Photo courtesy of Kathryn Reaves.
Mountain Brook Green 8U area tournament
Mountain Brook Green 8U Front row: Maggie Reaves, Maggie Clanton, Lucy Redden, Sarah Kate Sanders, Caroline Savage.Second row: Ellie Hamilton, Ann Carlton Keller, Abby Maziarz, Betsy Lambert. Third row: RileyBrown, Emily Hart, Jane Ryland Elliott. Back row: Coaches John Hamilton, Betsy Keller (HeadCoach), Carter Brown, Lee Clanton, Jim Maziarz.At the North Central Area 2nd Pre-Area 8U Tournament in Leeds, Mountain Brook green defeated Trussville in pool play and then Odenville in tournament play, advancing to the quarter-finals with Vestavia.
At the end of regulation with Vestavia, the game was tied 8 to 8, so the teams continued to an extra inning under the international tie breaker rule. The rule states that the visiting team begins at bat with the last batter positioned as a runner on second base. Vestavia, as visitor, scored two runs before the Mountain Brook defense secured three outs. With Jane Ryland Elliott of Mountain Brook first at bat, she singled and advanced Caroline Savage as runner from second base to third. Then batter Ann Carlton Keller brought home Caroline Savage to score and was secure on base. Riley Brown, third at bat, drove home Jane Ryland Elliott to tie the game and advanced Ann Carlton Keller to third, but was out at first base. Cleanup hitter Emily Hart had a solid hit to the outfield allowing Ann Carlton Keller to score the winning run, and the thrilling victory belonged to Mountain Brook with a score of 11-10. The girls then proceeded to handily defeat Hueytown in the semifinals,16-5, to advance to the finals.
In the finals, the team faced the Hoover Orange and claimed the title at the top of the last inning as the girls were ahead 7-5, which became the final score of the game.
