Both teams wrapped up their respective World Series runs on Saturday. The 11U All-Stars finished as tournament runners-up while the 10U All-Stars finished as runners-up in the Ironman bracket.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – An impressive All-Star season for Peachtree baseball came to an end last week. With both the 11U and 10U All-Stars in their respective Cal Ripken World Series, both Crozet-based teams made the most of their opportunities.
The 11U All-Stars, after getting into the tournament with an at-large bid, made it all the way to the championship game, finishing as the runners-up behind Hawaii Kai.
The 10U All-Stars, making their second straight world series appearance, finished as runners-up in the Ironman (consolation) bracket, sixth overall.
Along the way, both teams not only accomplished plenty on the diamond, but made lasting memories off of it.
11U All-Stars
The 11U All-Stars traveled to Crown Point, Ind., looking to keep their dream season alive. They got off to a great start, going 2-1 in pool play with a lone loss to defending and eventual back-to-back champions Hawaii Kai.
But up to that point, the weather had not been kind, with rainfall every day of the tournament. It all culminated on the morning of Peachtree's final pool play day, three tornados touched down in the area, leaving much of the area, including Peachtree's hotel, without power.
In the aftermath, the team's hotel was without power for two days while the tournament's directors scrambled to get games back in without power at the fields, which had also suffered major damage from the storm.
With so much work to do to get the World Series going again, Peachtree did its part, with the players and coaches helping do field work.
“There were maybe five teams that had coaches and volunteers there (doing field work),†coach Jeff Kamrath told Cville Right Now. “But our team was the only team that was there (with) the players, and they were doing field work.â€
It was a moment that Kamrath said “brought everything into true perspective,†reminding him that he wasn't coaching baseball, but coaching young men.
Eventually the baseball did resume, and in a newly tweaked, 20-team bracket, Peachtree suddenly found themselves in a rematch with East Lake, the same team that ousted the team from the Regional Tournament and snapped its 24-0 start. In the rematch, Peachtree got their revenge with a walk-off 2-1 win.
Peachtree later fended off a furious comeback from Puerto Rico in the next round to walk away with a 11-7 win, setting up a semifinal matchup with tournament favorite Visalia, CA. Peachtree took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first before Visalia's leadoff hitter, who ended the tournament as its batting champion having gotten out just twice, launched a home run to cut the lead in half.
But Peachtree's starting pitcher, Kamrath's son Rawlings, kept his composure, and with the help of an exceptional defensive performance from the whole team, Peachtree bested the favorites 10-1, ending the game with their second double play.
“We made legitimately no mistakes in the game,†Jeff said, “and played just (a) perfect brand of just beautiful baseball.â€
Peachtree's run ended with a 4-0 loss to Hawaii Kai in the championship on Saturday, but they held their heads up high and walked away with plenty to be proud of. In addition to their runners-up medals, Rawlings was named to the All-Tournament Team and Braxton Simmons received the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for Best Defensive Shortstop.
“The kids were a little upset after the game, after we lost,†Jeff recalled. “And I said, ‘Guys, before the season started, if I had told you, you'd be playing in the championship game of the Cal Ripken World Series, would you have taken that right then and there?' And all of them were like, ‘Yeah, absolutely.’â€
10 All-Stars
The 10U All-Stars had a much different path to its world series, in more ways than one. The team only had to travel to Stafford for its tournament and automatically qualified after finishing third in last year's 9U World Series.
But they faced a tough task in this year's world series, where in pool play, they were placed in what head coach Will Reifsteck called “easily the most difficult one out of all seven pools.†The group featured both the defending champions, Tulare, CA., and the eventual champions Southeastern Crush, based out of Lexington, Ky.
After beating Tulare, who eliminated Peachtree from last year's world series, in its first game, Peachtree fell to Puerto Rico in extra innings, facing a pitcher who Reifsteck said was throwing 70 mph.
The team then lost to Southeastern Crush decisively. Those two losses kept Peachtree out of the championship bracket, but the team had a chance to redeem themselves in the Ironman bracket.
“I was really proud of their resilience,†Reifsteck told Cville Right Now. “They're 10, and so maybe that's easier for them, I guess. But you know, they're really able just to shake it off and come back and play really great baseball.â€
That resilience was vital in Peachtree's first game of the Ironman bracket against, Semmes, Ala. The game, typically just six innings, went to extras, and Peachtree found itself down three in the eighth. But the team came back, scoring three runs in that eighth inning before winning 9-8 in nine.
“That was a really difficult. kind of hard-fought win,†Reifsteck said.
After dispatching Aruba in the semifinals, Peachtree once again found themselves facing Tulare in the championship on Saturday, falling 4-1 after giving up three runs in the final inning.
But still, like the 11U All-Stars, the 10U team walked away proud of what they had accomplished, including a Golden Glove for Davis Junior.
“I think the resilience and focus the boys showed throughout the week was super impressive,†Reifsteck said. “They had a blast. Just watching them play against so many international opponents and make friends from other countries and make friends from other countries and trade jerseys with kids from Germany and Aruba. It was just a really special experience for sure.â€
