BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Brock Screen’s two-run double in the bottom of the third would prove to be the difference as the Melrose 16U All-Stars baseball team defeated Orange Park 5-3 to win the state championship on June 29 in New Smyrna Beach.
Ryder Trull earned the save, taking to the mound with one out and runners on second and third. He struck out the first batter he faced on four pitches and then forced the second batter he faced to line out to second baseman Cody Musgrove.
Melrose, which won its first two tournament games by a combined score of 24-4 to reach the championship game, now advances to the Southeast Region Tournament, which will be played July 15-20 at Sam Fleishman Regional Sports Complex in Fort Myers.
Trull and Steven Carter combined to drive in five runs to help Melrose open state-tournament play with a 10-0 win over DeBary on June 26.
Starting pitcher Cannon Sapp gave up two hits through 3.1 innings, striking out five.
Trull finished it off on the mound, entering the game with one runner on with one out in the fourth. He gave up one hit before getting out of the inning and then allowed no hits in the fifth (final) inning.
A three-run second inning saw Aero Spanger and Dylan Currington reach on a single and a walk, respectively. A Carter single scored courtesy runner Kason Paulk, while a Holston Frazier ground out scored both Currington and Carter.
Melrose increased its lead to 5-0 in the third. Juan Oquendo singled, advanced to third on an error and scored on a Trull single. Trull scored on an error.
Currington reached on a ground-ball error to lead off the bottom of the fourth. Carter hit an RBI single and then scored himself on an error. Frazier and Branson Byrd both walked and then scored on a Trul single, making the score 9-0.
Conner Flinchum was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the fifth, scoring the final run.
Trull finished 2 for 3 with three RBI, while Carter went 2 for 2 with two RBI.
Melrose got three RBI each from Oquendo and Trent Peacock in defeating Hamilton County 14-4 on June 28.
Hamilton held a 1-0 lead before Melrose scored five runs in the top of the second. Screen and Musgrove both reached on fly ball errors, with Screen scoring on the second error. Currington drove in the second run on a single, followed by Tobias Cunigan drawing a walk. Trull drove in one run when he hit into a fielder’s choice, while a Peacock ground out scored the inning’s final two runs.
Melrose went up 12-1 with a seven-run fourth. Currington led off the inning with a single before stealing second, advancing to third on a balk and scoring on a Cunigan single. After Byrd singled, Oquendo hit a two-run double. Back-to-back triples by Trull and Peacock put another run on the board, while Flinchum drove in one by hitting into a fielder’s choice.
The final two runs of the inning came off a Screen triple and a Paulk single.
Two errors and an Oquendo ground out scored the first of two runs in the fifth inning. Flinchum drew a bases-loaded walk to score the second.
Flinchum finished with two RBI, while Cunigan, Currington, Paulk, Screen and Trull each had one.
Currington and Trull each batted 2 for 3.
Frazier pitched one inning, giving up an unearned run and one hit.
Cunigan (2.1 innings) allowed three runs and three hits with three strikeouts, while Paulk (1.2 innings) gave up no runs and no hits.
In the championship game, Melrose built a 5-0 lead before claiming the trophy with the 5-3 win over Orange Park.
Melrose scored one run in each of the first two innings. Oquendo reached on an error in the first and scored on a Sapp single. Byrd singled in the second and scored on Oquendo’s two-out single.
With one out in the third, Peacock and Sapp both walked. After Spangler singled to load the bases, Screen hit a two-run double into left. A Currington ground out scored the final run, making it a 5-0 game.
Orange Park got on the board with a two-run fourth, putting two on with a single and a walk and scoring runs on a sacrifice fly and an error.
The top of the sixth saw Orange Park hit a leadoff triple and then score a run on a single before Trull entered the game to close it out on the mound.
Screen pitched the first 3.1 innings, giving up two unearned runs and one hit, while striking out three.
Peacock allowed one run and three hits with two strikeouts in two innings before giving way to Trull.
