Junior Speakers claim Atwood title
Jun. 7—TILTON — The Danville Post 210 Junior Speakers picked up from where they left off last year.
On Sunday afternoon at Gruber Park, the Junior Speakers improved to 5-0 with a 7-2 victory over Shelby County in the championship game of the Frank Atwood Memorial Tournament.
"It's always good when you can win your own tournament," said Danville manager Steve Waller. "I know there is a lot of history behind this tournament. These guys came out ready to play and it's nice to get the season started this way."
A year ago, the Post 210 Junior Speakers capped their campaign with a state championship victory at Gruber Park.
Eight of those players are back this year and several of them played key roles in Sunday's victory.
Pedro Rangel was the winning pitcher, throwing 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball while striking out seven. Outfielder Deegan Albert went 3-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI while Braxton Waller went 1-for-4 with a team-high three RBIs.
And while it was a good combination of pitching and hitting that allowed the Junior Speakers to claim the title on Sunday, that was also their formula to get into the title game.
Post 210 scored 69 runs in its five victories, while its pitching staff allowed just nine runs — six coming in its semifinal win over the Danville Post 210 14-and-under Blue Speakers — and just 15 hits in those five games.
"I did think we would have a pretty good offense," said Waller. "I wasn't sure comparing to last year where it would be, but all 16 guys on this roster are capable of being in the lineup. So, I'm going to have some tough decisions, day-in and day-out.
"The best part about this weekend is that we were able to get a lot of guys playing time and they all did really well. We will continue to do that this summer until later in the season, when we will solidify things before the postseason tournaments."
In the championship game, Danville got all the offense it would need with a four-run fifth inning.
Chaz Dubois got things started with an RBI single, brining home Grant Morgan who was hit by a pitch to open the frame. Waller followed with a two-run single to left, scoring Cade Schaumburg, who walked, and Dubois making it 5-0 for the Junior Speakers. Albert capped the scoring with an RBI double to left.
The Post 210 Junior Speakers advanced into the title game with a 13-6 win over Post 210 Blue Speakers in the semifinal.
"That's a tough spot. We had to realize that a lot of those kids on that team are going to be teammates in the near future," Waller said. "We are all part of the Post 210 program.
"We were in their shoes last year in the TB24 Tournament going against the Senior team. I was really proud of that 14-and-under team, they went 2-1 in pool play."
The only loss for the Blue Speakers in pool play came against Shelby County on Saturday.
The Post 210 Junior Speakers will be back in action tonight as they host Rantoul Post 287 Juniors at Gruber Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
