14 YO Titans

The 14 year old Kyle Chapman Pony League Titans dominated the first day of the USSSA Texas Fall State Tournament, defeating two North Texas opponents by a combined score of 21-1. In the first game (at 11:15 a.m.), Jeremy Schaffer took the mound for K.C., but not before his teammates staked him to a 6-0 first inning lead. The Titans mounted a furious early game offensive attack courtesy of a Ross Chan single to centerfield, a Kevin McKee single to 3rd, a Paul Knowlton RBI single to right field, a 2 RBI Grant Haynes single to center field, an RBI groundout to third base by Jared Rothenberg, a ground rule double to left by Pat Brosch, an RBI single to left field by Andrew Jones, a single to right by Trey Hibbert, and a sacrifice fly to right field by Jeremy Schaffer. Jeremy Schaffer dominated on the mound, allowing just 1 unearned run in 5 innings of work on seven hits and two walks, while striking out 7 Round Rock Rangers. K.C. added a run in the top of the 3rd when Pat Brosch reached base on a dropped third strike, then courtesy runner Diego Lopez managed to score on a wild pitch. K.C. got its 8th run in the top of the 4th courtesy of a neat Paul Knowlton triple down the right field line, and a sacrifice fly to center field by Grant Haynes. K.C. closed out the scoring in the top of the 5th, tallying its 9th and final run of the game on a single up the middle by Jeremy Schaffer, a wild pitch, sending courtesy runner Diego Lopez to second base, a stolen base by Lopez at 3rd, and an RBI single by Ross Chan to drive him home. The final score in 5 innings was K.C. Titans 9, Round Rock Rangers 1. In the nightcap (8:15 pm start), Jared Rothenberg took the mound against a very tough Fort Worth Jackets team. For those of you who don't know, this is the same team that knocked First Colony American out of the Southwest Super Regional of the Little League World Series 2 years ago. In fact, their starting pitcher tonight, Walker Kelly, was the same pitcher who came within one out of throwing a no-hitter in the 2001 Little League World Series. In the top of the 1st, K.C. managed only a walk to Paul Knowlton. In the bottom of the 1st, Fort Worth went down 1-2-3, including 2 swinging strikeouts. In the top of the 2nd, K.C. went down 1-2-3. In the bottom of the 2nd, Fort Worth got a leadoff walk, a groundout to second (4-3), a swinging strikeout, a hit batter (to put runners on first and second with two outs), when Jared Rothenberg got the Jackets' batter on a called strike 3 fastball to end the inning. In the top of the 3rd, K.C. scratched out a run against tough Walker Kelly on a Diego Lopez walk, 2 stolen bases, and a 1 out single to centerfield by Ross Chan. In the bottom of the 3rd, Fort Worth began the inning with 2 quick groundouts, then received 2 free passes from Jared Rothenberg to make it runners on first and second with two outs. On a 3-2 count, Jared Rothenberg wheeled toward second, trapping the runner between 2nd and 3rd. After running toward the trapped runner, Jared threw to Paul Knowlton at third, who ran the runner back toward second, tagging him for the third out of the inning. That blue star defensive play preserved K.C.'s tenuous one run lead. In the top of the 4th, Fort Worth removed its star pitcher. K.C. responded by blowing the game wide open with 5 big runs. A Jared Rothenberg walk, a Pat Brosch walk, an Andrew Jones single up the middle, a run scoring Diego Lopez walk, a run scoring fielder's choice by Charles Mann, a walk to Kevin McKee, a run scoring helmet hit to Paul Knowlton and a Grant Haynes run-scoring walk put the game out of reach at 6-0. In the bottom of the 4th, Grant Haynes came on to pitch, allowing 2 Fort Worth hits, but no runs. In the top of the 5th, K.C. added 6 more runs on a Jeremy Schaffer walk, a Jeffrey Rohrbach RBI single to right field, a double by Trey Hibbert, a 2 RBI triple by Kevin McKee, a walk to Paul Knowlton, and a 2 RBI single by Grant Haynes. The score in the middle of 5 innings of play was K.C. 12, Fort Worth Jackets, 0. In the bottom of the 5th, Grant Haynes sealed the victory with a bunt out, a single, a groundout to first base, and a groundout to second to end the game. Of special note in the second game was the Titans' flawless defense. Despite recent defensive challenges, K.C. did not commit an error in the second game. In the first game, Grant Haynes made a blue star catch of a sinking line drive to left field, and Pat Brosch spearheaded a strikeout double play with a stunning throw to second base to nail a fleet Round Rock baserunner. By virtue of their effective hitting, stellar pitching, steady baserunning and excellent defense, K.C. earned the #1 seed going into Sunday's playoff round. At 9:00 a.m., Sunday, K.C. will play the #8 seed Belton Red Sox, who lost today 14-1, but won their nightcap 6-1. The winner of that game advances to a 3:45pm semi-final game against the winner of the Texas Lonestars - Cy-Fair Astros game. The finals are scheduled for 6pm on Sunday. Congratulations to the Titans on a great first day of play. We look forward to more Kyle Chapman All-Star baseball tomorrow morning. Gooooooooooooooo Titans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! By Scott Rothenberg