The 59th annual Boys Invitational Baseball tournament kicked off last week with 16 Little League teams vying in a single-elimination tournament. Ettrick, CBC American, CBC National, CBC Heat and CBC Central (Woolridge) all participated.
Through the first round, only Ettrick has advanced so far by way of beating Staunton, 15-0. As impressive as that was, it was only as impressive as pitcher Caymon Wilkinson. He fired a no-hitter, striking out 14 batters over six innings while allowing three base runners via walks.
The game played over two days. Rain caused it to be suspended Friday evening and completed Saturday afternoon. Just one run was scored on Friday, as Wilkinson delivered a smash to center field that hit the wall on the fly, just a couple of feet from being a three-run home run.
On Saturday, Ettrick added two runs in the fourth, six runs in the fifth and delivered the final knockout punch by adding six more runs in the sixth inning.
Leadoff hitter Lucas Edwards was 5 for 5 with four singles, a double, and three runs scored. Gray Thacker, Bryce Yates and Chase Mitter each delivered two hits as Ettrick totaled 14 on the evening. What helped even more was a selective eye at the plate, as the team tallied eight bases on balls.
Ettrick has many team members who played on the Matoaca Indians last season. Coached by Brian Harrison, the team moved out from under the Chesterfield Baseball Clubs umbrella and is led by Allen Thompson.
“The numbers in our area decreased and decreased and decreased,” Thompson said. “People had to choose between sports. If you’re charging 180 dollars for football, 130 dollars for basketball and 165 dollars for baseball, most families aren’t going to pay that.”
With help from a grant from Major League Baseball’s Play Ball program, Thompson was able to get the ball rolling. This is the first time the team has played under the Ettrick moniker, and according to Thompson, this was the first summer baseball was played in Ettrick Park in over 25 years.
Major League Baseball provided Thompson and company with equipment, and the rest, the team hopes is history. They won the Hopewell Optimist Club tournament two weeks ago, slugging 11 home runs in the tourney.
“It’s a good group of kids,” Harrison said. “I’ve had most of the kids under me for four or five years,” he continued. “Every kid on this team is a good athlete, and it’s just a great group of kids.”
With the win, Ettrick advanced to play Dinwiddie American, who beat up on Tidewater 12-2. Those two teams are scheduled to play at 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 6.
In first-round results, CBC National fell to Prince George 6-1, CBC American was defeated by Colonial Heights 10-0 and CBC Central fell victim to Williamsburg by a count of 4-0.
CBC Heat has yet to play, as they were scheduled to play Dinwiddie National Monday night at 7 p.m. Due to press time, that result cannot be published.
For more BIB tournament updates, check out next week’s edition of the Village News.
