Championship Series Game 2: West Raleigh 10U Blue 6, Supper Optimist 0

West Raleigh 10U Blue put together one of the most complete performances of the summer, getting exceptional pitching and defense to go with timely hitting on the way to a 6-0 victory over Supper Optimist. The win gave 10U Blue the Eastern North Carolina state title and earned them a spot in the Southeast Regional next week in Glen Allen, Va.

10U Blue set the tone early with a three-run inning in the top of the first—courtesy of a clutch two-out hit from Andrew—and then rode suffocating pitching the rest of the way. Chace and Banks combined to walk just one while letting their defense do some incredible work (see below) behind them.

The biggest Supper threat came in the fourth, as they strung together three singles to load the bases with one out. But the next hitter rolled a grounder to Banks, who fired to Asher on the plate for the force. To make things interesting, Banks then decided to go 3-0 on the next hitter, then stormed back with three straight strikes to record the swinging strikeout and end the inning. Crazy stat alert: After Supper took a 4-2 lead in the third inning of Sunday’s first game of the championship series, 10U Blue outscored them 18-0 over the next eight innings.

For the game, five of the six West Raleigh runs came with two outs, making it 18 of the last 38 10U Blue runs that have scored with two outs.

The state title means this group has now won four straight state championships. After the fourth, they found a good alternate use for their giant yellow water bottles:

The real drama came after the game, as 12 rambunctious 10-year-olds tried to fit into one selfie. Here’s what that looks like from the other side:

And then here’s the final product, which was only achieved after Coach Kevin broke out a selfie stick and Coach Regan provided some crucial instruction:

No practice Tuesday as Coach Sean recovers from his midnight trip to Sunni Sky’s. By the way, in case you think Baker is only a professional wrestling savant, he also knows a little something about baseball. Around the third inning, he announced, “We’re going to win and we’re going to score six runs.” So next week when you’re chewing your fingernails in Glen Allen, just go ask Baker what’s going to happen.

Championship 2 WR 10U Blue scoring plays

First inning

Banks singled. With two outs, Chace singled. Ben singled to load the bases, and then Andrew came through with a clutch two-out, three-run double.

Score after one inning: WR 10U Blue 3, Supper Optimist 0

Second inning

Asher reached on a fielder’s choice. Bryce singled. Banks doubled home Asher.

Score after two innings: WR 10U Blue 4, Supper Optimist 0

Fifth inning

Gavin smacked a leadoff single. Chace reached on a shot to the left side. Ben was hit by a pitch. JT drew an RBI walk.

Score after three innings: WR 10U Blue 5, Supper Optimist 0

Sixth inning

Asher singled. A wild pitch moved him to second, and Bryce drove him in with a single.

Score after four innings: WR 10U Blue 6, Supper Optimist 0




Pitching Performances

Chace started and fired three scoreless innings without allowing a runner past second base.

Banks threw the final three innings and did not walk a batter while continuing the shutout.

Championship 2 Web Gems

•   Bryce started the game by spearing a rocket shot at third against the leadoff man.

•   Eli made a phenomenal full-extension diving catch in right-center against the very next batter.

•   Ben made a great sliding catch in left field against the leadoff man in the third.

•   Banks stabbed a line drive back through the middle in the sixth.

Championship 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
WR 10U Blue	3	1	0	0	1	1	6	12
Supper Optimist	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7