not deliver the decisive hit. 

Game two was full of momentum swings with Dublin-Laurens striking first with three runs in the top of the second. 

Hudson Harrill delivered a single to drive in two runs in the bottom of the second to get the Nationals on the board. He also set the team up with runners on the corners, but they could not further capitalize on an advantageous situation and tie the game or take the lead. 

Dublin-Laurens was able to extend its lead with a run in the top of the third and another in the top of the fourth. Troup once again battled back and this time the Nationals were able to tie the game at five runs. A fielder’s choice, a sacrifice fly and Mason Ward scoring on a wild pitch saw the game tied. 

Dublin-Laruens quickly retook the lead with a run in the top of the fifth before adding an additional run in the top of the sixth which proved to be the deciding factor. 

The offense was not quite as potent in game two but Grady Kelton, Tanner, Chambers Glisson, and Harrill all had a hit apiece in the game.

 

GAME THREE:

TROUP COUNTY – 18

WASHINGTON COUNTY – 9

 

After losing their last game in heartbreaking fashion, the Nationals were able to rally on Friday and stave off elimination by routing Washington County 18-9 in dominant fashion.

The game was in the balance early before the Nationals broke it open late. Troup took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second only for Washington to come storming back with three runs in the bottom of the inning to level the game. It would not take Troup long before it retook the lead with four runs in the top of the third. The Nationals never looked back from there, scoring five runs in the fifth and six in the sixth inning of play. After the big third inning for the Nationals, the closest the game would get would be three runs when Washington County scored a run in the bottom of the fourth.

Hatcher Ricks was a force of nature in this game, totaling five RBIs while going 3-for-4 from the plate. He was not the only Nationals player that caused some real damage from the plate in this game as Sammir Pope, Tanner and Kelton all had two hits each while Glisson, Ward, Reid Carter, Chipper Willis and Humphries all had a hit apiece as the entire offense was rolling for Troup in this game. 

Tanner got the start on the mound for Troup and pitched five strong innings before Kelton came in to relieve him for the final inning. 

 

GAME FOUR: 

TROUP COUNTY – 16

DUBLIN-LAURENS – 11

 

After falling to Dublin-Laurens in narrow fashion the day prior, the Troup Nationals were raring to go for an opportunity to get revenge and the game did not disappoint as it went all the way until the ninth inning before Troup could find the winning run. 

The Nationals had to dig deep after they went behind 6-0 after two innings. The team chipped away at the deficit with four runs over the next two innings before capturing a narrow 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. It looked like Troup had the game in the bag as the team added two additional runs in the top of the sixth and forced Dublin-Laurens into its last three outs, down three runs. Unfortunately for the Nationals, Dublin-Laurens rallied and tied the game and even had the winning run on third base when Glisson was able to get out of a jam on the mound and send the game into extra innings. 

Once again, it looked like the Nationals had snatched momentum when they scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but once again they were answered blow-for-blow by Dublin-Laurens, who scored two runs in the seventh and got the winning run on third base with one out, but once again the Nationals were able to work their way out of a jam with Ricks on the mound for this miraculous escape. 

The eighth inning was a stalemate, but Troup finally was able to bust the game open with five runs in the top of the ninth that pushed them over the top and on the way to the championship series.  

Pope was the main man on offense for Troup in this game, driving in five runs while going 3-for-5 from the plate. Kelton also had a big game from the plate, going 2-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Glisson and Ricks both had two hits while Humphries, Willis, Tanner, Abel Morgan and Brody Hammock all had a hit apiece to round out the offense for Troup

 

GAME FIVE:

PERRY – 8

TROUP COUNTY – 2

 

After their heroics on Friday night to make the championship series, the Troup Nationals had a chance to run with the best on Saturday. The Nationals advanced from the “losers bracket” and were forced to beat Perry in two straight games to claim the spot as state champions, but the team came up short in game one, falling 8-2.

Despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead to start the first inning, the Nationals ran out of gas down the stretch as their scorching hot offense could not sustain itself for a fifth straight game. 

Perry cut the early Troup lead in half with a run in the bottom of the second before taking the lead in the third with an additional two runs. Perry never looked back from there, scoring a run in the fourth before taking a commanding lead with four more runs in the fifth. 

Kelton, Tanner, Ricks and Ward all had a hit each for the Nationals in the game.

It was not the ending Troup was looking for, but the Nationals gave it everything they had as they finished state runner-up for 10U.