Heartbreaker
Published 1:00 am Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Atmore’s 13U Pepsi All-Star team took things all the way down to the wire over the weekend during the district tournament in Brewton, forcing a second game against Brewton Monday night for the championship.
Atmore fell prey to a talented Brewton team in a 6-4 loss Saturday to begin tournament play, but bounced back to demolish Monroeville in an 11-0 routing.
Monday night Atmore fought hard to pull of a 9-3 victory over Brewton, forcing a second game in order to determine a district champ.
The opening game began well for Atmore and they would use the momentum to force the second meeting.
Kainoa Gumapac got Atmore on the board first in the first inning, and the All-Stars’ defense held strong, keeping Brewton away from home plate.
In third inning action, Gumapac would lead the pack again, with a second score on the night, followed by runs from Nytorious Cooler, Gaetyn Thames and Ryan Johnson to give Atmore a 5-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.
Both defenses threw up a wall in the fourth, but Atmore would find another score in the fifth inning off a second run from Johnson.
Brewton, however, mounted a comeback effort in the fifth, getting on the board three times before Atmore would force them back out of the dugout.
A third run from Gumapac and a second score from both Cooler and Thames solidified the win for Atmore, forcing a rematch in the late, 7:30 game for all the marbles.
Despite a strong early showing, Brewton rallied in the second outing, shutting out the Atmore All-Stars 8-0 and winning the title of district champions for the third straight year. Brewton and Atmore will move on to the state tournament this weekend in Andalusia.