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Ohio Elite-Hatfield wins the Battle in the Ville Championship

By Gregg Burgess, 05/06/14, 10:45PM EDT

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Ohio Elite-Hatfield goes 5-0 with five run-rule wins in Westerville.

 (Westerville) The Ohio Elite-Hatfield 11U baseball team won the annual Battle in the Ville tournament with five run-rule victories the weekend of May 2nd through the 4th.

The Ohio Elite-Hatfield completed the championship with a 15-4 victory over the Gahanna Lions to pick up their second tournament title of the season.

Ohio Elite started the tournament with a 11-0 win over the Dublin Green Sox on Friday evening. Ohio Elite took an early lead thanks to back-to-back doubles from Ty Hatfield (Fredericktown) and Caleb Sheriff (Fredericktown). An error later in the inning allowed Sheriff to score and created a four run lead in the first inning and the Ohio Elite team never looked back.  Hatfield led the team with 4 RBI’s while Will Skerbetz (Granville) had a game-high 3 runs scored. Sheriff and Austin Adelman (Williard) combined to one-hit the White Sox while walking one and striking out two.

Ohio Elite-Hatfield played the Columbus Sharks in their lone Saturday pool play game. The OE club opened the scoring  with four runs in the first inning.  Sheriff drove in two runs with a double and later scored on a ground out by Tanner Parsons (Utica). A single by Weston Melick (East Knox) scored Adelman to give Ohio Elite the early advantage. The Sharks were able to respond with a two-run single in the second inning but a triple by Dayne Burgess (Mount Vernon) scored a run to help Ohio Elite answer back. A quick 1-2-3 inning in the third started a decisive inning by the Ohio Elite team.  The Hatfield team would send 15 batters to plate, scoring 11 runs and putting the game out of reach. Three up and three down in the top of the 4th ended the 16-2 victory for Ohio Elite. Parsons led the team with two hits and 4 RBI’s. Skerbetz and Ozzie Knupp (Olentangy) combined to allow just three hits and zero walks to the Sharks as the Ohio Elite Hatfield team secured the number one seed in the Sunday tournament.

The opening game of bracket play featured a match up against the Valley Warriors out of Heath. They defeated the Columbus Sharks on Saturday evening to advance to the quarterfinal game with Ohio Elite-Hatfield.  The pitching of Sheriff kept the Warriors in check through the first two innings. A walk to Sheriff at the plate followed by a double to right center by Parsons ended the shutout and started a big inning for the OE team. 14 batters would take a turn at the dish leading to ten runs. The biggest hit of the inning was a bases-loaded double by Sheriff which scored all three runners. Sheriff later scored the tenth run on an error by the pitcher.  A single by Burgess added a run in the third before the Warriors would finally put two runs on the board in the 4th. The Ohio Elite team would finish the game on a single by Adelman which gave them a 12-2 victory.  Sheriff and Skerbetz combined to fan five Warriors while giving up only 3 hits. Sheriff scored twice and drove in 3 runs to lead the OE team.

The semifinals game featured the Mid State Heat who knocked off the St. Joan Chargers to advance in their quarterfinal match up.  The Heat scored first after a single and an error and then a couple of wild pitches. Ohio Elite-Hatfield got doubled up on a hard line drive in the bottom of the inning and ended up stranding a runner without scoring.  A single and and walk were both left on base for the Heat in the 2nd. The Ohio Elite team finally got the scoring going in their half of the second after back-to-back hits by Parsons and Adelman. A squeeze bunt was executed to perfection by Nolan Todys (Westerville) to score Parsons from third. A sac fly by Knupp gave Ohio Elite the lead and a single by Burgess extended the lead to 3-1. The Heat were able to plate a run in the top of the third but a Hatfield double scored Sam Sells (Olentangy) before two more runs scored to make it a 6-2 game after three innings. Ohio Elite-Hatfield added 5 runs on six hits in the fourth inning. A couple of runs by the Heat in the top of the fifth cut the lead to 11-4 before a sac fly by Skerbetz scored Burgess and ended the 12-2 game.  Skerbetz, Hatfield and Adelman each contributed with three hits while Hatfield, Adelman and Parsons each drove in two runs apiece.

The championship game featured the Gahanna Lions 11U team who earned the three seed in the Battle of the Ville tournament. They defeated the Northern Ohio Hurricanes and the Eastside Irish Black to get into the tournament finale. The Lions went to bat first and picked up a couple of singles in the first inning. The first runner was erased on a perfect throw and catch between Hatfield and Knupp while Burgess picked off the second runner on a throw to Melick at first. Ohio Elite-Hatfield got the scoring started in the bottom of the inning with a Sells double which scored Skerbetz. Ohio Elite would tally five runs for the early lead.  Gahanna would pick up a run in the second inning but a threat for more was erased when Hatfield threw down to Melick at first to catch the runner off-guard and end the inning. Ohio Elite answered with two more runs to make it a 7-5 game. OE would extend the lead in the third with two-run hits by Skerbetz, Hatfield, and Parsons and led 15-1 after three innings. The Lions mounted a rally in the fourth with three runs but a ground out and a pop out to Melick at first end the 15-4 game and gave the Ohio Elite-Hatfield team the Battle of the Ville 11U championship.

The three day tournament saw the Ohio Elite team rack up 66 runs on 59 hits while their pitchers allowed just 12 runs on 19 hits during their undefeated tournament run. The Ohio Elite-Hatfield team will be heading to the 7UP Cup at Berliner Park in Columbus May 16th through the 18th.

Ohio Elite-Hatfield 11U is a travel baseball program for Elite Athletes to prepare them for High School baseball and eventually college. Follow Ohio Elite-Hatfield on Facebook at Ohio Elite-Hatfield and through www.ohioelitebaseball.com.