(Fredericktown, OH) The Ohio Elite-Hatfield 11U baseball team won the Ohio Elite Invitational last weekend (April 26^th and 27^th) after defeating both “Goliath” and “David” on Sunday afternoon.

The six team event featured some of the top teams from the Cleveland and Columbus areas with pool play on Saturday and a single elimination tournament on Sunday at Fredericktown’s Community Park.

Ohio Elite-Hatfield started the tournament facing the Cleveland Spiders. Both teams traded the lead seven times before the Ohio Elite team tied it at 3-3 in the fourth inning when Tanner Parsons (Utica) homered. OE took the lead for good later in the inning when Dayne Burgess (Mount Vernon) singled home Weston Melick (East Knox). Austin Adelman’s (Williard) two-run single finished out the Ohio Elite scoring and led to the 8-5 victory.

The second pool game featured a matchup with St. Joan’s Chargers from Olentangy. The Chargers scored immediately with 2 runs in the first but the OE team answered back with 2 runs, thanks in part to a Ty Hatfield (Fredericktown) home run. After shutting out St. Joan’s in the 2nd inning, Ohio Elite-Hatfield scored five runs and never looked back.  The OE team finished the game with 12 hits while allowing just two and won 15-5.

The nightcap featured a matchup with the Brecksville Bees who were fighting for a top seed in the B Division and it took a late comeback by the Ohio Elite team to avoid a late night loss. Starting nearly 30 minutes late, the chilly evening may have frozen the bats of the Hatfield squad as they managed on five hits and one run through the first 4 innings. Brecksville led 6 to 1 before adding a run in the top of the fifth. Trailing by 6 runs, Ohio Elite would start off the bottom of the inning with a single and a walk followed by an RBI single by Ty Hatfield to score Will Skerbetz (Granville). A base hit by Caleb Sheriff (Fredericktown) plated another run followed by an error and a walk which added two more. A fielder’s choice and another error pushed 2 more runs across and tied the score at 7-7. Another fielder’s choice put a runner at third base with two outs but a hard line drive by Skerbetz into center field was caught, ending come-from-behind victory and giving each team a tie to finish the pool play portion of the tournament.

Sunday afternoon saw the bracket play begin with the Ohio Elite Hatfield team facing the Columbus Cobras, who defeated the Olentangy Stix in the opening round of the tournament. The Cobras were the ‘Goliath’ of the tournament as they featured the nearly 6-foot tall Abe Lundy who swatted numerous home runs during the pool play portion of the tournament, including one shot which cleared both fences ! The Cobras jumped out early with a 3 run first inning as the Ohio Elite team kept Lundy in the park with an RBI single. An errant throw and a wild pitch would give the Cobras a 3-0 lead after half an inning. Ohio Elite-Hatfield would answer after an error by the Cobras third baseman allowed a run to score. The Cobras would strand two in the 2^nd before the OE-Hatfield team would take charge. A wild pitch and a base hit would tie the game at 3-3 before Sam Sells (Olentangy) would put down a bunt single to first to score a run. The play would also result in Lundy getting removed from the game as he injured his leg but would later return. A couple of walks and errors would give Ohio Elite a 7-3 lead before singles by Melick and Ozzie Knupp (Olentangy) would plate 2 more runs. Singles by Burgess and Skerbetz would finish off the 11 run inning for Ohio Elite. The Cobras finally responded in the 4^th inning with a run but Ohio Elite picked up two more runs after two more Cobras’ errors in the infield. The Cobras would add one last run in the 5^th before Ohio Elite Hatfield picked up the 14-5 win and a trip the Ohio Elite Invitational championship game.

The opponent for the championship was their Saturday night opponent, the Brecksville Bees. The Bees made their way to the championship by defeating the St. Joan’s Chargers 6-2 before stunning the Cleveland Spiders with a come-from-behind 7-6 victory. Brecksville played the role of “David” over the weekend as they seemed to surprise everyone they faced. Brecksville took the early lead with 3 runs in the first before adding four more in the second inning. Another run gave the Bees an 8-0 lead before the Ohio Elite-Hatfield team finally got their offense started in the top of the 4^th inning.  A bases-loaded single by Nolan Todys (Westerville) finally took the goose egg of the board for Ohio Elite. A sacrifice fly and base hit cut the lead to 8-4 before an error, a base hit and a wild pitch cut the lead to one run. A sacrifice bunt by Sells tied the game at 8-8 with Skerbetz crossing the plate. A lone walk by the Bees erased a quick four batter inning for the Bees in the 4^th. Ohio Elite would take the lead in the fifth when Parsons doubled to centerfield scoring Sheriff. A single by Melick plated two more runs giving the OE-Hatfield team 11 straight runs scored and a 3-run lead. The Bees stranded a runner in the 5^th while Ohio Elite left runners at the corners in the top of the sixth. Ohio Elite-Hatfield got two ground outs in the bottom of the 6^th before a base hit left a glimmer of hope for  Brecksville. The rally was quickly squashed when a ground out to the pitcher gave Ohio Elite-Hatfield the 11-8 victory in the championship game.

The tournament moved the Ohio Elite-Hatfield team to 10-2-1 on the year and their 2^nd championship game appearance in as many tournaments. Up next for Ohio Elite-Hatfield is the Battle in the Ville in Westerville, May 2^nd through the 4^th.