WRALL stages comeback to win District 5 baseball tournament

Depth of pitching served Warner Robins American Little League well, but not so much the opposition from Vine Ingle Monday when the two programs met for the Georgia District 5 championship in baseball. WRALL continued a long decade of success by coming from behind and winning the title game 11-6 at the Flint Energies Complex.

Vine Ingle, hitting three home runs early, led by as many as four runs, 5-1. Then Gage Harrelson and Colby Dent combined to hold the Macon club to just one more run, that coming in the third inning.

The Vine Ingle starter pitched into the fifth inning when he reached the limit number of pitches – 85 – and had to be removed. Vine Ingle clutched to a slim lead of 6-5, but the Warner Robins American offense feasted on the relief corps, scoring six unanswered to claim victory.

WRALL’s team, which was one of two from the local program in the 11-12 district tournament, defeated Vine Ingle 5-3 on Saturday. Vine Ingle then eliminated Dudley Little League on Sunday to set up Monday’s rematch.

Momentum belonged to Vine Ingle in the first two innings with one home run to start the game and two two-run shots in the second.

Warner Robins American batted as the visiting team on the scoreboard and went down quietly in the first inning. Trailing 1-0 in the top of the second, they got a leadoff first pitch base hit from Dent and – with two runners on base – Jarrett Pierce’s drive that tipped off an outfielder’s glove. Dent scored tying the game 1-1.

WRALL looked for more as Chase Waters singled to load the bases with nobody out. Vine Ingle recovered to earned a called third strike and a double play starting from the outfield.

After surviving the scare of the top half, Vine Ingle’s offense produced the two two-run home runs for the 5-1 advantage. That’s when Harrelson entered the game and struck out his first batter to end the inning.

In the third, pinch-hitter Benjamin Kile wowed the Flint Energies crowd belting a solo home run that landed in the nearby soccer fields. That was the only run for Warner Robins that inning despite two infield singles coming from Hunter Dryden and Carter King.

Vine Ingle got that one run back in its half of the third for 6-2, but everything went WRALL’s way for the latter three innings.

It started in the fourth, Waters leading off with a base hit. Justin McCarty then singled with one out, and with two down one run touched home from a wild pitch. In perhaps the one at-bat that spelled trouble for Vine Ingle, Tanner Knowles fouled off a series of pitches to build up that number. It ended in a base on balls and bases loaded situation for Dent.

Dent hit the ball up the middle, and Vine Ingle’s infield could not find any kind of play. Two runs scored for Warner Robins American cutting the margin down to one run, 6-5.

Dent took to the mound in the bottom of the fourth with two runners in scoring position and one out. He retired the side with help from his shortstop Trent Ringer, who fired home a force play in plenty of time for the second out.

With one out in the top of the fifth, Vine Ingle made its required pitching change, and Waters greeted the new hurler with a first-pitch single. With two outs, the lineup turned back to the top with Christian Davis, who walked to bring up Harrelson. The left-handed batter pulled a single to right field on the ground tying the game 6-6.

Two wild pitches later, Warner Robins was leading 8-6. It wasn’t over as Knowles doubled to the right-center gap and Dent’s base hit provided two more RBI.

Dent, over his last two innings, allowed two baserunners but no hits while striking out three.

WRALL now advances to the Georgia Little League championship tournament which starts in mid-July and is hosted by Peachtree City Little League. The state winner will play at the Southeastern Regional Little League stadium in Warner Robins in early August.

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