BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
The Melrose 15U Baseball All-Stars got off to a great start, winning two games by a combined score of 29-2, but the team then lost two straight as it was eliminated from the Southeast Regionals in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Melrose advanced to the tournament after winning the first-ever state championship for a Melrose team as well as the first-ever title for a District 5 team.
The team had a chance to keep its season going, but fell two runs shy of a win in its final regional game — a 5-4 loss to Greenville (North Carolina).
Play for Melrose began with a 14-2 win over Gloucester (Virginia) on July 27 that saw pitchers Tyler Brinson, Austin Musgrove, Cason Pilcher and Clayton Screen combine to give up only two hits.
Melrose trailed 2-0 before scoring 11 runs in the fifth inning.
Brayden Smyth got the big inning started with a single. After Andrew Wilson was hit by a pitch, Smyth scored on a passed ball. Wilson scored on a single by Musgrove.
Gage Barry and Aiden Screen drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. An Austin Smith single brought two of the runners home, putting Melrose ahead 4-2.
Pilcher drew a walk to load the bases again. Screen and Smith scored on wild pitches. After Clayton Screen drew a walk, Brinson hit a two-run single. Smyth then hit a one-run single, making the score 9-2.
Wilson and Musgrove drew walks to load the bases. A ground out by Barry scored one run, while Wilson scored the final run of the fifth on a passed ball.
Barry, Brinson and Smith each had two RBI, with Smith going 3 for 5. Musgrove and Smyth each drove in one run, with Smyth going 2 for 4.
Wilson went 2 for 3.
Musgove got the start on the mound, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits, while striking out three.
Clayton Screen and Pilcher threw 1.2 and 2.2 innings, respectively, giving up no hits. Pilcher had six strikeouts.
Brinson faced the final batter, forcing him to line out.
Melrose didn’t have to wait as long to build a big lead in its second game, scoring 11 runs in the second inning en route to a 15-0, four-inning win over Iredell County (North Carolina) on July 28.
Starting pitcher Aiden Screen threw a no-hitter through 2.2 innings, striking out four.
Barry closed it out, giving up one hit.
The bottom of the second began with a leadoff single by Smith, who then scored on a Pilcher double. Brinson hit a sacrifice and reached on an error, which allowed Pilcher to score, while Brinson moved all the way around to third.
Melrose loaded the bases, with Clayton Screen drawing a walk and Smyth getting hit by a pitch. Brinson scored on a passed ball, while Screen and Smyth scored on a Wilson double. A single by Musgrove pushed another run across to make the score 6-0.
With two outs in the inning, Musgrove scored on a passed ball. Smith and Pilcher hit back-to-back singles, with Pilcher’s hit scoring a run. After a Brinson walk, Clayton Screen drove in two runs on a single. Screen later scored the final run of the inning on an error.
Wilson went 4 for 4 with three RBI, while Pilcher went 2 for 3 with two RBI. Smith also went 2 for 3.
Clayton Screen finished with two RBI, while Musgrove had one.
On July 29, Melrose fell behind 8-0 in the first inning of what would be an eventual 9-1 loss to Okeeheelee (West Palm Beach).
Okeeheelee had only three hits in its big opening inning, but took advantage of three errors, three walks and a passed ball.
Melrose scored its lone run in the top of the seventh. Clayton Screen led off the inning with single. Two outs later, Musgrove drew a walk before Screen scored on a Barry single.
Foster Smith was Melrose’s only multi-hit batter, going 2 for 3.
To avoid elimination, Melrose had to win its next game. It never led in its July 30 game against Greenville, but it did make things interesting in the final inning before losing 5-4.
Smyth singled to lead off the top of the seventh. Musgrove then drew a one-out walk before a Barry single scored Smyth, making the score 5-3. Musgrove scored on a passed ball to bring Melrose’s deficit to just one run. Greenville intentionally walked Aiden Screen to load the bases. A strikeout and a fly out ended the game.
Greenville took a 3-0 lead in the first inning. A dropped third strike and an error allowed two of those runs to score.
Melrose made it a 3-2 game in the fifth. Wilson and Musgrove reached on a single and a walk, respectively. Both scored on an Austin Smith double.
Greenville scored two runs in the sixth. Three batters reached on two walks and one error. Runs scored on a passed ball and a single.
Barry was Melrose’s only multi-hit batter, going 2 for 4.
Starting pitcher Pilcher gave up five runs (one earned) on two hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out eight.
Musgrove faced the final two batters, forcing them to hit fly ball outs.
Pilcher led the team in innings pitched in the tournament with eight. He gave up two hits and one earned run and struck out 14.
Clayton Screen gave up one hit and one earned run in 3.2 innings. Brinson and Musgrove each threw a total of three innings, with Brinson giving up three hits and no earned runs and Musgrove giving up two hits and one earned run.
Aiden Screen gave up no hits and no runs in 2.2 innings, while Barry gave up one hit and no runs in 2.1 innings.
Wilson was the leading batter with a .533 average. Two others batted better than .400: Austin Smith (.467) and Smyth (.417).
Austin Smith drove in a total of four runs, while Barry and Wilson each drove in three. Brinson, Musgrove, Pilcher and Clayton Screen each had two RBI.
