It was a verrrrrrry long Sunday but all worth it as the FW Rebels wiped away an sluggish start to win four consecutive games without a break and win the Tournament Championship with a 4-1 record.  One of the best parts of the tournament was it was a complete collaborative effort from all 13 Rebels.  Here are the game by game recaps:

GAME 1

FW NATIONALS 12

FW REBELS 3

Can't sugarcoat this one too much as the Rebels just stalled getting out of the gate.  The Nationals used an 8-run 2nd inning and put this one away early.  Rebel pitchers had problems finding the strike zone while the bats were mostly silent.  If anything, this game allowed the Rebels to play with an edge for the remainder of the tournament knowing that being defeated by a score of 12-3 is a possibility if pitching, defense, and hitting is not on.

GAME 2

FW REBELS 12

EXPRESS BASEBALL CLUB 0

Jace Franke & Christopher Calabrese combined on a no-hitter.  Both were dominant on the mound combining to pitch 4 innings allowing just 1 walk and striking out 8.   At the plate, Bryson Snow provided the big hit with a base loaded three-run double in the 1st inning that sparked the entire lineup.  Snow went 2-2 at the plate with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI.  Kameron Mantyh added 3 RBI while Wyatt Baccus went 1-1 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI.  Besides their fabulous pitching, Franke added a beautiful RBI triple to center while Calabrese smoked a double up the left center field alley. Mantyh & Evan Swindell added the other Rebel hits.  Still, since the Rebels allowed 12 runs in the first game, they didnt get a very good seed, and would have to win three consecutive games to take the championship.

GAME 3

FW REBELS 12

TEXAS GIANTS 1

There was a lot of turnover on the Rebels roster between 13U and 14U and this game was carried by a newcomer, and two long time Rebels. Newcomer Carlos Guerrero started on the hill and overwhelmed the Giants lineup.  In 4 innings, Guerrero allowed just 1 run on 1 hit.  He walked 2 and struck out 11.  Needless to stay his Rebels debut on the mound was a thing of beauty.  At the plate, longtime Rebel Evan Smith hit a 3-run inside the park HR deep to right, while veteran Rebel Quentin Enos crushed a booming deep HR over the left center field fence.  Smith went 2-3 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI.  Enos added a double as well.  Jace Franke went 2-3 with a pair of RBI singles and added 2 stolen bases.  Kameron Mantyh drove in 2 more runs and went 1-2.  Charlie Rusk, Bryson Snow, & Wyatt Baccus all added base hits.  The win moved the Rebels into a rematch with the FW Nationals in the SemiFinals.

GAME 4

FW REBELS 14

FW NATIONALS 7

Jace Franke earned the start on the mound with his dominant performance in pool play.  The visiting Rebels hit first and after two quick outs, Evan Smith reached on an infield single.  Quentin Enos blasted a laser to left for an RBI triple.  Wyatt Baccus singled in Enos to make it 2-0.  The Nationals went quietly in the bottom of the 1st off Franke.  The Rebels scored 2 more runs on some shaky pitching and defense in the 2nd inning.  Christopher Calabrese walked and stole second.  With one out, Evan Wainright struck out but reached on a wild pitch.  Caden Spurling had a clutch at bat and was able to get Calabrese home on an RBI ground out to second base.  Head's up base running by Wainright allowed the Rebels to tack on another run on a passed ball to make it 4-0.  Franke ran into some trouble on the mound in the 2nd inning and it appeared his 4th inning of work on the day was his limit.  Give the Nationals credit for fighting back and adding 7 runs in the 2nd to take a 7-4 lead.

The Rebels could have very easily folded up shop right there....but they did the opposite.  Evan Swindell walked to leadoff the 3rd inning.  Swindell alertly went to second on a passed ball.  Franke struck out on a curve ball in the dirt but hustled down to 1st when the catcher failed to secure the ball and Swindell advanced to third.  Carlos Guerrero stepped into the box and smashed a double to deep left to score Swindell & Franke to make it 7-6.  After Guerrero stole third, Evan Smith singled to center to tie the game at 7.  Smith then stole second and third...and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch to make it 8-7.

With Christopher Calabrese on the hill, the Nationals started a rally with a couple of baserunners and 1 out in the bottom half of the third.  The Rebels elected to put Wyatt Baccus into pitch and Baccus responded by striking out the 2 & 3 hole hitters of the Nationals to keep the score 8-7.

In the top half of the 4th, the Rebels added one more run on yet another clutch RBI groundout from Caden Spurling that scored Coleman Peck who had singled with one out.

Baccus was definitely on his game as he got 2 strikeouts and a popout in the bottom of the 4th.

The 5th inning more than likely was going to be the final inning due to the time and the Rebels needed some insurance runs.  Evan Swindell lined a single to right center to get the inning started.  Jace Franke lined a double to deep center sending Swindell to 3rd.  Carlos Guerrero hit a fly to center enabling Swindell to tag up and score to make it 10-7. Evan Smith then doubled to center scoring Franke to make it 11-7.  Quentin Enos hit a hard single to left that scored Smith.  After courtesy runner Carlos Guerrero stole second, Wyatt Baccus singled to center scoring Guerrero.  The final run of the inning was scored when Baccus scored on a wild pitch to make it 14-7.

Baccus got two quick outs to start the bottom of the 5th, and then Coleman Peck came in to strikeout the final hitter to send the Rebels to the championship game with a 14-7 victory.

GAME 5

FW REBELS 8

DALLAS ELITE 2

The 2021 version of the FW Rebels has multiple pitching options and a fresh Evan Smith got the ball for the championship game.  Smith did not disappoint.  In an amazing performance, Smith went 6.1 innings and struck out 14. He was just 2 outs away from a complete game shutout when Dallas Elite scored their 1st run.  Quentin Enos came in and got the final two outs to send  give the Rebels an 8-2 Championship victory.

Good fundamental baseball got the Rebels on the board in the top half of the first inning.  Jace Franke walked and went to second on a passed ball.  Carlos Guerrero singled to right to make it 1-0. Evan Smith did his job and grounded out sending Guerrero to third.  Quentin Enos put a tough pitch in play with two strikes to score Guerrero to make it 2-0.

With Smith dominating on the mound, and the Dallas Elite pitcher settling down, it stayed 2-0 all the way to the 5th inning. To leadoff the 5th, Carlos Guerrero raked a hanging curveball down the left field line for a leadoff triple. Evan Smith was then hit by a pitch...and the stole second.  Quentin Enos ripped a double to left center scoring Guerrero & Smith. Wyatt Baccus followed with a double of his own scoring Enos making it 5-0.  Bryson Snow walked.  After a wild pitch sent Baccus to third, Charlie Rusk singled to right to cap the inning's scoring with the Rebels leading 6-0.

The fast moving game went all 7 innings and the Rebels added two more insurance runs in the top of the 7th to make it 8-0.  Evan Smith beat out an infield single to make with one out. Courtesy runner Carlos Guerrero stole second, and then scored on a Quentin Enos single to left, Enos' 4th RBI of the game.  Wyatt Baccus singled, and then Bryson Snow singled in Enos for an 8-0 lead.

Dallas Elite scraped across 2 runs in the 7th, but the game ended on the Rebels 16th pitching strikeout of the game.  Again, an absolutely stellar outing from Evan Smith and the Rebels became tournament champs.