By Staff
STEVENSVILLE – The Buchanan youths followed in the footsteps of their 12-year-old All-Star team this year by winning three straight tournament titles.
At the Lakeshore Invitational Tournament, Buchanan's 8s won six straight games and went undefeated to bring home another first place trophy. The youth Bucks have won 16 straight games with no losses this tournament season.
At the Lakeshore Invitational Tournament, the Bucks' 12-kid roster was in full swing. The Bucks faced Lakeshore right from the start and defeated the Lancers by a score of 12-11.
The Bucks then faced Dowagiac, North Lincoln and Bridgman and displayed their best games of the season on defense by not allowing a single run to cross the plate.
The Bucks then faced a ready-to-play Berrien Springs squad and found themselves knotted 5-5 in the fourth inning.
The Bucks then did what they had been doing all tournament season; they hit the ball hard and played a stingy defense. In the fifth inning, the Bucks jumped on the "Rocks" and ended the game 16-5.
Lakeshore made their way back to face the Bucks in the championship game. The Lancer squad defeated an outstanding Howard Township team in the semi-finals by one run in the last inning in order to seek revenge. The Buck-Lancer game was a showdown; with both managers realizing their squads would have to play their best ball in order to win.
The Lancers jumped out to an early lead, while the Bucks fought their way back in the middle innings to make the game close. Travis Cook then set the tone on defense by grabbing three consecutive hard hit balls from the mound to record the outs in the fourth inning.
The Bucks' middle infielders, Chad Adkerson and Dalton Riddle were on their game by fielding anything close.
"The Bucks' first baseman Darren Shearer was outstanding," manager J.T. Adkerson said, "and certainly a key to our victory by catching anything thrown or hit at him. "
The Bucks and Lancers were knotted in the top of the sixth when the Lancers lead off with a single. The Bucks then recorded three straight outs at second base. In the bottom of the sixth with one out, Justin Cowles hit a single to give the Bucks a chance to end the game.
Alex Kilgore, usually their hard-hitting catcher, bunted his way on base to set the table for Ryan Cronin, who waited patiently in the on-deck circle.
The Bucks had runners on first and second for one pitch, because Cronin ended the drama by "ripping" a shot to center field that scored Cowles from second giving the Bucks a 5-4 victory and their third first place finish this year.
This was the end of the Bucks 8-year-old All-Star season with a record of 16-0 on the tournament trail.
"It was a phenomenal year and unlikely to be duplicated," Adkerson stated.
The Bucks resume reads first place in the Berrien Springs Invitational Tournament, first place in the Eaton Park Invitational Tournament, and first place in the Lakeshore Invitational Tournament. Andrew Bergum, Darren Shearer, Dalton Riddle, Chad Adkerson and Michael Pretzer won sportsmanship and play awards. Dalton Riddle and Kyle Leazenby made the all tournament team.
In the end, the Bucks crossed home plate 208 times and only allowed 48 runs scored against them. Adkerson wanted to give a special thanks to the fans that came in masses to each game, the Pit Stop Convenient Store for their sponsorship and the hard work the coaches and players put in.