14U Vikings Summer Slugfest Recap

The Druid Hills Vikings kicked off the summer tournament season as the runners-up in the 4th annual Summer Slugfest in Austell.
The Vikings began pool play with an 8-8 tie against the West Cobb Titans. The team showed the effects of having only 1 practice as they committed 3 errors in the top of the 1st inning to spot the Titans 5 runs. But the Vikings never gave up and scratched away at the Titans lead little by little. Down 8-6 in the 5th inning, the Vikings had their chances but left the inning with the bases loaded. In the 6th and final inning, with the Vikings down 2 runs, Sam Brannen led off with a triple. Sam score on a big hit by Austin Summers. After moving Austin over to third, Nick Creviston came up with a big 2 out RBI single scoring to tie the game. After moving over to 3rd, Nick was stranded there to end the game. The Vikings were led by effective relief pitching by Patrick Stone who pitched 4 scoreless innings.
Next up for the Vikings were the West Cobb Cobras. The Vikings again showed uncharacteristic defensive errors that led to 5 unearned runs by the Cobras in the 7-9 loss. The team carried a 6-2 lead into the fifth but couldn’t hold the Cobras.
The Vikings entered bracket play as the #5 seed with a 0-1-1 record. In the first round, the Vikings took what they had learned about the Cobras in their previous game and put it to good use. Travis Baars pitched 4 strong innings to keep the Cobras off balance with a great mix of pitches. Patrick Stone came on in relief and held the Cobras at bay and the Vikings came away with a 7-4 victory.

The Vikings advanced to face the undefeated and #1 seeded Winston All-stars from Villa Rica. The team was led by Adam Hall who pitched a complete game to get the 6-5 victory for the Vikings. In the bottom of the 6th and final inning the Vikings were up 6-4 but the Winston team got 2 on with nobody out. After moving the runners to 2nd an 3rd on a sacrifice, the next batter hit a long fly ball to center that was caught by Jack Thomas. The runner from 3rd tagged up and scored just beating Jack’s throw. But an alert play by catcher Patrick Stone recorded the final out as the runner from second tried to advance on Jack’s throw and was thrown out at 3rd by Patrick with Callan Connolly applying the tag.
After beating Winston, the Vikings had to go right back on the field for the championship game to face the Titans. The Vikings looked tired but were playing tough defense behind the strong pitching of Sam Brannen and held a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 6th inning with time running out. With 2 on and no outs, the Titans hit a line drive to left. Andrew Doetsch fielded the ball and came up firing to get the runner out at the plate as he tried to score from 2nd. With runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out, the Titans clean-up hitter hit a scorching ground that took a bad hop and hit shortstop Patrick Stone in the mouth, careening into center field, and allowing the 2 Titan base runners to score and win the game. Hats off to the Titans who showed great sportsmanship in stopping their celebration and taking a knee until they were sure that Patrick was not severely injured.
Congratulations to the Vikings for their great start to the season.

14U Vikings Dominate at Shaw Park
The Vikings came alive and crushed the competition by a combined score of 62-13 to complete a 5 game sweep through the tournament and capture the championship.
The tournament began with a tough draw; facing the NYO Raptors after playing a double header the day before to finish out the previous tournament. But the team proved up to the task. The Vikings scored 6 runs in the first inning and held on behind the strong pitching of Jack Thomas who went 6 2/3 innings for the 6-3 victory. Kenny Ajello came on in relief and used 4 pitches to record the last out with the potential tying run at the plate.
Next up for the Vikings were the Powder Springs Patriots. The pitching combination of Rob Cosby, Nick Creviston, and Callan Connolly, held the Patriots to 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits. The offense recorded 5 runs in the first inning including 2 triples, one each by Jack Thomas and Chad Sitten. The defensive play of the game came in the 2nd inning. With the Patriots down 5-2 with 2 on and 2 outs, the Patriots batter hit a long fly ball that left fielder Connor Heyburn ran down and made an over the shoulder catch to put down the rally. The Vikings added 1 run in the 5th and 3 runs in the 6th to close the door on the Patriots for a 9-2 win.

Despite having a 2-0 record and only allowing 5 runs in pool play, the Vikings were the only the #3 seed for the bracket rounds. This meant the team had to face the #6 seed Sandy Plains Cougars whose 14U teams had won this tournament each of the past 2 years. But the Vikings proved up to the task as all phases of the game came together for a 16-1 victory. The pitching of Adam Hall and Andrew Doetsch kept the Cougars caged by allowing only 1 hit over 4 innings while the bats exploded for 16 runs. The offense was paced by Jack Thomas who went 4-4 with 4 runs scored and 4 RBIs, and Chad Sitten who went 3-4 with 2 doubles, a triple, and 3 RBIs.
The undefeated and #2 seed Acworth Warriors were next for the Vikings in the semi-finals. Sam Brannen took the mound for the Vikings and used an effective mix of pitches to keep the Warriors hitters off balance while allowing only 3 hits and 1 run. The defense was also stout, highlighted by a diving stop at 2nd base by Jack Thomas. Again, the Vikings bats were on fire as the team sailed to a 15-1 win to move into the championship game.
The Vikings faced the NYO Raptors in the championship game in a rematch of the first pool game. As Jack had held the Raptors in the first game, he took the hill to start the championship game. The team took a 2-0 lead in the first but the tough NYO team came back to take a 3-2 lead in the top half of the second. The Vikings fired back, though, scoring 4 in the bottom half of the inning, all with 2 outs. Jack’s pitching combined with a stingy defense held the Raptors for the next 2 innings while the offense poured on the hits scoring 4 in the 3rd and 3 in the 4th to take a 13-3 lead into the 5th. Patrick Stone came in on relief of Jack and the offense kept up its torrid pace to seal the 16-6 victory. .
Congratulations to all of the Vikings for their over powering performance to bring home the championship.


14U Vikings Play Tough But Fall Short
at the Hobgood Showdown
The Vikings rolled into Hobgood looking to continue their hot streak after sweeping the competition at the Larry Hutson Tournament. Unfortunately for the Vikings, they drew games on the first 2 nights of the tournament after playing the previous 3 nights in a row. However, the young men toughened up and performed well.
First up for the Vikings was the Powder Springs Patriots. Kenny Ajello started for the Vikings and pitched 3 1/3 innings while holding the Patriots to 2 runs. In the 4th inning with runners on 1st and 3rd and 1 out, Travis Baars came on in relief of Kenny. On his second pitch, the batter popped the ball in foul territory. Catcher Adam Hall made a diving catch and doubled up the runner on 3rd to end the Patriots threat. Travis needed only 12 pitches to shut them down over his 1 2/3 innings of relief to help the team to a 10-2 victory. Offensively, the Vikings had 5 players with 2 hits each; Callan Connolly, Chad Sitten, Sam Brannen, Connor Heyburn, and Andrew Doetsch.
Next up were the Shaw Park Stallions. This game was the 5th game in 5 days for the Vikings and the coaches were worried about fatigue. But the team came out with their bats on fire and put up 5 runs in the first inning and never looked back. The offense never let up and the defense and pitching were stout through 4 innings to cruise to a 15-1 victory. The Vikings used pitchers Patrick Stone, Callan Connolly and Rob Cosby who threw a combined line score of 3 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk and 1 run over 4 innings.




After 1 day off for some much needed rest, the team faced the Cherokee Titans in the 3rd game of the tournament. The Vikings lost the toss and were the visiting team, but the offense immediately put the pressure on the Titans by scoring 7 and batting through the order in the 1st inning. The Titans scored 1 in the 1st and were shut down the rest of the way. Andrew Doetsch pitched 3 strong innings and was relieved by Nick Creviston who needed only 7 pitches to close out the game in the 4th inning for the 17-1 win. Offensively, the Vikings were led by Rob Cosby who was 2 for 2 with 3 RBIs, Sam Brannen who was 2 for 2 with 3 runs scored, and Andrew Doetsch who was 2 for 3 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBIs.
With such strong play in the pool, the Vikings were the #1 seed going into the bracket round and got a bye into the semifinals to face a tough Brookwood team. The team unfortunately came out flat, committed a couple of errors, and gave up 5 runs in the first inning. The team kept fighting but was not able to get the bats going as they trailed 8-2 in the bottom of the 7th inning with time expired. However, the bats came alive in that inning and the Vikings were able to push 6 runs across the plate to tie the game and send it into extra innings. After a scoreless 8th for both sides, Brookwood opened the top of the 9th with 3 runs to take an 11-8 lead. The Vikings fired back and scored 2 to get the score to 11-10. Unfortunately, the Vikings stranded 2 base runners and came up short in the 11-10 final score. The team fought hard, never gave up, and learned some valuable lessons for future games.



14U Vikings Sweep to the Championship in the Big Shanty Blast
The Vikings got back to their winning ways by sweeping the competition and taking the championship at the Big Shanty Blast in Kennesaw.
The tournament began with the Vikings facing the tough Sharon Springs Spartans out of USSSA. The Vikings and Spartans were held scoreless in the first inning. The Vikings opened up the scoring in the 2nd inning with a 305 ft. blast over the fence in dead center off the bat of Chad Sitten for a 1-0 lead. The Spartans fought back and pushed 2 runs across the plate in the 3rd for the 2-1 lead going into the bottom of the 3rd. The Vikings hung tough and tied the game 2-2 in their half of the inning on a walk to Rob Cosby and an RBI single by Travis Baars. The Spartans were not through though as they scored 2 in the top of the 4th. However, the Vikings would not be denied. Nick Creviston led off the inning with a walk and advanced to 2nd on a passed ball. Nick scored on an RBI single from Patrick Stone. The Vikings then hit into 2 outs but managed to push Patrick to 3rd. Adam Hall knocked Patrick in on a single and scored himself on a big single from Austin Summers to take the 5-4 lead. Kenny Ajello came in the pitch the 5th. He struckout 3 batters to earn the save and seal the 5-4 hard-fought victory for the Vikings.




Next up for the Vikings were the West Cobb Titans. The Vikings were looking to avenge their loss to the Titans in the championship game of the Summer Slugfest, the first tournament of the summer. Travis Baars took the mound for the team and needed only 35 pitches to hold the Titans scoreless through 4 innings. The offense scored 2 in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd, and 3 in the 4th to take a 6-0 lead into the 4th. In the 5th, the team brought 15 batters to the plate to score 11 runs and put the game out of reach. Andrew Doetsch came on in relief in the 5th inning to close out the game for the Vikings 17-0 victory. Eight Vikings had multi-hit games led by Callan Connolly, Adam Hall, and Austin Summers with 3 each.
Based on the seedings in the pool play, the Vikings began the bracket play against the West Cobb Titans again. The Vikings wasted little time in this game scoring 6 in both the 2nd and 4th innings to cruise to a 13-1 victory. The pitching was highlighted by 4 strong innings pitched by Andrew Doetsch and 1 inning of relief by Kenny Ajello. The offense was highlighted by back-to-back homeruns by Jack Thomas and Patrick Stone.
The Vikings moved on to play the Sandy Plains Cougars in the semifinal round. Jack Thomas and Patrick Stone held the Cougars to 5 runs over 5 innings while the offense scored in every inning to move into the championship game with an 11-5 win. The offensive highlight of the game was another homerun by Patrick. Unfortunately for the Cougars, their centerfielder broke his arm on the top of the outfield fence while trying to make a catch on Patrick’s homerun. It was a great effort and the entire Vikings’ family wishes him a speedy recovery.
The victory put the Vikings into the championship game against the Sharon Springs Spartans in a rematch of the tough opening game. The Vikings were determined not to let this game be as close as the first one and the team came through. Sam Brannen took the mound for the Vikings. After a scoreless 1st, the Vikings broke open the scoring in the 2nd with a leadoff triple by Chad Sitten, a sacrifice fly by Sam, a walk to Adam Hall, and a monstrous 2 run homer over the left field fence by Kenny Ajello. After scoring 4 runs in the 2nd, the offense added runs every inning by scoring 1 in the 3rd, 2 in the 4th, 1 in the 5th, and 3 in the 6th to put the game out of reach. Sam and the defense behind him were masterful, holding the Spartans to 5 hits and 1 run (no earned runs) over 6 innings to take the Big Shanty championship 11-1.
Congratulations to the Vikings and good luck as they move to the Dizzy Dean district tournament next.



14U Vikings Defend Their District 4 Championship
The Dizzy Dean District 4 tournament was combined with the District 3 tournament to make for a large competitive tournament field. The combined 7 team tournament was held in Acworth at the historic Senior Field. Teams would advance from each district depending on the results of the tournament as well as the results of head-to-head games against teams in your own district.
The Vikings drew another district 4 team in the Sandy Plains Cougars to begin district play. After a 2 hour delay as the team waited on the hot afternoon, the team continued their hot streak and jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead in the 1st. The team needed only 4 innings to put away the Cougars 18-3. Andrew Doetsch pitched the whole game only giving up 1 earned run. The offense was led by 5 Vikings who scored multiple runs; Callan Connolly, Jack Thomas, Chad Sitten, Adam Hall, and Sam Brannen.
The Vikings moved on in the winner’s bracket to face the host team; the tough Acworth Warriors out of district 3. Unfortunately, due to long games and delays, the game did not begin until around 11:00 pm, which proved to be an extremely long wait for the Vikings. Acworth got out of the gate quickly, scoring 2 runs in the top of the 1st. But the Vikings countered in their half of the inning with 2 runs of their own to tie the score. After a scoreless 2nd for both teams, Acworth was able to push a run across to take a 3-2 lead. Again, the Vikings were able to answer the challenge and scored 3 runs to take a 5-3 lead. Unfortunately for the Vikings, the long wait and big bats of the Warriors finally caught up to them as the Vikings committed 3 costly errors allowing the Warriors to score 9 runs in the 4th inning to take a commanding 12-5 lead. The Vikings continued to scrap and scored 2 in their half of the 4th to trail 12-7. After holding Acworth scoreless in their half of the 5th, the Vikings scored 2 more runs to make the score 12-9. But that would be it for the Vikings as the Warriors scored 5 more runs after a costly error to put the game away 17-9. By the end of this game, the team was spent after having been at the ballpark for 13 ? hours.


As a result of the loss, the Vikings moved down to the losers’ bracket to face the Cherokee Titans out of district 3. The team looked tired after having such a long and exhausting day the day before. The team managed a couple of runs in the first inning and held Cherokee scoreless to take a 2-0 lead after the 1st. The Titans came back in the 2nd to score 3 runs and take a 3-2 lead. After holding Cherokee scoreless in the 3rd, the Vikings started to wake up and scored 3 to take a 5-3 lead after 3 innings. But the Titans would not go quietly, as they scored 2 runs to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the 4th. In the bottom of the inning, the Vikings managed to steal the lead back with 1 run on 2 errors. Again, the Titans answered with 1 run to tie the game in the top of the 5th, 6-6. The Vikings finally woke up in the bottom of the 5th to score 6 runs including 3 on a huge homerun over the blue monster in centerfield off the bat of Jack Thomas. After shutting the Titans down in the 6th, the Vikings put the game away by scoring 4 runs and taking the 16-6 hard-fought victory. The Vikings used the pitching combination of Callan Connolly, Nick Creviston, and Travis Baars combined with the bat of Jack Thomas (3 for 4, 3 runs scored and 5 RBIs) to secure the win and move on to the next round.
Next up for the Vikings were the Sandy Plains Cougars with the loser facing elimination and the winner qualifying for a trip to the state tournament. The Vikings wasted little time jumping into the lead by scoring 3 in the 1st and 4 in the 2nd while holding the Cougars scoreless. The Vikings added 2 in the 4th and 2 in the 5th to take an 11-0 victory. Jack Thomas pitched allowed only 3 hits over 4 innings and was relieved by Kenny Ajello who struck out the side in the 5th to end the game. This victory meant that the Vikings qualified for the state tournament and moved them into the district championship game.
The district 4 championship game pitted the Vikings against the Shaw Park Stallions. Again the Vikings got off to a quick start by taking a 10-1 lead after 2 innings. But the Stallions were not about to give up and scored 5 in the top of the 3rd to trail 10-6. The Vikings answered the challenge by shutting down Shaw Park’s bats over the last 2 innings while piling up 6 runs to end the game 16-6. Several Vikings had big days offensively as including Callan Connolly (3 for 3, 2 runs scored and 1 RBI), Sam Brannen (4 for 4, 4 runs scored, and 3 RBIs), and Adam Hall (3 for 4, with 1 run scored and 2 RBIs including the game ending hit). Andrew Doetsch was the winning pitcher with 3 effective innings and was relieved by Rob Cosby who closed the door on the Stallions with 2 innings of 1-hit ball.
With the win, the Vikings are the District 4 Champs for the 2nd straight year. Congratulations to the team! However, as this was a combined district 3 and 4 tournament, there were still 2 teams remaining that had moved into the championship bracket; the District 4 champion Vikings and the District 3 champion Acworth Warriors. Since the Warriors were undefeated, the Vikings would have to beat them twice to take the tournament championship.
In the first game, the Vikings started out strong with 2 runs in the top of the 1st and 2nd innings to take a 4-0 lead. The Warriors countered with one of their own in the 2nd and the Vikings held a 4-1 lead at the end of 2. After a scoreless 3rd, the Vikings continued to pour it on with a 2-run homer over the big center field fence off the bat of Jack Thomas. The Warriors kept battling in the bottom of the 4th as the Vikings committed 2 errors allowing 2 Acworth runs. In the 5th, the Vikings added 2 to their lead off a 2-out 2 RBI double by Rob Cosby. The Vikings were leading 8-4 when starter Travis Baars who had kept the Acworth team off balance all game, began to tire in the bottom of the5th and allowed 3 more Warrior runs before being relieved by Kenny Ajello who struck out 2 batters to end the inning with the Vikings holding on to a slim 8-7 lead. The Vikings added 1 run in the 6th and 5 in the 7th to put the game away. Kenny went the rest of the way for the Vikings limiting Acworth to 1 run over the last 2 innings as the Vikings won 14-8 forcing a final championship game.



In the final championship game, the Vikings won the toss and elected to be the home team. After holding Acworth scoreless in the top of the 1st, the team jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in their half of the inning. Acworth chipped away at the lead with 1 run in the 2nd and 2 runs in the 3rd to bring the score to 4-3 at the end of 3 innings. After holding the Warriors scoreless in the top of the 4th, the Vikings responded with 5 runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 9-3 lead. However, the Warriors were far from finished. After both teams were held in check in the 5th, Acworth scratched out 1 run in the 6th and then scored 5 runs in the top of the 7th to tie the game and send it into extra innings. In the top of the 8th, the Warriors took the lead on a walk, a stolen base, and a single. The Vikings led off their half of the inning with a single by Rob Cosby, who stole 2nd base on the next pitch. After a strike out and a fly out, which moved Rob over to 3rd, the team was down to their last out. Jack Thomas drew a walk and stole 2nd to put 2 runners in scoring position with 2 outs. On the next play, Patrick Stone hit a ball that both the 1st and 2nd basemen went for. The 2nd baseman got the ball while the 1st baseman scrambled back to the bag. The throw was low and got past the 1st baseman allowing both runners to score and Vikings to be tournament champions with an exciting 11-10 victory.
Congratulations to the Vikings for winning the combined District tournament and for repeating as District 4 champs. The players, coaches and parents are also very proud of winning the Sportsmanship Award for the 2nd straight year.

Druid Hills Vikings Take State 14 Year Old Dizzy Dean Baseball Title, Headed to World Series

The Druid Hills Vikings won the Dizzy Dean Baseball 14 year old Georgia State Championship, beating the Acworth Warriors in two games by scores of 16-4 and 11-0. The Vikings earned a record of 8-1 including 7 straight wins in the final four days of the tournament. Through a combination of great pitching, shutdown defense, and explosive offense, the team outscored their opponents 106-19 over the nine-game tournament. Overall, the team had a batting average of .412 and an on-base-percentage of .506 while the pitching posted a low ERA of 1.72.
With the state victory in hand, the team is heading to the Dizzy Dean World Series in Southaven, MS, a suburb of Memphis, TN. The series begins with opening ceremonies starting Friday July 24 and games begin the following morning.
Here is the state tournament recap:
Game 1: Vikings 16 – Temple Tigers 1
The Vikings opened the state tournament with a decisive 16-1 win over the Temple Tigers. Andrew Doetsch and Patrick Stone combined to pitch a 6 hit 1 run ballgame. The offense was highlighted by multi-hit games by Andrew, Chad Sitten, Sam Brannen, and Connor Heyburn.
Game 2: Vikings 4 – Acworth Warriors 5
In the second game, the Vikings faced a familiar foe in the Acworth Warriors as the two teams had met four times previously. Unfortunately, the Vikings committed four uncharacteristic defensive errors in one inning and lost 5-4, knocking the Vikings into the losers’ bracket. The team wasted strong pitching performances by Adam Hall and Kenny Ajello who combined for only 5 hits, 2 earned runs, and 9 strikeouts against 1 walk.
Game 3: Vikings 14 – Bartow American 3
Next up for the Vikings was the host team, Bartow American. Again, the Vikings used all of the tools available to them and dispatched the host team by a score of 14-3. Travis Baars pitched a complete game and used a nice mix of pitches to keep the Bartow team off balance. 7 Vikings had multi-hit games including Travis, Rob Cosby, Andrew Doetsch, Chad Sitten, Callan Connolly, Patrick Stone, and Jack Thomas.
Game 4: Vikings 10 – Rome Tribe 0
The Vikings advanced to face the always tough Rome Tribe, but the team was again too much for the opponents to handle as they went on to win 10-0. Jack Thomas pitched the complete game and faced the minimum 18 batters over 6 innings while allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk against 7 strikeouts. The team scored every inning to seal the victory.
Game 5: Vikings 5 - West Cobb Cobras 4 (8 innings)
The Cobras struck first scoring 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning. The two teams battled back and forth with the Vikings finally breaking onto the scoreboard with 3 runs in the 4th inning and 1 in the 5th to take a 4-3 lead. The Cobras answered with one run in the 6th to tie the game. After a scoreless 7th, the Vikings held the Cobras scoreless in the top of the 8th highlighted by a potential game saving catch in the outfield by Austin Summers. In the bottom of the 8th, Chad Sitten led off the inning with a single and advanced to 2nd on a passed ball. Sam Brannen, who pitched the complete 8 innings for the Vikings, got the game winning RBI with a sharp single to score Chad.
Game 6: Vikings 12 – Union County Panthers 0
The team next faced the Union County Panthers and wasted no time in jumping on top in the 1st inning with 4 straight singles followed by a triple. The Vikings scored 3 in each of the next 2 innings and rolled to a 12-0 victory to advance them into the losers’ bracket championship game against the Jefferson Dragons.
Game 7: Vikings 18 - Jefferson Dragons 2
In the losers’ bracket championship game, the team was looking for a little payback as the Dragons eliminated the Vikings in last year’s state tournament. The Vikings wasted no time and jumped out to an 11-1 lead after 2 innings. The team never looked back and went on to win 18-2 behind the pitching of Patrick Stone and Kenny Ajello. The victory put the team into the championship bracket to face Acworth.
Game 8: Vikings 16 - Acworth Warriors 4
As Acworth was undefeated coming into these games, the Vikings had to beat them twice to be champs. In the first game, Andrew Doetsch took the mound for the Vikings. The Vikings scored 1 in the top of the first, but the Warriors came right back with 2 of their own to take a 2-1 lead at the end of 1. The Vikings countered with 2 in the 2nd and 2 in the third as Andrew settled in and held the Warriors scoreless through the 5th inning as the team had a 5-2 lead through 5 innings. The Vikings bats exploded in the 6th and 7th as the team batted around in both innings and scored 11 runs. Nick Creviston came in and closed Acworth down as the Vikings won 16-4 and forced a final championship game.
Game 9: Vikings 11 – Acworth Warriors 0
The Vikings lost the coin toss and were the visiting team. They wasted no time jumping on the Warriors with 4 runs in the 1st inning highlighted by a 3-run long homerun by Sam Brannen. The team scored every inning and Jack Thomas pitched a 3-hit, no runs game as the Vikings won the state championship.
Congratulations to the state champs, the Druid Hills Vikings! Congratulations also to Jack Thomas who was named the state tournament MVP. Jack finished the tournament with a .485 batting average and a .541 on-base percentage. He also pitched 2 complete game victories for the Vikings going 2-0 and allowing no runs over 11 innings with 13 strikeouts, 4 hits, and only 2 walks.


Druid Hills Vikings Place 4th in Dizzy Dean World Series



The Vikings finished 4th in the Dizzy Dean World Series in Southaven, MS. Overall for the Series, the Vikings went 3-2 and outscored their opponents 32-19. The team’s 2 losses were to the World Series Champions and the Runner-Up. It was a great experience for the team and it is something they will never forget. The team proved to be a great representative of Druid Hills Youth Sports and of the State of Georgia.
For the season, the team ended with a record of 32-7-1, were tournament champions in 3 tournaments, runner-up in 1 tournament, Dizzy Dean District 4 Champions, District 4 Sportsmanship Award Winner, Dizzy Dean State Champions, and 4th place finishers in the World Series. Jack Thomas was named the MVP of the state tournament and Jack, Sam Brannen, and Patrick Stone were named to the all-tournament team for the World Series. Congratulations to the entire team for a fantastic season.
Here is a recap of the World Series games:
Game 1: Vikings 16 – Oxford, MS All-Stars 0
 In game one, the Vikings faced the Mississippi State Runner-up Oxford All-Stars.  The team wasted no time and jumped out to a 4 – 0 lead in the first on 4 hits and a couple of walks.  After shutting down Oxford in the top of the 2nd, the bats ignited for 6 more runs including 2 homeruns; a 3 run shot to center by Sam Brannen and a 2-run monster shot by Kenny Ajello.  The Vikings pitching and defense shut down Oxford again in the 3rd.  In the bottom half of the inning, the offense continued to pour it on for 6 more runs and another 2 homeruns by Jack Thomas and Chad Sitten to take a 16 – 0 lead.  The pitching and defense held tight in the top of the 4th to end the game.  Andrew Doetsch pitched all 4 innings for the Vikings allowing only 1 hit and no runs.



Game 2: Vikings 13 – Baxter Springs, KS All-Stars 0
In game two, the Vikings faced the Kansas State Dizzy Dean Champion Baxter Springs All-Stars.  The Vikings lost the coin toss and were the visitors for this game.  Callan Connolly led off the game with a walk, immediately stole second, was moved over to 3rd by Jack Thomas, and scored on a RBI single by Patrick Stone to take a 1-0 lead.  The team held Baxter scoreless in the first despite a walk and a single highlighted by catcher Sam Brannen throwing out a runner attempting to steal 2nd.  In the top of the 2nd, Adam Hall led off with a single to start the inning, moved to 2nd on a balk, moved to 3rd on a single by Kenny Ajello and scored on an RBI single by Connor Heyburn.  In the bottom of the 2nd, pitcher Adam Hall struck out the first 2 batters and caught a pop up to retire the side.  The Vikings finally got the offense rolling in the 3rd putting 7 runs on the board as they brought 11 batters to the plate in the inning.  After the pitching of Adam and the defense held the Baxter team for one more inning, the Vikings again brought 10 batters to the plate and scored 4 more runs to take a 13-0 lead.  The defense and pitching continued to shut down Baxter for the next 2 innings as the Vikings cruised to the 13-0 win.  Adam Hall pitched 4 innings allowing 3 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs while striking out 7.  Travis Baars relieved him in the 5th and held Baxter scoreless on 1 hit and 2 strike outs.
Game3: Vikings 0 - Jefferson Parrish, LA 9
After a full-day rain delay, the Vikings faced the Jefferson Parrish Recreation Department (JPRD) Bulldogs, the Louisiana State Champs.  JPRD is a very tough and seasoned team.  Last year as 13 year olds, they were the runners up in the World Series.  Unfortunately for the Vikings, the team came out flat against JPRD and the Bulldogs made them pay.  The Vikings bats were silent as the team could only muster 3 hits in 24 at bats.   
Game 4: Vikings 3 – Limestone County, AL 0
The loss to JPRD dropped the Vikings into the loser’s bracket to face the Limestone County, AL Red Sox, the Alabama State runners-up. Limestone is another tough, seasoned team that went deep into last year’s World Series as 13 year olds. After a rain delay of 6 hours, the game finally got underway and it was a pitchers duel from the start.  Sam Brannen held the Red Sox scoreless over 4 innings allowing only 2 hits, no runs or walks, and 3 strikeouts.  After a scoreless first 2 innings, the Vikings finally manufactured a couple of runs in the 3rd.  Callan Connolly led off with a walk, stole 2nd base, and moved over to 3rd on a passed ball.  Callan scored on an RBI sacrifice fly by Patrick Stone to start the Vikings scoring.  Chad Sitten was then hit by a pitch and took second on a wild pitch.  Chad scored on a RBI double by Sam as the Vikings enjoyed a 2-0 lead at the end of 3 innings.  As light rain started to fall on the already saturated field, the team held Limestone scoreless in the top of the 4th.   Adam Hall led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and he immediately stole 2nd.  After a strikeout, Nick Creviston worked the count to 3-1 before the umpires suspended play due to the field conditions.  Shortly thereafter, the heavens opened up and the field quickly became a pond.  Games were postponed for the rest of the evening and the teams left to resume the next day.
The game resumed at 10:00 the next morning.  The situation was Adam on 2nd base with one out, Nick at the plate with a 3-1 count, and the Vikings leading 2-0 in the top of the 4th inning.  Because of the long delay, the Red Sox changed pitchers and brought on their ace, Casteel.  Nick promptly hit a line drive over the 1st baseman on the second pitch to score Adam and to give the Vikings a 3-0 lead after 4 innings.  The Vikings also changed pitchers and brought on Kenny Ajello.  He walked the first batter and hit the second one with a pitch to get runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs.  After recording a strikeout, the next batter hit a single to load the bases with the top of the order coming to the plate.  The leadoff hitter hit a line drive that was caught by Adam at shortstop who threw to 3rd for the double play to end the inning.  After a scoreless 5th for the Vikings, the Red Sox loaded the bases on 2 walks and a single with 1 out.  Kenny induced a grounder right back to him, threw to home to get the runner from 3rd trying to score, and the catcher threw down to 1st for the inning ending double play.  Once again the Vikings defense came through.  After a scoreless 6th for the Vikings, the defense recorded 3 outs to seal the victory for the team 3-0. The victory put the Vikings in the final four of the tournament.
Game 5: Vikings 0 – Northwest St. Pete All-Stars 10
The Vikings run at the championship ended today as the team lost 10-0 to the Florida State Champion Northwest St. Pete All Stars.  The team couldn’t get much going against Northwest as the Northwest defense turned 3 double plays to squash the Vikings offense.  The Vikings put the bat on the ball but every hit seemed to be right at a Northwest player.  The Vikings defense played error-free ball and was highlighted by strong defensive plays by centerfielder Rob Cosby and second baseman Austin Summers. Unfortunately, the Northwest offense was too strong they hit the ball hard including 3 homeruns against the Vikings. The Vikings could do nothing but tip their caps to Northwest and congratulate them as this team played a complete game to beat the Vikings.
The Vikings ended in 4th place in the World Series.

A tremendous team effort generated the five game run for the boys.  Jared McKay, Jake Lovvorn, Jack Brozek, Aaron Schunk, John Michael Boswell, and Michael Segerman all pitched quality innings during the tourney.  Jake Lovvorn (2), Aaron Schunk (2), and Jared McKay each played 'long ball' - all to right-center field.  Great fielding plays were turned in by Luke Leonard, Will Cosby, and Michael Boden, with special mention going to the center field to first base double play involving a great catch/throw by Josiah Wynn and a huge diving stretch at first by Luke Bumgardner.  This quickly ended any thought of a Buckhead rally in the semi final game.  Jonathan Cooper, Josiah Wynn, Aaron Schunk, Jared McKay, and Luke Leonard provided super speed on the base path.

The championship game saw the Bombers march down to the field in their new 'camo' alternate jerseys that were presented to the boys as a surprise right before the game.  The Mets took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, but Jared McKay ripped a 3-run shot in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead.  A McKay to Schunk to Bumgardner double play provided a defensive highlight in the game, while Jake Lovvorn added a grand slam late in the game that sealed the Mets fate.  Will Cosby drove in the run that ended the game with the 10-run rule in the 5th inning.

12U Bombers finish 2nd in USSSA SubState

The Druid Hills Storm 11U team continued their excellent play this past weekend with a runner-up finish in the Dizzy Dean Warm Up Tournament played at All Tournament Players park in Marietta.Facing the toughest competition of the summer to date, the Storm dropped their opener to District foe Sandy Plains 8-1. The second pool play game as well as the first bracket game saw the Storm convincingly defeat Wills Park twice 11-1 and 12-3.


 
The Storm faced the Powder Springs Sand Gnats in the semifinals. The Sand Gnats starting pitcher shut down the Storm for 3 innings while Storm pitching held the Sand Gnats to just 2 runs. The Storm erupted for 3 runs in both the fourth and fifth innings and held the Gnats to just one more run to advance to the finals with a thrilling 6-3 win. The team came up just short in the championship game dropping an 8-6 decision to Sandy Plains.
 
Next up is the Buckhead Classic where the Storm will face its stiffest competition of the summer as they have games with the Buckhead Braves, Murphey Candler and Oconee County.

The Druid Hills Enforcers 10U team continued to improve as a team this past weekend, finishing as the runner-up at the Larry Hutson Invitational Tournament played at Shaw Park in Marietta.  The Enforcers opened pool play by beating the neighboring Buckhead Bucks 6-4.  The second pool play game ended in a tie, 7-7 against the Powder Springs Hornets, and the Enforcers took the third seed into the elimination bracket round.

Timely hitting and impeccable defense carried the Enforcers in both the quarterfinal and semifinal games, as they finished off the Shaw Park Renegades and the Sandy Plains Cougars in impressive fashion, 14-5 and 13-7 respectively.  The team fought hard, but came up short in the championship game against the Buckhead Braves, 13-8.  The Braves rallied late, breaking open a tight 5-5 ballgame with five runs in the 4th inning and allowed their stellar defense took over from there.

Next up is a well-deserved rest this weekend, followed by the Buckhead Classic next week and then a trip to the PONY State tournament at the end of June.