Bartlett Blast Represents in Kentucky!
The 13U Bartlett Blast traveled to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, for the Baseball Nationals tournament from July 8 to July 14. The tournament was attended by 24 13U teams from across the country and Canada.
Pool play began for Bartlett on Sunday, July 10th against Jackson Gold from Massillon, OH. After jumping out to a 4-0 first inning lead, Bartlett added 4 more runs in the following innings to win 8-0. Bartlett pitchers threw a combined no-hitter.
On Monday, July 11th, Bartlett began two games of pool play against the Essex Yellow Jackets from Ontario, Canada. Bartlett batters put up 18 runs on 16 hits, 3 doubles, 1 triple and a homerun. The game was shortened due to mercy rule and Bartlett threw their second no-hitter of the tournament.
The second game of the day featured a match-up against the Orion Chargers from Lake Orion, Michigan. The Chargers had just won the USSSA Michigan state championship. After opening up a 2-0 lead in the second inning, the Chargers tied the game in the third. Bartlett responded with 3 runs of their own in the top of the fourth and held on to win 6-3.
During the final pool play games on Tuesday, July 12th, the Blast faced off against the Novi Nitro and the PTG Warriors from Michigan. After being held scoreless the first two innings against the Nitro, Bartlett put 8 runs on the board in the third and pulled away with 16 runs on 11 hits to win the game 16-3. Bartlett produced 8 hits including a homerun against the PTG Warriors to win the final pool play contest 8-0. Bartlett finished pool play with the 2nd seed out of 24 teams.
Bracket play began on Wednesday, July 13th against the Midwest Sliders from Barrington, IL. The sliders jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but Bartlett responded in the bottom of the first with 3 runs of their own. Bartlett scored 2 more runs in the third and held on for a 5-2 win.
The quarterfinal game featured another match-up against the Orion Chargers. After holding the Chargers scoreless in the first, Bartlett scored 3 runs in their half of the first and never looked back, finishing the game with 10 runs on 16 hits and a final score of 10-2 and advancing to the semi-finals.
The semi-final game was against the Hilliard Colts from Hilliard, OH who had a 6-1 record coming into the game. After falling down 1-0 in the game, Bartlett quickly responded with 3 runs of their own. After adding 5 more runs in the third and 2 in the fourth, Bartlett walked away with the victory 10-1, setting the stage for the Championship game.
In the Championship game against the Omaha Royals a select team made up of players from multiple towns, Bartlett responded to a 1-0 deficit with a solo homerun to tie the game at 1-1. Going into the seventh inning, the game was still tied at 1-1. Omaha was able to muster 2 runs in the top of the seventh and held on to win 3-1.
Bartlett finished the tournament with an 8-1 record, scored 82 runs versus 14 allowed, hit 6 homeruns, and threw 2 no-hitters.