PF Flyers 13U wins first tournament of the year

The PF Flyers 13U team played up and won the 14U MVP Swing Into Spring Tournament this past weekend.

The Flyers went 5-0 to start the season, including a 20-3 win in the championship game.

But the tournament started out much lower scoring.

In game 1 on Saturday, the Flyers scratched across a run in the bottom of the first when Alex Finkler was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on a two-out single by Tucker Lane. The Flyers added two more runs in the third inning.

Meanwhile, the Flyers pitching was dominant. Lane, Blake Ruston and Jackson Stoll combined for a two-hitter in the 3-0, five-inning shutout win. Lane struck out four in two innings.

The outstanding pitching continued in the second game of pool play. Drew Berning and Finkler didn’t allow an earned run in five innings.

Berning was 1-for-2 with two RBI and Mathue Baker had an RBI triple to pace the offense to a 7-1 win.

Finkler led off the bottom of the first in bracket play with a line drive single to center. Colten Sears worked a walk. And then Berning hit a two-run double. Baker added an RBI single later in the inning. That put the Flyers up 3-0.

The 14U Highland Heat came roaring back in the top of the third with a three-run inside-the-park home run to tie the score 3-3.

But Sears managed to score from third on a dropped third strike to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the inning. Berning added an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 5-3.

In the semifinal game, the Flyers fell behind 4-0 in the bottom of the second. They cut the lead in half with RBI singles by Maclin Bastin and Berning in the third. Luke Smith added an RBI single in the fourth.

The Flyers tied things up in the fifth when Finkler stole home to make the score 4-4.

The Flyers scored two in the top of the sixth on bases-loaded walks before Baker shut things down in the bottom of the sixth.

Baker finished the game with 2 2/3 innings pitched, no hits and five strikeouts.

In the championship game, the Flyers scored 11 runs in the first inning and nine in the second to win 20-3.

Finkler was 2-for-3 with three runs scored, three RBI, two walks and a double. Berning was 2-for-3 with four RBI. Declan Sauer was 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two RBI.

The Flyers are 5-0 on the season.