COLUMBUS JUNIOR BOYS ALL-STARS HEADING TO STATE

The Columbus junior All-Stars are heading to the State tournament after they handled their business at the Sectional Tournament.

Columbus continued to stack up wins as they took on all challengers in the Sectional tournament this past week starting on Wednesday, June 26.

Col lege Station Little League Junior All-Stars was first on the schedule for Columbus and they came out firing on all cylinders. Columbus was held scoreless in the first inning but came back in the second inning and scored twice.

They added another run in the third to extend their lead to 3-0 over College Station before Columbus unloaded on them in the fourth inning. The fourth inning saw Columbus score eight runs to put the game out of reach.

The Columbus defense blanked College Station throughout the game. The combined efforts of Weston Krpec, Ryan Heffley and Greg Fitzgerald on the mound for Columbus finished with only one hit against, zero runs earned, four batters walked and 10 strikeouts between the three of them.

Riding the wave of confidence of their 11-0 victory over College Station they quickly shifted their focus to Lufkin for game number two. The two teams are highly competitive and made for a great spectacle for baseball fans.

Lufkin opened the scoring and led 2-0 as Columbus stepped in the batter’s box for the first time in the game. They cut the lead to one run before heading back on defense, but Columbus secured three outs quickly and went right back to work on offense.

They added two more runs to take the lead for the first time in the game 3-2 but Lufkin was still right on their heels. Lufkin responded by scoring two runs of their own to once again hold a one run lead over Columbus.

Lufkin added a run in the fourth and fifth innings each to make the score 6-3 before Columbus came roaring back.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Columbus looked everywhere for a spark to help get themselves back into the game. With the bases loaded Clayton Brown hit a single that scored one run and started the rally.

With the bases still loaded and one out on the board Jayden Spaulding hit another single that was close to scoring two runs for his team. Columbus managed to score one run off the Spaulding single but a tag out at home plate gave them their second out of the inning.

After back-to-back wild pitches from Lufkin, Brown stole home and tied the game. Shortly after on a passed ball Spaulding scored to give Columbus the lead but they still had more left in the tank.

Columbus reloaded the bases with two outs on the board and it was Krpec who helped extend Columbus’ lead by hitting another single off an error. With a lead of 8-6 Columbus invested the rest of their energy into defense.

An investment that paid off big time as they finished the game with another win in hand and a ticket to state in their pocket.