EMERSON, Ga. – The Dulins Dodgers scored defeated Stix
Baseball Club 7-6 in the championship game of the 14u PG World Series. Clutch
hitting was the name of the game for the Dodgers, who rode that timely hitting
in both of their games on Friday.
The Dodgers were on the brink of elimination in the
semifinals, down 4-1 against Academy Select Baseball Club heading into the top
of the seventh inning. Parker White of the Dodgers led the inning off with a hit-by-pitch,
and after a pop-out, Lane Forsythe walked to put runners on first and second
with nobody out. That set the stage for Dodgers first baseman Blaze Jordan, who
sent a three-run home run, 385 feet to left field on an 0-2 count to tie the
game at 4-4. Ellis Yohn and Jordan would keep Academy Select off the board in
the bottom half, sending the game to extra innings.
“I took two big swings on the first two and I was pulling
off, and so I was like, ‘Alright, I’m going to stay on this next pitch,’ and he
just left a changeup over the plate and I got a hold of it, and I just hit it,”
Jordan said.
In the top of the eighth, the Dodgers had runners on first
and second with two outs for Forsythe, who walked again to bring up Jordan. The
6-foot, 215-pound Jordan rocketed a groundball up the middle, sneaking past the
dive of shortstop Payton Allen into centerfield, scoring two runs. Jordan would
finish the game 3-for-5 with five RBIs at the plate, and his team would win the
game 6-4.
“It’s a big team win,” said Dodgers coach Andy Forsythe. “You
know you’ve got to get guys on and you’ve got to have guys like Blaze come up
with big hits in timely situations and it’s all about situational hitting and you’ve
got to take what the game gives you, and we we’re able to just put something
together and put Blaze in the best situation that he could help our team.”
“Throughout the year, coming from behind, we’ve had a lot of
victories like that,” said coach Jeff Ince. “Probably more than half our wins
we’ve come from behind, so these kids never give up, they have true heart and
they stay after it.”
An exciting playoff run was the case for the Stix as well, defeating
the Banditos Scout Team 3-2 in the quarterfinals. The Stix were down 1-0 as the
game moved to the bottom of the sixth inning, but would push across two runs,
the first on a walk by Warren Rudman with the bases loaded, and the second on a
single by Chase Pendley. The Banditos would come back though, scoring one run
in the top of the seventh and were vying for a second that was cut down at the
plate by a strong throw by right fielder Carter Williams.
In the bottom of the seventh, with the game tied at 2-2,
Mason Shimkus led the inning off with a double to right field. A sacrifice bunt
by Jared Moore would move Shimkus to third with only one out, but the Banditos
would intentionally walk the next two batters to set up a force at any base.
Dylan Russo would counter the thinking though, singling to centerfield to send
his team to the semifinals. They would beat Team Beast 8-3 to punch their
ticket to the championship.
In the championship game, the Dodgers sent Luke Smith to the
mound, while the Stix countered with Hudson White. The game was quiet through
two innings, but Jordan started the run scoring in the third by hitting a 94.5
mph rocket to the third baseman that got through and plated two runs.
The Stix would score one in the bottom of the third,
chipping away at the lead, but the Dodgers would plate four in the top of the
sixth to take a commanding 7-1 lead. Although it looked like the game was
nearly over, the Stix responded with five runs in the bottom of the sixth to
shave the Dodgers’ lead to 7-6. Jeffrey Ince would come in to close the game
out, pitching a perfect seventh to seal the World Series victory for the
Dodgers.
“Well I tell you what, from us as a team, we’ve had to grind
it out all year it seems like, especially in this tournament, coming up with
some key hits in key situations,” coach Ince said. “When you play this type of
competition, it’s hard to come out and just run through everybody and think you’ll
get 10, 12 hits every game, so you’ve got to make every at-bat count and grind
out every at-bat.”
Smith pitched 5 1/3 innings, surrendering three runs (one
earned), while striking out three. He was able to put the Dodgers in a position
to win the game, which is all they could ask for.
“Luke grinded out,” Andy Forsythe said. “We were running a
little short on pitching towards the end, as everybody else is, and Luke gave
us all he had. He had his curveball working good and he just pounded the strike
zone.”
At the plate, Jordan continued his clutch hitting, finishing
the game 2-for-4 with four RBIs. The No. 2 player in the nation in the class of
2021 finished the tournament 12-for-22 with three doubles, three home runs, a
stolen base and 14 RBIs. He came up big on Friday, collecting nine RBIs in
those two games alone, earning him MVP honors for the tournament.
“I’m speechless, because for this team to go this far, it’s
just all a team effort,” Jordan said. “I couldn’t have done it without any of
these guys, they got on base for me, they had my back through everything, so I
can’t do it without these guys.”
On the pitching side, Lane Forsythe took home MV-Pitcher
honors after throwing a five-inning, perfect game in relief in the
quarterfinals against U.S. Elite. The righty finished the tournament having
allowed no runs over seven innings of work.
“I was just trying to pound the strike zone and let my
defense work and let them get themselves out,” Lane Forsythe said.
Although Lane Forsythe and Jordan were sad that the season
was over, both were happy to be able to finish the season on a high note,
having been together for a few years now. Andy Forsythe was also proud of his
team for finishing out on top, knowing that they have put in the work and
grinded through this tournament.
“It’s a big tournament,” Andy Forsythe said. “Perfect Game
does a good job putting this on and getting the top 25 teams from across the
country, and we’re just lucky to be here at the end and come out with the win.
[I’m] proud of the boys and the parents for the dedication. It’s been a good
team victory and a good team tournament.”
2017 14u PG World Series runner-up: Stix Baseball Club
2017 14u PG World Series MVP: Blaze Jordan
2017 14u PG World Series MV-Pitcher: Lane Forsythe
