Former Heritage High, Georgia Tech and Baltimore Oriole's organization third baseman and pitcher Andy Mitchell led his SDG Angels select travel baseball team to the Southern Sports Summer Slam 12u Championship at Shorty Howell Park in Duluth this past weekend.
The Angels, based in Covington, lost a heartbreaker to begin pool play Saturday when they left the bases loaded in their last at-bat in a
3-2 loss to the WR Heat from Bonaire. After their opening game, the Angels plated two runs in the last inning in a come-from-behind 4-3
win over the Home Plate Chilidogs of Peachtree City to advance to the single elimination Championship rounds Sunday.
On Sunday the Angels easily handled the FCA/Hitters Park Cardinals of Cumming 17-5 and the Powder Springs Silverhawks
18-2 to advance to the championship game against the Gresham Park Pirates of Decatur.
In a thrilling championship game, the Angels fought back from 1-0, 3-1 and 7-5 deficits to win the game 8-7 in walk-off fashion.
Every player contributed to the Angels title. Caden Brown had nine hits in the five games and scored eight runs. Gehrig Knapp had nine hits and stole 11 bases.
Payton Shaw scored four runs and J.D. Smith had four RBI. Luke Burnett hit a home run and drove in four RBI. Nolan Mitchell tied the championship
game with an RBI sacrifice groundout in the last inning. Braydon Smith hit two home runs and had six RBI. Byron Johnson added a home run and three RBI.
Cooper Duncan scored four runs, including the game-winner in the Championship game. Luke Smith had seven hits, including two home runs and had 8 RBI.
Hunter Hays hit four home runs and knocked in 12 runs while also scoring 9 runs.
The Angels’ pitching staff included Knapp who was 2-0 and struck out 17 batters in eight innings pitched. Mitchell went 1-0 in relief work. Luke Smith
went 1-1 and recorded the lowest ERA for SDG at 1.90. Hays struckout six in two innings pitched, and Johnson was credited with a save.
The DHYS Red Devils from Decatur, the Hopewell Hawks from Milton and the MCBA-NJYS Mariners from Stockbridge are the others teams that filled
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out the 12u group of nine.
