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SPORTS
Bridgeport falls in title game
Chapin Murphy of Bridgeport (W.Va.) is greeted by teammates Andrew Barlow and Koby Kiefer after catching a fly ball against Columbus American (Ga.) slides safely into third base during the Tournament of State Champions on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2010, at Mitch Stadium in Ceredo.
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CEREDO-KENOVA — They made their traditional pre-game stroll along the warning track at Mitch Stadium, taking it all in.
“Little Bridgeport, W. Va.,” as their coach labeled them, was in the Little League Baseball age 9-10 Tournament of State Champions finals Wednesday night.
The West Virginia champion conquered odds in pool play, in Tuesday’s semifinal and, nearly, in the championship game. But, the clock struck midnight — 10:46 p.m., actually — on Bridgeport’s Cinderella run.
Columbus American, the Georgia champion, downed coach Todd Hineman’s team, 5-4, on a muggy August evening.
“We’re just a group of scrappy kids from Bridgeport, West Virginia, and we played on the big field against the state of Georgia,” Hineman said. “We ran the bases well. ... You know, What can I say?”
Hineman can say he did something nobody’s done in decades — manage a West Virginia squad this far in a regional.
Entering Wednesday’s final, West Virginia teams were a combined 3-13 all-time in the TOSC.
Bridgeport went 3-2, earning much-deserved second place medals.
“We knew what this meant to our community,” Hineman said. “And just to come down here and compete and not only make it to the championship. ... We beat Florida and played Virginia tough and took Georgia, which I thought was the best team down here the whole tournament, clear to the end.”
Through five innings Bridgeport seemed as though it had the Mountain State’s first regional title since 1951.
Gritty base running — all four runs came courtesy of hustle on wild pitches, steals or Georgia errors — gave Bridgeport a 4-1 lead entering the top of the sixth.
But that went to a 5-4 deficit after Georgia strung together three clutch hits and drew four walks.
Georgia players Bo Voltz, Dalton Bradford, Chantler Valero and Seth Shaddix all delivered RBIs in the sixth.
Voltz, the No. 9 hitter, was the sparkplug. He laced a single to bring home Jason Konsler to bring it to 4-2.
“Bo Voltz, the smallest guy, always has the big hits,” said Georgia coach Greg Mathis. “The biggest thing with him is he has a little small strike zone.
“He knows what pitches to hit and what pitches to take.”
Bridgeport tried to take back the game in the bottom of the sixth after Andrew Barlow drew a two-out walk, but he was left stranded at first.
Konsler, the reliever, got a groundout to end the game to give Columbus American its second TOSC title in three years.
But, this one came against one of its more determined opponents.
“They had the scrappiest team,” Mathis said. “This is our 19th game, I think, and they are the scrappiest team we’ve played through our district, state, regionals.
“Those guys never gave up.”
GEORGIA 010 004 — 5 7 1
WEST VIRGINIA 010 030 — 4 1 2
Bradford, Konsler (5) and Lingo. Williams, Drummond (6) and Hineman. W – Konsler. L – Drummond.
Hitting: (G) Voltz RBI; Bradford RBI; Valero RBI; Shaddix RBI.
