Braves coach Nick Swaney held up his hand and asked his players to hold off for just a second Thursday at Wederquist Field.
The Blair Little League Major Division champions wanted to douse their coach with water, but he wasn't done complimenting them for a newspaper report yet. The Braves, he said, ran well and played great behind the plate all season at the Youth Sports Complex.
Both attributes were on display Thursday as Swaney's team edged the Red Sox, 5-4, for their tourney title. Traeton Nitsch excelled behind the plate while his fellow catcher, Triston Dein, provided a bit of baserunning that changed the game.
Trailing the Red Sox 3-1 during the fourth inning, Dein knocked in both Nate Parker and Nitsch before advancing all the way around the bases himself. As the defense's throwing errors added up, the runner never stopped, kept advancing and scored all on the same play.
“We've been running bases great all year and, holy cow, (Dein) was flying,” Swaney said. “He wasn't looking back. He was thinking, 'How am I going to score on this play?”
The effort turned a two-run deficit into a 4-3 lead for the Braves. Jaxon Socha later plated Eli Hall for an insurance run during the fifth inning before pitcher Blayton Neill struck out the last Red Sox batter he faced to cap the victory.
Earlier in the contest, however, the champions' Derrick Parker slid in safe for a 1-0 advantage. The Red Sox's Brogan Boerma tied the game with his own slide across the plate before Hank Hahn gave the eventual runner-ups a 2-1 lead.
Drew Greenwood's RBI single made it 3-1, too.
The Braves responded with four-straight runs, though, and Red Sox batter Ethan Casarotto's sixth-inning RBI swing wasn't quite enough to change the end result — a Braves championships.
“Our kids get along really well, which is the most important thing,” Swaney said before his celebatory bath in the outfield. “They supported each other. They were competitive and wanted to win.”
Major Division Champions: Braves — Blayton Neill, Nate Parker, Owen Swaney, Traeton Nitsch, Triston Dein, Lucas Palmer, J.P. Pakiz, Derrick Parker, Trace Stratman, Jaxon Socha, Eli Hall and Gabe Gould.
Royals win Minors title
The Blair Little League Royals overcame midseason difficulties to win Thursday's Minors Division title game on Wederquist Field.
“We started hot, we struggled in the middle and we got hot at the end,” coach Bubba Ratfield said. “We clicked at the end. That's where it mattered.”
His team topped the Giants for the championship, 8-2. It led early and late during the victory.
Ratfield, a veteran coach of Blair Little League baseball, said he enjoyed learning about the new kids in the Royals' lineup this year.
“It was a blast,” he said.
Hard work earned the champs an opportunity to celebrate in the end.
“They weren't all stars, but they all came in and played their own way,” Ratfield said.
Minor Division Champions: Royals — Leon Adler, Stryker Livermore, Joseph Maslowsky, Grayson Reinders, Ross Johnson, Riley Adams, Noah Terwilliger, Finn Miller, Hank Beckenhauer, McKinnley Smith, Brantley Thompson, Reiland Mullally and Sawyer Uphoff.
Red Sox best of Rookies
Blair Little League's Rookies Division champions, the Red Sox, built chemistry quickly this season.
“They started working together pretty good after a few practices,” coach Dave Aten said. “Did pretty good their first game and it just kind of kept rolling from there.”
The youngest champions crowned Thursday beat the Yankees, 4-3, on a walk-off hit. Eli Thallas produced the game-winner from the batter's box.
Aten said friendship and chemistry were hallmarks of the 2023 Red Sox team. Its enthusiasm for baseball helped, too.
“I'd say just excitement for the game,” the coach said when asked for his team's keys to success. “They all love it.”
Rookie Division Champions: Red Sox — Jax Aten, Grant Hahn, Archer Santin, Eli Thallas, Finely Thallas, Chase McNeal, Easton Andersen, Liam Bengford, Charlie Cosentino and Emmett Swaney.
