LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL: BIG FLATS PICKS UP WIN OVER HORSEHEADS TO CLAIM DISTRICT CROWN (24 PHOTOS) (2024-07-09)

By Brian Fees
Southern Tier Sports Report
HORSEHEADS — Big Flats got off to a fast start with three runs in the opening inning as they defeated Horseheads 11-2 to win the District 6 12u Little League Championship on Tuesday night.

For Big Flats manager Mike McCullough there were signs this group could be special a long time ago.

“I told the boys after the game, the three of us coaches, and I will say, coach Charlanow and coach Brooks, it really is a team effort between the three of us. The only reason I’m managing this team is because it’s my last year. We did all of this, it’s a team effort. And, coach Charlanow and I said back when these kids were in coach pitch, what a special group of kids these were.

“You could see it coming up and sure enough it’s two district titles for this group of kids in the past three years. So, really special this season in particular, their maturity is starting to show. They are mentally staying in the game. They played great defense the whole all-star season. I think we let up maybe 15 runs total and we scored 70 or 80 something like that, huge run deferential, and that made a lot of difference in our pitching, because it takes a lot of pressure off the pitchers.”

McCullough worked 4 2/3 innings of one-hit ball, allowing one earned run and two total runs. He struck out nine. At the plate he was 2-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored.

“Going into this game against Horseheads we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Mike McCullough said. “Steve Micknich is always going to have his team ready to play ball. One of the finest baseball coaches in the area, and they always have good pitching and we knew AJ Rijo was going to be tough tonight.

“But, our kids had great at bats, to their credit. And, we had a good pitcher on the mound tonight. Brennen threw a fantastic game. Couldn’t be more proud of them, and the kids made plays for him and they put some runs on the board for him. Just a great feeling for these kids. It’s just a special group of kids.”

Big Flats wasted little time offensively as they scored three in the first, added a run in the third, four in the fourth and three in the fifth in the win.

“That was really big,” Brennen McCullough said of the early lead. “Because, we were kind of nervous at the beginning and after that we were just fired up and really excited.”

While Big Flats won big, there were some moments of doubt in the game as Big Flats led 8-2 in the fifth, but Horseheads had the bases loaded and McCullough was out of the game after hitting his pitch count limit.

Louie Zinni came up big for Big Flats and got out of the inning to help secure the win.

“I was really proud of him,” Brennen McCullough said. “He came in clutch and we got the win.”

Mike McCullough knows that this group has faith in everyone on the team.

“What we have seen this couple of years, just the growth and mental toughness,” Dustin McCullough said. “The bases were loaded and that’s when Brennan ran out of pitches and we brought Louie in and that was a really tough situation to come into. But, he came in, he got the last out with the bases loaded and got us out of the jam. The score doesn’t reflect it, but that could have gone either way that inning.”

For Big Flats the win is special.

“It feels really good,” Brennen McCullough said. “We were hoping to win it and hoping to move on and keep winning and try and move onto states. We knew our team was erally good and even if we made an error and got down on ourselves we could come back and get it next time.”

Zinni had two hits and scored three runs and Jonah Charlanow, Nolan Ruhmel and Gabe Charlanow all had hits in the game. Ruhmel scored a run and Joe Graham scored two runs, while Nathan Burdick had an RBI and a run scored.

Zinni struck out three and allowed no runs on three hits in an inning and a third.

Zach Mendez had a double and a run scored for Horseheads and AJ Rijo, Brody Keenan and Haden McKinney had hits in the game with Kaiden Rijo scoring a run.

AJ Rijo struck out five and allowed five hits and seven runs, three earned, in 3 2/3 innings. Cam Vasicek struck out one in 1/3 of an inning and McKinney struck out two in an inning.

Now it’s onto sectionals at Baldwinsville.

“I think we’ll probably take tomorrow night off, to be honest with you, it’s been a really hot coupe days here, the kids deserve it,” Mike McCullough said. “We’ll take a night to celebrate, take tomorrow off and get right back after it. Just get them reset and dialed back in.

“Pitching will be a challenge for sure in sectionals. It’s a lot of games in a short amount of time and you can start running out of pitchers at a certain point. But, we have a good group of arms, so I think we’ll be fine. But, we are going to go up and try and have fun and try and win a few games up there.”
—————
PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES

PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE TITLE GAME:


Print Friendly Version