Successful summer seasons on the diamond came to an end for two Wood River All-Star baseball teams during the Twin Falls tournament July 21-23.
The Wood River West 11-12 year-old "Major" league team coached by Billy Kramer finished up with a 3-3 record at Twin Falls, while the Wood River East 11-12 All-Stars were 2-2 during their two-day visit.
WR West started well with a 5-2 victory over Twin Falls Patriots July 21. Kevin Jensen, Braxton Parish and Tom Crosby made big plays, and Taz Lyons did some outstanding pitching—allowing no earned runs in three innings of work.
Coach Kramer's squad had a full plate of four games Friday, winning twice including a dramatic 12-11 loser-out victory in its final game of the day. West rallied from a six-run deficit to pull off the miracle.
A clutch double by Chris Isaacs started the rally in the bottom of the sixth inning, then Connor Braatz stole home with the opposing pitcher off the mound, for the game winner.
WR West exited the tournament with a Saturday morning loss to Twin Falls Patriots. Highlights were a home run by Nick Hansen, plus outstanding fielding by Jake Freeman, Alex Padilla and John Siegel.
Kramer said, "At the beginning of the season the kids had never played together as a team, in fact, four had never before played All-Stars. Each player had such tremendous growth from our first practice to our final game. We had a great season and lots of fun.
"All the players appreciated our sponsors, Power Engineers and Pepsi, as well as the team parents and fans, our assistant coaches Phil Bradshaw and Layne Jensen, and our super bat boy Wyatt Parish."
The Wood River East squad sponsored by Hailey Nursery, Uhrig Fencing and Rocky Mountain Hardware opened the three-day tournament with a 5-0 loss to Burley Thursday.
The same night, East played under the lights and defeated the Kalispell (Mt.) 11-year-olds by a score of 9-6. Mason Kluge, Zack Israel and Tanner Sanders combined to pitch the game.
WR East jumped off to a 4-0 lead in the first on RBI hits by Sanders (3 hits) and Davis Hague. The winners added three runs in the fourth for an 8-3 lead on singles by Taylor Hendricks and Kluge, a two-run double by Sanders and another Hague RBI single.
Playing its best defensive game, WR East then beat the Cincinnati Reds from East Boise 14-2 Friday morning. Hague tossed the first three innings and Kluge finished up.
WR East built a 3-0 lead in the first on a three-run home run by Nathan Farrow (2 hits, double). East exploded for 11 runs in the fourth as Alex Thomas belted a pair of two-run round-trippers in the rally.
Other contributors included Hague (double, triple), Kluge (2 hits), Tyler Kolp (double), Collin Dean single and doubles by Israel and Sanders.
WR East ended its season with a 12-2 loss to the Kalispell 12-year-old squad.
Coaches Tracey Farrow, Thayne Hendricks, Mike Beall and Ted Israel thanked the parents for their support.
