By By ADAM FISHER / Niles Daily Star
The odds were against Brandywine's 12-year-old All-Stars heading into Monday's state championship game at the Firemen's Youth Park.
Brandywine was facing Lanse Cruse North, who hadn't lost a game in the double elimination tournament, thus, would have to beat the visitors twice in a row.
Brandywine evened those odds by stealing the first game 5-4. The team's offense didn't hold up in the second game, however, as Brandywine fell 4-1, taking second place in the tournament.
Except for one inning in game one, Brandywine's offense sputtered throughout the night.
In the first game, the home team scored all five of its runs in the second inning.
Mick Lindsey, Dillon Bailey, Zach Edquist, Cameron Smallmon and Wayne Marazita scored for Brandywine in the inning.
Lindsey went 3-for-3 in the game, including a double.
The second game stayed scoreless until the top of the third, when Brandywine's pitcher Smallmon walked the bases loaded with no outs.
Brandywine used a double play, however, to help limit Lanse Cruse North to one run.
Smallmon made up for the earned run quickly in the bottom of the inning.
As the first batter up, he knocked the second pitch over the left field wall to tie the score.
Lanse Cruse North added two runs in the fourth and one more in the sixth to secure the 4-1 victory.
Brandywine had runners on first and second with no outs in the fifth inning, but came up empty after a strike out and two ground outs ended the inning.
Bailey said it was disappointing to force a second game only to lose it, but added that it was good to get so close to a championship.
Bailey was especially proud of his players after they lost the first game of the tournament, then came back to win four in a row to get to the final game.
Smallmon added a single to his homerun, and Dustin Bell, Dereck Nichols, Aran Saltsman and Edquist had hits for Brandywine.
Brandywine must now regroup before it heads to the Eaton Park tournament in two weeks.