On Saturday, July 16, the Washington C.H. 11-year-olds punched their ticket to the State Little League tournament with a 19-2 win over Eaton.
There were only two 11-year-old teams in the District Eight Little League tournament, so the format was set as a best two-out-of-three series.
Washington beat Eaton on Friday, 3-2.
Saturday’s game was scoreless through two innings, but Washington jumped on Eaton for all the runs they would need, scoring six times in the top of the third inning.
A.J. Dallmayer was the starting and winning pitcher for Washington.
He pitched 2.2 innings with one hit and two runs. He walked five, struck out seven and hit one batter.
Cole Little pitched 1.1 innings with one hit and two strikeouts.
Coleden May pitched the fifth inning with one hit and two strikeouts.
In the top of the first for Washington, A.J. Dallmayer walked and Drew Guthrie was hit by a pitch, but those runners were stranded.
Eaton had a single, but did not score in the bottom of the first.
In the top of the second, Cody Brown walked and went to second on a wild pitch. He was thrown out trying to steal third base.
Eaton had one walk in the bottom of the second, but that runner was left on base.
The third inning saw a breakthrough on the scoreboard, for both teams.
First, Washington scored six times in the top of the third.
Wesley May walked and Tate Landrum was sent in as a pinch-runner.
He advanced to second on a wild pitch.
With one out recorded, Tyler Tackage singled, scoring Landrum with the game’s first run.
Dallmayer singled and an error on the play allowed Tackage to score.
With Guthrie at the plate, a wild pitch plated Dallmayer to make it 3-0.
Guthrie walked and stole second.
Dillon Hyer reached on an error.
With Brown at the plate, a passed ball scored Guthrie.
Brown walked and stole second.
Noah Hicks had an infield single that scored Hyer. Brown scored on an error on the play to make it 6-0.
Eaton scored what proved to be its only two runs of the game in the bottom of the third.
A lead-off walk was followed by a pair of strikeouts.
The next batter was hit by a pitch and a passed ball put runners at second and third.
A walk loaded the bases and another walk forced in a run.
Another walk made it 6-2.
At this juncture, Dallmayer was lifted, replaced by Cole Little.
The first batter Little faced hit a soft liner, foul, off first base. Guthrie made a nice diving catch to close that inning.
The fourth inning saw Washington score four times.
Jonah Waters walked and Tackage singled, moving Waters to third.
Tackage stole second and Dallmayer grounded out, scoring Waters to make it 7-2.
With Guthrie at the plate, a wild pitch scored Tackage for an 8-2 tally.
Guthrie walked and Brown was sent in as a pinch-runner.
Hyer reached on an error and Tanner Lemaster walked to load the bases.
Landrum had an infield hit that scored Brown.
Kylan Howard walked, forcing in Hyer to make it 10-2.
Eaton had singles by Quenton Peach and Ty Crammer and Riley Stevenson reached on an error, but they left the bases loaded without scoring.
Washington scored nine runs in the fifth, setting up the 10-run mercy rule.
Tackage led off with a walk and moved to second on a passed ball.
Dallmayer walked and a passed ball moved Tackage to third.
Dallmayer then stole second, putting two runners in scoring position.
Guthrie followed with a two-run single to make it 12-2.
Hyer reached on an error and Lemaster singled in Guthrie.
Lemaster stole second and with one out, Landrum walked to load the bases.
Howard worked his second bases-loaded walk of the game, scoring Hyer to make it 14-2.
Lemaster scored on a wild pitch and Waters doubled, scoring Landrum and Howard to make it 17-2.
Tackage walked and after the second out was recorded, Guthrie reached on an error to load the bases.
Hyer walked, scoring Waters and Lemaster walked, forcing home Tackage to make it 19-2.
Eaton picked up its third hit of the game, an infield single, in the bottom of the fifth, but they did not score, ending the game with the final tally, 19-2.
“I’m proud of these kids,” manager Jason Waters said.
The 11-year-olds have a lofty goal; to win the State, according to Waters.
“This is the first step,” Waters said. “Our ultimate goal is to win the State. We want to be legendary; to do what no other team from Washington Court House has done.
“The highest we’ve ever had is a second place at State,” Waters said. “That was almost 50 years ago.
“We have a great group of kids and we have the potential to achieve (our goal),” Waters said. “I can’t say enough about how proud I am of these boys.”
The 11-year-olds will play in the State tournament at Boardman Sunday, July 24, beginning at 5 p.m.
“I’d like to start by thanking John Meriweather,” Waters said. “He runs such a class organization here at the Little League and he has for 41 years. We’ll miss him and his influence. This program has thrived over the years with all that he’s done. He’s been very selfless with his time and we can’t thank him enough.
“I want to thank my coaches,” Waters said. “I want to thank coach Blanton Brown for the opportunity to coach this team. I want to thank Brad Guthrie and Todd Tackage, my scorekeeper. Todd’s helped me get organized and decide on a plan of attack.”
Waters spoke about the team from Eaton.
“They battled with us,” Waters said. “They gave us a great game yesterday (a 3-2 win by Washington on Friday). Their coach told me this is the first time they’ve had this kind of experience. He said he was really proud of how they competed against us. I wish them luck in the future.
“I want to thank my parents from the bottom of my heart,” Waters said. “They’ve been here, taking their kids to practices the last two weeks, putting up with a crazy practice schedule. They’ve all been very supportive. It’s hard when an all-star team comes together and kids are used to playing an entire game. The kids have understood their roles and come together as a team to win this District championship and ultimately to make some noise at the State level.”
Offensively for Washington C.H.: Jonah Waters, 1-4, 1 bb, 1 2b, 2 rbi, 2 runs; Tyler Tackage, 2-3, 1 rbi, 2 bb, 4 runs; A.J. Dallmayer, 1-3, 2 bb, 1 sb, 1 rbi, 2 runs; Drew Guthrie, 1-2, hbp, 2 bb, roe, 2 rbi, 2 runs; Dillon Hyer, 0-4, 3 roe, 1 rbi, 1 bb, 3 runs; Tanner Lemaster, 1-3, 2 bb, 2 rbi, 1 run; Cody Brown, 0-1, 2 bb, 1 sb, 2 runs; Noah Hicks, 1-2, 1 rbi; Wesley May, 0-1, 1 bb; Cole Little, 0-2; Tate Landrum, 1-1, 1 rbi, 1 bb, 2 runs; Kylan Howard, 0-0, 2 bb, 1 rbi, 1 run.
RHE
W 006 49x — 19 8 1
E 002 00x — 2 3 6
