THE FW REBELS GO 5-0 TO WIN THE USSSA 12UAA MAVS BALL PARK WOOD BAT CHAMPIONSHIP

Dominant pitching, outstanding defense, and timely hitting enabled the FW Rebels to go undefeated in the USSSA 12U AA Dallas Mavs Ballpark Wood-Bat Tournament this weekend.  The Rebels are 9-0 in tournament play so far this season in two tournaments.  This was the first USSSA tournament the Rebels have won and they did so in impressive fashion.  Here are the game-by-game recaps:

FW REBELS 4       FRISCO BRUINS 2

Evan Smith started on the hill for the Rebels and went three dominating innings.  Smith allowed no runs on no hits, walked just one and struck out six.  With a four-run lead, Jace Franke finished things off and he too, didn't allow a hit but two unearned runs scored in the fifth and final inning.  Franke struck out five in his two innings of work.  At the plate, Jon Doko singled in Jackson Jordan in the bottom of the second to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.  The Rebels struck for three more in the bottom of the third with Karson Symonds & Quentin Enos delivering RBI singles. 

DREW HORTSMAN'S 2-RUN HR CAPPED A HUGE 13-0 REBELS VICTORY OVER NTX BULLS. HIS TEAMMATES MOB HIM AT HOMEPLATE.

FW REBELS 13       NTX BULLS 0

The final score was not indicative of how close this game was. The game was just 2-0 heading to the top of the 5th inning when the Rebels exploded for 11 runs while sending 15 batters to the plate.  In the first inning, the Rebels got everything started with two outs.  Evan Smith singled and then stole second.  Jackson Jordan singled him home to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.  In the 3rd inning, with two outs, Evan Smith reached on a dropped ball by the Bulls firstbaseman.  Jackson Jordan delivered again with a run scoring double to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead.  Meanwhile, Jordan was cruising on the mound as he allowed only one hit over three innings while walking two and striking out five. Quentin Enos followed Jordan in the 4th and struck out two in his first inning of work.  Then the fireworks came in the 5th.  Once again it was the Evan Smith-Jackson Jordan duo as Smith led off with a single, stole second....and scored on another Jordan single to make it 3-0. Karson Symonds singled and he & Jordan scored on a two-run double by Jon Doko making it 5-0. Quentin Enos & Christopher Calabrese walked to fill the bases.  Will Adams singled sharply to right scoring Doko & Enos to make it 7-0.  Evan Swindell followed with a single to center to score Calabrese to make it 8-0.  After Swindell stole second, Jac Franke singled to left center scoring Adams & Swindell and it was 10-0.  This brought Drew Horstman to the plate who crushed a fastball over the left field wall for a two-run home run to make it 12-0.  It was Horstman's 2nd home run of the season. Doko added another RBI single scoring Karson Symonds completing the 11-run outburst.  Enos go the Bulls to go 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 5th to earn his first save of the season.  The Rebels earned the #2 seed for Sunday bracket play.

FW REBELS  3       FRISCO BRUINS 1

The #2 seeded Rebels got a re-match with the #7 seeded Bruins to open up bracket play Sunday.  In the bottom of the first, Jace Franke led off the game legging out an infield single to third.  Franke stole second and went to third on a wild pitch.  With two outs, Franke was still on third when Jackson Jordan walked.  Pinch runner Evan Smith came in and stole second.  This set the stage for Drew Horstman who lined a single to left that scored Franke & Smith.  Jackson Jordan started on the hill and breezed through the first three innings.  In the top of the 4th, with a 2-0 lead, Jordan began to show signs of fatigue. The Bruins opened the inning with two singles and a walk, and then the next hitter walked with the bases loaded to make it 2-1.  With none out, and the bases still loaded, Jordan was able to get the next three hitters to hit infield pop ups to end the inning.  Jordan led off the bottom of the 4th by walking.  Pinch runner Evan Smith came in and stole second.  Drew Horstman reached safely by hitting a hard hit ball to short that advanced Smith to third. With Karson Symonds at the plate, the Bruins pitcher uncorked a wild pitch scoring Smith to make it 3-1.  With one out, and Horstman at third and Symonds at second following a walk, Jon Doko laced a liner but the Bruins shortstop made a nice back handed grab and doubled Horstman off of third ending the inning with a 3-1 score.  Jack Dalton came on to pitch the 5th inning and quickly got the first two Bruin hitters to ground out to second.  The next hitter reached on a mis-played ball in right field and then Dalton walked the three & four hole Bruin hitters to load the bases.  With two outs, the bases loaded, and a two run lead, Dalton reached back for a little extra and struck out the next hitter to end the threat.  Time expired while the Rebels were hitting and the game ended with a 3-1 victory.  Jackson Jordan got the win and Jack Dalton earned the save.

SEMIFINALS

FW REBELS 3      KELLER CHARGERS 0

The Rebels were paired up against #3 seed Keller Chargers in the semifinal game and this was a masterful pitcher's duel.  Jack Dalton started on the hill for the Rebels and the ace of the Chargers' staff went up against the Rebels.  Both pitchers looked like all it would take is one run to win the game.  In the bottom of the 2nd of the scoreless game, with two out, Quentin Enos absolutely destroyed a solo Home Run deep into the Dallas skyline to give the Rebels a 1-0 lead.  Dalton made sure that was enough by hurling four no-hit innings while walking just two and striking out six. In the bottom of the 4th, with one out, Drew Horstman singled to left.  Karson Symonds then walked followed by Enos getting hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Jon Doko then hit a hard grounder to short and there was some miscommunication around second.  This allowed two Rebels to score to make it 3-0.  And that was the ballgame.  Jack Dalton earned the win on the hill for the Rebels as they moved on to the Championship game.

CHAMPIONSHIP

FW REBELS 8    NTX BULLS 1

The NTX Bulls won three consecutive games after losing their tournament opener 13-0 vs the Rebels.  This earned them a spot in the Tournament Championship game.  Quentin Enos got the start on the hill for the Rebels and he was aided by some incredible Rebels defense.  In center field, Evan Smith made a diving catch to rob a Bulls hitter of extra bases to open up the game.  Jack Dalton looked like a Major-League shortstop with a beautiful play up the middle with an off-balance throw to first.  In the bottom of the first, all three Rebel hitters struck out and it was game-on.  Smith made another leaping grab in center to open the top half of the 2nd.  Jace Franke made a nice over the head catch down the left field line to close out the 2nd. The Rebels got on the board in the bottom of the 2nd manufacturing a run.  Jackson Jordan singled to open the inning.  Pinch runner Evan Smith stole second and went to third on a Drew Horstman ground out.  Karson Symonds did his job with an RBI ground out to third to make it 1-0.  In the top half of the third, the Bulls tied it up with an unearned run off of Enos.  The Rebels, who consistently fight back, battled for three runs in the bottom half of the third.  Christopher Calabrese & Evan Swindell both had clutch at-bats and drew walks.  With one out, Jace Franke smoked a liner off the left field wall to score Calabrese.  With two outs, Evan Smith doubled on a hard hit ball to center scoring Swindell & Franke to make it 4-1.  Smith was brought in to close things out.  He had an easy top of the fourth only allowing a walk.  In the bottom of the fourth, the Rebels added some insurance thanks to some Bulls wildness.  The Bulls walked five hitters that inning and allowed two more runs to score to make it 6-1.  Smith didn't allow a hit in the top of the 5th and was aided by a terrific play by Drew Horstman at second and a nice catch by Will Adams in right.  In the bottom of the fifth, Smith added his second two-run double of the game to make it 8-1 and that was all she wrote.  The Rebels won 8-1 and came out on top as Champions of the tournament.  Enos was the winning pitcher and Smith got the save on the hill.

PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS

Jace Franke - hit .417 with 5 runs and 3 RBI.  Played stellar defensively and pitched 2 solid innings.

Jack Dalton - his no hitter got the Rebels into the Championship game and his save slammed the door in Game 1 Sunday.  Made some great plays at SS.

Evan Smith -  Smitty hit .333 and with 4 runs scored and 4 RBI....which all happened in the championship game.  Won Game 1 on the hill Saturday and picked up the save in the championship.  His diving catch in centerfield got the championship started on the right foot.

Jackson Jordan - Hit .556 in the tournament with 5 runs scored and 3 RBI.  Pitched a solid 7 innings total to earn 2 wins, struck out 10 with only 5 hits and 4 walks allowed.

Drew Horstman- Hit .364 with a Home Run Saturday. Also scored 3 runs and drove in 4.  Played great at 2b and 3b.

Karson Symonds - Hit .500 for the tournament and reached base 9 times in 12 plate appearances!  Scored 5 runs and drove in 2.  Was solid at 1b.

Quentin Enos - Hit .429 and hit the majestic blast to left field in the semifinals vs Keller Chargers.  Started on the hill in the championship game and allowed 1 unearned run in 3 innings.  Picked up the save vs the Bulls Saturday.

Jon Doko - Hit .444 in the tournament while knocking in a team high 6 runs.  Was hampered by a sore knee Sunday which kept him at DH but battled through the first game.

Christopher Calabrese - Got on base over 30% of the time and scored 2 runs while knocking in 1.  Was flawless in the outfield and had the funniest line of the weekend.

Will Adams - Hit .333 for the tourney and contributed a clutch 3 RBI while scoring a run.  Stayed confident and played a great RF during the championship game.

Evan Swindell - Had a .333 on base percentage in the tournament and scored 2 runs while contributing an RBI single Saturday. Was solid in LF.