14 YO Titans

The Kyle Chapman 14 year old team took another step toward establishing its own legacy of greatness, winning the USSSA Texas Fall State 14 and under AAA Championship in Round Rock, Texas, this past weekend. In order to accomplish that task, the KC 14's had to beat 5 very difficult opponents. Their path to the goal was as follows: Kyle Chapman Titans 9, Round Rock Rangers 1 (qualifier) Kyle Chapman Titans 12, Fort Worth Jackets 0 (qualifier) Kyle Chapman Titans 8, Belton Red Sox 3 (#1 seed vs. #8 seed) Kyle Chapman Titans 9, Texas Lonestars 1 (#1 seed vs. #4 seed in semi-final) Kyle Chapman Titans 6, Bryan-College Station Stealth 4 (#1 seed vs. #2 seed in final). The reports from the first three games are already on the K.C. website (www.kcpony.org). Here are the reports from the semi-final and final game victories. In the semi-final game, K.C. faced a familiar opponent in the Texas Lonestars. Pat Brosch held the Lonestars to one run on three hits in five innings of sensational pitching to earn the semi-final game victory. K.C. tallied 4 runs in the bottom of the 1st inning and never looked back. A Ross Chan single to center, a Kevin McKee double, a Paul Knowlton RBI single to left, a Grant Haynes RBI double to right, a Pat Brosch reach on an infield error to score a run, and a Jared Rothenberg fielder's choice to score a run, gave the Titans a 4-1 lead after 1 inning of play. The Titans added a run in the 2nd on a Kevin McKee single and a Paul Knowlton RBI groundout to make it 5-1 Titans after 2 innings of play. In the top of the third inning, it appeared that the Lonestars were ready to make a run at the Titans. They turned a leadoff double, a walk and a sacrifice bunt into runners on second and third with one out. The Lonestar batter hit a hard chopper to Jared Rothenberg at first base. He leaped into the air, and came down throwing to Jeremy Schaffer at the plate. Jeremy chased the Lonestar runner back to third where Paul Knowlton took the throw. The Lonestar runner tried to reverse field and score, but Paul Knowlton threw a strike to Jared Rothenberg at the plate for the tagout. That sparkling defensive play later helped the Titans to run rule the Lonestars. The Titans padded their lead in the bottom of the 3rd, scoring 2 runs on an Andrew Jones leadoff walk, a Jeremy Schaffer walk, a Jared Rothenberg RBI groundout, and a Matt Kelly single through shortstop to drive in a run. It was 7-1 Titans after 3. The Titans closed out the scoring with 2 runs in the bottom of the 4th on a Paul Knowlton walk, a Grant Haynes walk, an Andrew Jones RBI groundout, and a wild pitch. After Pat Brosch retired the Lonestars in the 5th, the 9-1 game was called due to Run Rule. That victory brought the K.C. Titans to the championship game against the Bryan-College Station Stealth. Paul Knowlton took the ball for K.C. in the championship game, and pitched a breathtaking no-hitter to earn the win. While the Stealth could not manage any hits, they scored runs due to a K.C. defense that had been brilliant so far in the tournament, but was clearly tiring in its 5th game in less than 48 hours. K.C. was held scoreless in the top of the 1st. In the bottom of the first, the Stealth took a 1-0 lead on a leadoff walk, a sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly to centerfield. K.C. and the Stealth both went down 1-2-3 in their respective halves of the second inning. K.C. took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning on a Jared Rothenberg single up the middle, a Ross Chan single to right field, a Paul Knowlton dribbler in front of home plate that scored Jared, and a throwing error by the Stealth first baseman. The Stealth tied the game in the bottom of the 3rd when the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on an infield error, then scored on a sacrifice bunt. At the end of 3, the score was tied 2-2. K.C. was scoreless in the top of the 4th, but the Stealth went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the frame on an outfield error and 2 infield errors. K.C. got runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs in the 5th, but could not score in the frame. Neither could the Stealth. It was 3-2 in favor of the Stealth after 5. K.C. was scoreless in its half of the 6th inning, but the Stealth posted an insurance run in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff walk, an infield error, and an outfield error. Only a brilliant throw from Ross Chan in center field to Pat Brosch at the plate prevented additional Stealth runners from scoring in the inning. Thus, at the end of 6 innings of play, K.C.'s backs were to the wall, down 4-2. Taking a page from last year's 14 year old K.C. cardiac kids, this year's version of the Titans erupted for 4 big 7th inning runs. Ross Chan was hit by a pitch, Kevin McKee reached base on an infield error, Paul Knowlton reached on an infield error, Grant Haynes had a beautiful bunt single, Andrew Jones plated 2 runs on a hard hit infield error, and a wild pitch scored the last K.C. run of the game. In the bottom of the 7th, a tiring Paul Knowlton faced the heart of the Stealth order, and dispatched them with little effort. A fly ball to right field, a fly to shortstop, and a grounder from pitcher to first base later, the K.C. Titans were the 2003 USSSA Texas Fall State 14 and under AAA Champions. Last night's splendid victories not only brought K.C. another championship, but also a paid berth in the USSSA 14 and under World Series this coming summer. Congratulations to the Titans and especially Coaches Clif Atherton, Barry Kelly and Mike Purcell on excellent efforts and excellent results. GOOOO Titans!!! By Scott Rothenberg