Southern Bank used a late rally, along with strong pitching, to come back and win the Park Department Pony League Tournament championship Wednesday, beating Bizzy Bee 20-5 at McLane Park.
"I'm super proud of these guys," Southern Bank coach Doug Lacy said. "They became very good friends over the season and that experience is more important than winning to me."
Despite some early struggles, Southern Bank pitcher Trenton Lacy was able to throw a strong game on the mound with seven strikeouts. He also drove in three runs including the run that ended the game.
"Trenton is just a ballplayer," Coach Lacy said. "He's there for every practice and every game. He's been that guy for us all year long."
Another key contributor for Southern Bank was Ethan Willis, who also had a three-RBI game.
"Willis has been the biggest surprise of the season," Coach Lacy said. "He's got the most energy and the most heart on the field and has found ways to come through."
As the visitors, Bizzy Bee struck first with three runs in the first inning, but Southern Bank was also able to put a crooked number on the scoreboard as they made it a 3-2 heading into the second inning.
Bizzy Bee chalked up two more runs in the second on an inside-the-park home run by Nate Moore, but Southern Bank took the lead as nine runs crossed the plate in the bottom half of the inning.
Lacy highlighted the inning with a two-run home run while Willis had a pair of singles that drove in three runs.
Throughout the game, Southern Bank used heads up baserunning to their advantage, running whenever they could.
By the time the second inning was over, Southern Bank had a comfortable 11-5 lead, but wanted to get back into the dugout to push across nine more runs to end it early.
Lacy didn’t allow a run in the top of the third and Southern Bank did just that as their lead steadily increased.
Lacy stepped up with runners on the corners and was able to get a grounder just past the third baseman and in fair territory to allow the final run to score and walk it off.
Southern Bank won the regular season title and was the top seed in the tournament with Bizzy Bee seeded second.