South County falls in first game of TOC
Wendy Alexander/The Madera Tribune South County Colts Jr. pitcher Jaden Hernandez throws the ball to the plate during Saturday’s Tournament of Champions loss to Chowchilla champion, the Athletics.
The South County Colts Jr., the AAA Madera American Little League champions, allowed five runs in the first two innings and couldn’t come back in a 14-1 loss in the first game of the District 10 Tournament of Champions.
The Athletics, champions of the Chowchilla Little League, scored five runs in the first inning with the first six batters reaching base without an out recorded Saturday afternoon.
The Athletics added five more runs in the second for a 10-0 lead. South County recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth before the Athletics scored four more times in the fourth inning to invoke the 10-run mercy rule.
The Colts couldn’t match the Athletics’ firepower. While the Athletics banged out eight hits in the first two innings, the Colts didn’t have one the entire game.
Trailing 10-0, the Colts had a chance to make a dent in the second inning. With one out, Benton Ellington drew a walk, but was thrown out trying to steal second.
Nathaniel Villanueva drew a walk and Sammy Molina was hit by a pitch, but the next batter struck out to end the inning.
South County put its only run on the board in the bottom of the fourth inning. Alonzo Lopez led off by getting hit by a pitch. He stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on another wild pitch.
On the other side of the bracket, Madera National Little League AAA champion Pro T’s suffered an opening game loss. They battled until the end at Selma, but lost 12-10 on Saturday.
