Decatur club claims state tournament title
Decatur Ballstars 9U used a 2-1 win over Noblesville Millers 9U Gold to win their Indiana USSSA World Series Tournament and cap off a 5-0 weekend.
The Ballstars opened the tournament with a 5-4 win over Indiana Nitro Gold 9U on Thursday at Championship Park in Kokomo.
Following a first inning that saw both teams register a run, Indiana tacked on two more in the top of the second to take a 3-1 lead.
They stretched the advantage to 4-1 with another score in the third inning.
The score went unchanged until the bottom of the fifth inning when, while down to their last at-bats, the Ballstars stormed back, winning the game with a four-run inning.
The scene shifted to the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield on Friday afternoon.
While the Ballstars avoided needing late drama to collect their second win of the tournament, their resilience was tested early by Indiana Falcons 9U-Neukam.
The Falcons scoring seven runs in the top of the first inning left the Ballstars facing a steep climb to get back in the game.
That climb, however, was nearly completed only a half-inning later. A trio of singles resulted in five runs crossing home plate to make it a two-run game after an eventful opening inning.
Decatur settled in defensively, stymying the offense of the Falcons and holding them scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
Two Ballstar runs tied the game in the bottom of the second.
The torrid offensive pace the Ballstars were on at that juncture continued into the third inning. They scored five runs in the session to take their first lead of the game, 12-7.
While one player reached base on an error for the Falcons in the fourth, the Ballstars quickly worked through the inning to lock up a 12-7 win.
7-0 was the score in the Decatur triumph over Indiana Razorbacks 9U.
The Ballstars carried their dominant defense over from the previous game. They held the Razorbacks to just one hit on Saturday.
Two runs in the first gave Decatur the early lead.
An inning later, three more runs gave the Ballstars control of the game.
The only hit of the match for the Razorbacks came in the bottom of the second, but the impact of that base hit was nullified with a pickoff at first base to end the inning.
Two runs scoring on a passed ball in the fourth inning served as the exclamation point for the Ballstars.
The Ballstars opened play on Sunday with another matchup versus the Razorbacks. Though the offensive fortunes were far better for the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Ballstars still enjoyed a comfortable 8-2 win.
A five-run third inning allowed Decatur to enjoy a 6-0 lead until the late innings.
In the top of the fourth, the Razorbacks, who were limited to only three hits on Sunday, posted a pair of runs to make it a four-run game.
Decatur responded by getting one of those runs back in the bottom of the fourth. They reclaimed the other run an inning later.
The Ballstars moved a step closer to the title by keeping the Razorback bats quiet in the sixth.
Once again, a stubborn defensive effort was key for the Ballstars in the final game versus the Millers.
After falling behind by one in the second inning, the Braves posted two runs in the fourth to take the lead.
Prior to that, Noblesville threatened to add to the lead, putting two runners in scoring position with one out in the third. A pair of strikeouts, though, allowed the Ballstars to get out of the inning without any damage being done.
They were particularly locked in during innings four, five and six.
The Ballstars retired the Millers in each of those three innings to preserve their 2-1 win.*