Minor All-Stars finish
By Sam Waller
Albany Little League saw one of its all-star teams advance in the 2023 Little League International Tournament as it hosted its final games of the year.
“The season wrapped up really well, and over 160 kids played ball,” Albany Little League organizer Paul Hamilton said. “We got new bathrooms and upgraded other facilities. I want to give a big shout-out to our sign sponsors because we can’t make budget if we don’t have people helping us with signage.”
On Monday, June 19, Albany’s Major All-Stars defeated Merkel 14-2 in five innings in an elimination game at the local complex.
The Majors were scheduled to play Abilene Northern on Tuesday, June 20, at the Wylie Complex in Abilene. Results will be reported next week.
Both Albany’s Majors and Minors teams won a game in the opening stages of the tournament. On Friday, June 16, the Minors defeated Cisco 23-4, while the Majors lost 14-1 to Jim Ned in games played at Albany. On Sunday, June 18, the Minors lost 14-10 to Abilene Dixie, then were eliminated with a 7-6 loss to Abilene Eastern on Monday.
The second round of the tournament was postponed because of thunderstorms in the area.
“That actually worked in our favor because we were able to host both teams one more time,” Hamilton said.
In Monday’s Majors game, four Albany pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts out of a possible 15 outs. Starter Blake Britting fanned six in 2.2 innings with relievers Patton Smith (three), Levi Murphy (four), and Matthew Key (one) combining for the rest.
Albany strung together four consecutive hits in a five-run second to take control.
Murphy went 3 for 3 with two doubles and scored three runs. Tank Johnson was 1 for 4 with four RBIs. Britting hit a home run in the first and finished with two RBIs. McCoy Vaughn and Smith both went 2 for 3 with an RBI.
In the Minors game, Eastern scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Starting pitcher Ryder Anderson allowed three runs on two hits over four innings, striking out five. He also went 2 for 3 at the plate.
Wyatt Brown had an RBI triple and Hudson Ceder singled in a run.
