BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Four players drove in at least three runs each as the Bradford Rookie All-Stars defeated Santa Fe 16-6 to win the Santa Fe Babe Ruth District 5 championship on June 2 at the Hal Brady Recreation Complex in Alachua.
Bradford will now compete in the Cal Ripken Florida State Tournament, which will take place Wednesday, June 19, through Sunday, June 23, at Jacksonville’s Ed Austin Regional Park (3450 Monument Road or 11751 McCormick Road).
The District 5 championship game was tied at 3-3 going into the bottom of the second. Bradford then scored six runs. With two on and one out, Rylan Noegel hit an RBI double. The team then scored five runs with two outs. Easton Wiseman hit a two-run double, while Ashton Brown hit a two-run single. Trey Waldon drove in a run on double.
Bradford scored six runs in the third inning to go up 15-6. Noegel and Brown each had a hit with the bases loaded, with Noegel driving in two runs on a single and Brown driving in three on a triple. Wiseman drove in a run on a single.
Brown, Noegel, Wiseman, Sebastian Almanzar, Braxton Lee and Trey Waldon each finished 3 for 3. Brown had five RBI, while Wiseman had four. Noegel and Waldon each drove in three runs, while Almanzar had one RBI.
Cash Collins and Bryson McCollum each went 2 for 2.
Noegel pitched all four innings, giving up 14 hits and no walks, while striking out four.
Bradford got off to an impressive start in the tournament, with Brown hitting a grand slam and finishing with two home runs total and eight RBI in a 15-0 win over Gainesville on May 30. A seven-run first inning included two-run doubles hit by both Lee and McCollum.
After defeating Palatka 10-2 on May 31, Bradford played the first of two games against Santa Fe. Brown and Wiseman had four and three RBI, respectively, in a 16-1 win on June 1.
Brown, Wiseman and Liam Hobbs each hit an RBI single in the first inning.
A seven-run second included two-run doubles hit by Waldon and Wiseman, an RBI double by Hobbs and RBI singles by Lansford and Noegel.
Almanzar, McCollum and Noegel each drove in a run in the third inning before Brown had a two-run hit. Brown was able to circle all the bases on the throw and score himself.
Brown, Lansford and Noegel each went 3 for 3. Brown and Noegel had four and two RBI, respectively, while Lansford had one.
Almanzar, Collins, Hobbs, Lee and Wiseman each went 2 for 2, with Wiseman driving in three runs. Hobbs and Amanzar had two and one RBI, respectively.
Waldon drove in two runs, while McCollum drove in one.
Noegel pitched all three innings, giving up three hits and no walks, while striking out five.
Santa Fe rebounded with an 8-0 win over Palatka, setting up the rematch with Bradford in the championship game.
Bradford ended up with more to celebrate than a district championship and a berth in the state tournament. The team received an invitation to the Babe Ruth World Series, which will be played Aug. 1-11 in Ocala.
