Matthew Brandl had a busy night at Wederquist Field.
The Padres standout threw 82 pitches Thursday, leading his ballclub to the Blair Little League Majors Division tournament title. Coach Jake Raymond's baseball team bested the White Sox, 10-3.
“Maybe about 10 more,” Brandl said when asked how many pitches he felt he had left by the end. Leon Adler, Jake Woodring and Owen Shotwell took turns with the mitt, catching the game-winner's offerings.
“They stopped most of the balls,” Brandl said.
The Padres beat the Braves and the White Sox on their way to the tournament finals, but had to beat the Sox again to win it all. Brody Johnson did his part, logging multiple hits from within batter's box during the championship matchup.
“I liked the way we played today,” he said after the seven-run victory. “We really worked our butts off.”
The Little Leaguer felt it was a team effort.
“Everyone hit,” Johnson explained. “Everyone got outs.”
Altogether, Brandl credited the Padres' success on their motivation.
“And how we keep each other up,” he said.
Johnson, meanwhile, gave kudos to “the boys on the team.”
The tournament-winning roster included Jase Meyer, Adler, Brandl, Joey Maslowsky, Shotwell, Patrick Henry, Woodring, Zavier Farrish, Ross Johnson, Casey Horacek and Brody Johnson. The Padres were coached by Raymond, Abby Shotwell and Thad Harper.
Cubs win Minors title
The Blair Little League Cubs won a tournament title Thursday, too.
The Minors Division champs topped the Brewers, 14-5.
“It means so much to me,” the Cubs' Jackson Dein said. “I've never won something this big in my life.”
The championship team topped the standings for most of the spring and summer season, finishing with double-digit victories. It dropped its first-round tournament game to the Brewers, but bounced back with wins against the Orioles and Yankees to earn a rematch in the finals.
“We did really good in pitching and a lot of us did good in hitting,” Gentry McCoy said.
He felt camaraderie had a lot to do with the Cubs' success.
“There's a lot of players that I've been on teams with a lot of years in a row,” McCoy explained. “I feel like I'm used to playing with them.”
All-in-all, it was a good night at Wederquist Field for the Minors Division champs, who wore medals around their necks as they left the diamond.
“I'm really happy that I ended up with these teammates,” Dein said.
He earned the title alongside fellow Cubs Garrett Abraham, Michael Pakiz, Ackelan Andersen, Emmett Swaney, Michael Barney, Dylan Kephart, Griffin McCoy and Declan Byrne.
Next up
Blair Little League All-Star teams will next compete at the state tournament.
It starts July 11-13 in Kearney and continues July 18-20. Unlike in years past, there isn't a district tourney to be played this summer.
