Godfather's Pizza left McLane Park Thursday night with the Parks Dept. Babe Ruth League Tournament championship trophy following a dismantling of Xtreme Family Fun. After four innings of play, Godfather's staunch defense and fierce offense forced a run rule to win the title 11-1.
The championship comes off of coach Kenny Kendle not knowing exactly what to expect when the season started as he only knew a handful players.
"From the start of the season it wasn't bad, I enjoyed it," Kendle said.
"I thought I had a pretty good team. They played hard, they listened and it resulted in the win tonight."
River Earls scored Xtreme's lone run of the night, scoring off of a walk. The top of the order for Godfather's didn't waste any time to get on the board. With Jordan Vinyard and Storm Jay on base, a triple gave the team a 2-1 lead. An error lead to another Godfather's another score, giving the team a 3-1 lead into the second.
Three consecutive strikeouts from Xtreme, set up a ferocious second inning for Godfather's. A single from Jordan Vinyard knocked in Chase Pruett and Collin Glick. Jay hit a lightning line drive for a double. Three Godfather's players reached home off of mishandled pitches, pushing the lead 8-1.
Jay felt his double gave the team the extra push it needed to finish on top.
"Whenever I hit that ball it felt good," he said smiling. "I just knew from there that we were going to win because it just hyped our team and gave us confidence."
Quick and uneventful outings from both squads in the third inning, gave Xtreme a final chance to close the gap in the top of the fourth. Despite a triple from Xtreme, the squad couldn't take advantage of Godfather's aggressive defense.
Three consecutive walks extended the lead 10-1. A mishandled pitch gave way to a sliding, game-clenching run from Jaren Orton.
Despite a victory that seemed certain after the second inning, coach Kendle didn't want to guarantee anything until the "third out." He said he never takes any team lightly on the diamond and he never feels safe until the game finally ends.
Kendle added that he's thankful that he had the opportunity to coach "a great group of young men."