State Champs

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Mason Riggs, Bryce Krantz and Dyson Dillard where the three pitchers that threw all of the innings in the tournament Riggs and Krantz threw 12 innings each while Dillard racked up nine innings

"Due to us getting to only play four innings in the first two games, we were able to stay with our top three pitchers for the entire tournament." said Riggs.

Mason Riggs started game one and three of the tournament while Krantz started game two Dillard started game four and then it was

Parker Blount caught all six games in the extreme heat and wouldn't come out of the games

"He wouldn't have it any other way" said Riggs "I would say, 'are you hot and tired?' and he would say, 'not yet, not yet.' He just did a fantastic job. You couldn't tell the first inning from the last inning. He was fantastic."

As dominant as they were on the mound, Mason Riggs, Krantz and Dillard were also dominant at the plate and led the team that had a 435 team batting average in the tournament

Another big hitter for the team was "the rookie" Zane Hughes, a 13U player that was called up to play with 14U because of his hitting ability However, the team took a page from the Texas Rangers book and made the rookie tote a pink bag around for the entire tournament.

Head Coach Riggs said that their philosophy was see-ball-hit-ball.

"A lot of teams watch that first strike and that's the best pitch you're going to see " said Riggs

"We're a hit-and-run team and it worked out just perfect "

The lineup order consisted of Dillard, Krantz, Riggs, Garrett Johnson, Spencer Akins, Kyler Anderson, Blount, Carson Grogan, Hughes and Nathan Duffee. Riggs hit the only homer of the tournament and was presented the game ball.

The Bulldogs beat New Boston in the third game of the tournament, 5-4 and lost the fourth game to New Diana, 5-4

"We had to turn around and play them again the next day" said Riggs "We were on the field at 5:00 (pm) and our kids were out for blood They weren't losing to them again "

After the 13-5 win over New Diana in the semi-final game, they had 20 minutes to rest before taking on New Boston in the state championship

"It was 100 degrees and I thought, well, we're here. The boys are probably used up." said Riggs. "But they never slowed up and at midnight, we were champions."

Mason Riggs, before the continued on Page #6