SEMO Pirates handed first loss in Babe Ruth state tournament

~ Charleston won 6-5 in the Babe Ruth winner's bracket final

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- What started out as an insurance run turned into the winning run for the Charleston Fighting Squirrels in the winner's bracket final Sunday evening at the Missouri Babe Ruth state tournament.

After an exchange of big innings earlier in the game, Charleston scored twice in the top of the seventh and held on for a 6-5 win over the SEMO Pirates in the bottom of the inning.

"I thought today was a battle of two great teams," Charleston coach Michael Minner said. "What a great winner's bracket game. You've got two teams that are local, both undefeated and playing for a spot in the state championship game. You know, there's a lot on the line and they battled -- both teams."

While the Squirrels are based in Charleston and the Pirates are based in Leopold both teams feature top talent from towns all over the Southeast Missouri region. Defending champion Charleston advanced to the championship game at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday and will have to be beaten twice to relinquish their title. The Pirates will have to win a game at 8 p.m. today against an opponent to be determined to earn a chance for revenge against the Squirrels.

"We're going to have to come out, and we're going to play real hard," Pirates first baseman and pitcher Tyson Campbell said. "I don't think any team, including the Squirrels, I don't think any of them have pitching like we have. I think if there is one team that can come out of the loser's bracket and do this, I really believe that we can do it."

Squirrels designated hitter Ryan Fortner, who graduated from Scott City in 2013, wasn't particularly concerned about his team's next opponent after the win.

"If we win this one, we've got to be beat twice, so we feel like that's never going to happen," he said.

Campbell and Fortner provided two of the games biggest hits.

Austin Bucher walked, Audie Hay singled and Logan Carter was hit by a pitch by Charleston starter Jarrett Sandlin to load the bases in the bottom of the third for Campbell, who tripled into the right-center gap at cavernous Hillhouse Park for a 3-0 lead.

"I had two strikes, maybe one or two balls ... I knew he wasn't going to throw me a breaking ball," Campbell said. "It wasn't working very good for him, so I was just looking red, dead fastball, and that's what he gave me down the heart of the plate. I just went with the pitch and hit it as hard as I could. I know I'm really slow, but I legged out a triple there. That's the first triple I think I've ever had. I'm glad we're playing at this big baseball park."

Campbell scored on an error to give the Pirates a 4-0 lead, but those were the only runs Sandlin surrendered in his six innings of work, despite throwing mostly fastballs all game.

"Today I couldn't throw a curveball for a strike, so I was just kind of working with the fastball all day the best I could," said Sandlin, who can also throw a changeup but rarely does. "It was more like I was just a fastball pitcher. My changeup's not the greatest. I mainly work fastball-curveball, but today it was mainly fastball."

Pirates starter Jacob Trammel allowed just one hit over the first four innings, but ran into control problems in the fifth.

After getting the first out on a grounder, he walked the Nos. 7 and 8 batters before Ty Householder reached on a fielder's choice. Trammel then walked in the Squirrels' first run of the day and was replaced by Campbell.

Campbell walked in another run before Fortner singled on a ball that bounced through the right side of the infield on a 3-2 count.

"All I remember is I battled, got it to 3-2," Fortner said. "I was expecting a curveball, but he kind of surprised me. He threw me a fastball, and I took it the opposite way and got a lucky bounce or something. It got through or something. We had the runners going because it was 3-2 and three runs scores. That's awesome. That's a big momentum changer right there."

Pirates second baseman Dustin Houart ran by the grounder and it bounced high before going past him, leaving Fortner, who was 1 for 4 with three strikeouts in his other at-bats, to believe the ball would be caught.

"I thought for sure he was going to catch it, especially with my luck to that point," Fortner said. "You know, sometimes you're the goat for four innings and you get the chance to be the hero."

The hit gave Charleston a 5-4 lead that it extended to 6-4 when Tim Fox doubled home Brad Potts, who tripled, in the top of the seventh. Luke Haines followed with a single to put runners on first and third with no outs but Pirates reliever Joe Elfink, a Leopold graduate, worked out of the inning without any further damage.

Chaffee graduate Cody Payne relieved Sandlin in the bottom of the inning and retired the first two batters before Campbell reached on an infield single. Landon Johnson and Brad Freed followed with singles to pull the Pirates within a run and a fielder's choice that did not result in an out loaded the bases. However, a strikeout ended the threat.

"That's a huge win for our program," Minner said. "Leopold is a quality team. They're a great baseball team. Anytime a team comes down with a record of 41-5, they've done something right. Our guys, they battled. We don't get shook up. We play so much baseball and we put these guys in positions to fight, and we got down 4-0 and we've could've quit, but we don't."

Squirrels 000 050 1 -- 6 6 2

Pirates 004 000 1 -- 5 7 0

WP -- Jarrett Sandlin. LP -- Tyson Campbell. 3B -- Brad Potts (S), Campbell (P). 2B -- Tim Fox. Multiple hits -- Squirrels: Luke Haines 2-4; Pirates: Campbell 2-4.