YOUTH BASEBALL
Eastdale Little League falls to Mississippi in regional play
Eastdale was held to one hit in a 4-0 loss but faces Arkansas in an elimination game Friday.
Eastdale Little League had no answers for the mound mastery of Clinton, Mississippi, hurler Brently Ashley.
Ashley allowed one hit while striking out 12 over 5 1/3 innings, and Mississippi broke open a pitcher鈥檚 duel with a two-run fourth en route to a 4-0 victory over Eastdale in a Southwest Regional game of the Majors division on Thursday afternoon in Waco, Texas.
Eastdale will face Junior Deputy Little League from Little Rock, Arkansas, in an elimination game on Friday at 3 p.m.
鈥淗e threw really well,鈥� Eastdale manager Cory Harris said of Ashley. 鈥淗e was throwing some good speed and stuff in there. He threw his 85 pitches, 54 or more strikes鈥ot very many off-speed pitches, and the boys just weren't timed up properly.鈥�
Eastdale鈥檚 Easton Gee went toe-to-toe with Ashley for three innings. He worked around a pair of hits in the opening frame and then struck out seven consecutive batters from the second through the beginning of the fourth inning. However, Mississippi was able to scratch out three hits in the fourth 鈥� including an RBI double from Ashley 鈥� to take a 2-0 lead.
鈥淲e just felt a shift because they scored a little bit, and the boys seemed to kind of get down on themselves a little bit because they just weren't timing up the pitches right,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淲e just tried to keep them focused and geared on the fact that we've been in these positions before, and a 2-0 game is not really much of anything in a game of baseball.鈥�
The rally never arrived for Eastdale. Dashel Kreutzer had the team鈥檚 lone hit, a single in the bottom of the first inning. Otherwise, Eastdale had three other baserunners due to a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch but was unable to mount a serious scoring threat. Meanwhile, Mississippi added one run apiece in the five and sixth to provide the final margin.
While the opening game didn鈥檛 go as planned, Eastdale has been able to enjoy the overall experience thus far. The team arrived on Tuesday and took part in the traditional opening ceremonies on Wednesday, which included introductions and participating in the Challenger Game with special-needs children. There was also an opportunity to bond with all the teams at Main Event later that day.
鈥淭his is a whole different environment for them,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淭hey've had a great time.鈥�
Just like the state tournament when it lost its opening game, Eastdale will have to dig itself out of an early hole in order to continue playing meaningful baseball.
鈥淭hey're upset 鈥� and they should be. They didn't come all this way just to lose,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淏ut they're motivated. We've tasted this before, and I know that they're not done yet.鈥�
