Published: July 17, 2008 02:05 am            

DISTRICT TOURNAMENT ROUNDUP: Forward march

Athens Aggies move step closer to title game with 15-11 win over Malakoff A’s

The Athens Aggies are one step closer to a berth in the Texas Teen-Age Baseball District 8 Senior Midget title game.

The Aggies won top billing in a game with plenty of offense, outlasting the Malakoff A’s at Coleman Park Wednesday night, 15-11.

With the win, the Aggies move on for a meeting with the Mildred Yankees Thursday at 8:30 p.m on Field 1. A win would put the Aggies, undefeated in the tournament, in the district title game Friday evening.

“I thought our starting pitching, and our pitching overall, was really good,” Aggies head coach John Mikkelsen said. “Our whole team hit the ball well, and our kids fielded the ball good.”

Manuel Hernandez picked up the win for the Aggies and helped himself out with a pair of two-run hits.

Micah Van Alstine took the loss for the A’s, who move on to face the Kemp Legends Thursday at 6 p.m. on Field 1.

The Aggies got on the board first on the legs of a Jeremy Bateman triple to start the game. Bateman scored on Tyler Johnson’s groundout, and Brandon Boyd — who singled during the next at-bat — came in on Ty Shriver’s groundout to make it 2-0.

The A’s struck back with two runs in the bottom of the inning when the speedy Hunter Snow reached on an infield single and eventually scored on a wild pitch. Matthew Carter tied the game at 2-2 on Trevor Martin’s fielder’s choice.

As Hernandez quieted the A’s bats over the next two innings, the Aggies kept scoring. The Aggies tacked on three more runs over the next two innings to take a 5-2 lead.

Then came the offense, and there was plenty of it. In the fourth and fifth innings, the Aggies and A’s combined to send 40 hitters to the plate.

The Aggies’ Dominic Powell set the tone for the inning by walking, taking second base when the defense didn’t keep an eye on him on the basepaths and scoring on an error all on the same play.

Before the inning was over, six Aggies would score — including three on Boyd’s three-run double and one on an RBI single by Johnson. Boyd reached base in all four at-bats, gathering three hits. Johnson also had three hits.

Not to be outdone, the A’s rallied for six runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Mason Coker singled and knocked in two runs in the inning and Carter also had an RBI.

Mason Mikkelsen — who earlier in the game threw out a runner at the plate from left field — struck out two in the inning, including the final batter looking to close out the game.

Jake Woolverton reached base in all four of his at-bats, taking four walks and scoring a pair of runs. Snow had two hits, as well.

Athens Giants take third, Marlins eye GS

The Athens Giants dropped a 6-2 decision to the Grand Saline Indians Wednesday night at Coleman Park.

The loss resulted in a third-place finish for the Giants in the District 7 Freshman Tournament.

Grand Saline’s win sets up a rematch for the Indians against the Athens Marlins, who defeated them earlier this week.

The Marlins and the Indians will play at 6 p.m. on Field 4 at Coleman Park. A win will hand the Marlins a district championship and a berth to the state tournament.

        

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