Williamsburg Revolution 10U team falls in World Series opener

By John Harvey

HarveySports757@yahoo.com

Jayden Jones poses with Ryan Zimmerman.

WINCHESTER – Williamsburg Revolution had a whirlwind first d

ay Saturday at the Cal Ripken 10-year-old World Series.

Players woke up early to take part in opening ceremony festivities and afterwards some of them had their picture taken with Washington Nationals all-star Ryan Zimmerman.

The afternoon didn’t go nearly as well, as Williamsburg dropped a 12-2 decision to the Sarasota Sting in four innings in the tournament opener for both teams at Yost Field.

Clayton Russin had three hits with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Southeastern regional champions. Russin scattered two runs on two hits and struck out five to earn the win.

“Florida was a very sound team,” said coach Bobby Wilson. “The pitcher was very tall and threw harder than what we were used to. They also hit the ball well, too.”

Luke Hanson pitched the opener for the Revolution.

Dylan Wilds had three hits and drove in three runs for the Sting. Lance Trippel had two hits and scored three runs. Florida scored in every inning, including a five-run first inning to set the tone.

“It was tough,” Wilson said. “The kids were nervous. We reiterated to the kids that any team can be beat, including us.”

Logan Koselke and Price Whitaker scored runs in the second inning, both on passed balls, to trim the lead to 5-2. The Revolution were unable to maintain that momentum, as Sarasota closed the game with seven unanswered runs.

Kevin Cole and Luke Hanson had the lone hits for Williamsburg. Hanson allowed seven earned runs on 10 hits and struck out two in three innings for the Revolution.  Jeremiah Mihalcoe and   Cole also pitched in the tourney opener.

Williamsburg will return to action Sunday when they face Lexington, Kentucky in the second game of pool play. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Wilson expects his team to be better in Game 2. “Two runs usually isn’t enough to win most ball games,” he said. “We need to hit the ball better tomorrow and be more patent at the plate. We also need to give our pitcher some run support.”

Contact me at HarveySports757@yahoo.com or @HarveySports757 via Twitter.