Call it one for the ages.
The Morganton 11-12s all-stars battled back from two deficits Tuesday to capture the N.C. Little League District 7 baseball championship in a 12-10 seven-inning win over Watauga at Catawba Meadows.
Morganton won their first two games of the D7 tourney before dropping a 9-8 decision to Watauga National in the winner’s bracket final. The local all-stars were then faced with winning three consecutive baseball games and did so by knocking off Wilkes American 12-0 then Watauga National 16-4 (on Monday in Boone) and again by a 12-10 margin (on Tuesday in Morganton).
Morganton trailed 6-3 after three innings but turned on the heat in the top of the fourth. Shortstop Chase Crump led off with a single to center. Second baseman Daxton Bostian reached on an infield single before Philip Pieto hit a RBI double to left-center field to score Crump. Matt Curtis grounded out to the pitcher to advance the runners.
Morganton third baseman Graham Martin drew a walk to load the bases. Tripp Causby hit a RBI single to left field to plate Bostian. After a strikeout Matthew Anders launched a two-RBI single to left field to score Pieto and Martin as Morganton took their first lead at 7-6.
“The hit was big at that moment … but when I was rounding first base, I was thinking this was for my team and not my own personal accomplishment. The roar of the home crowd let me know the timing was great,” said Anders, a rising sixth-grader at Liberty Middle.
“After we defeated Wilkes American on Saturday, I had a feeling we could come back and win the District 7 title. It’s a great feeling to be a part of a team that has now won the district title four times in a row.”
Pieto smacked a towering solo home run to deep left field to extend the lead to 8-6 in the fifth.
Watauga rallied to score three runs off three hits and two Morganton errors in the bottom of the fifth to briefly regain the lead at 9-8.
The Morganton 11-12s answered again with a huge tying run in the top of the sixth. With one out, Tripp Causby doubled down the left-field line. Alek Thomas was inserted as a courtesy runner and quickly moved to third on a passed ball. Starting catcher Alex Whisnant then hit a RBI groundout to second to score Thomas.
“It was really exciting to score that particular run,” said Thomas, a rising sixth-grader at Walter R. Johnson Middle. “Coach Bostian told me to steal second and after rounding third base, Coach Anders gave me the signal to keep running.
“Out of this world is all I can say about heading to the Little League state championship.”
Morganton later tack on three runs in the top of the seventh, highlighted by Pieto’s two-run shot to center on a belt-high fastball.
Morganton was led offensively by Crump (two singles, double, two runs, walk, RBI), Pieto (two home runs, double, four runs, walk, four RBIs) and Tripp Causby (two singles, double, run, two RBIs). Bostian (run), Martin (run, walk) and Anders (walk, two RBIs) each collected singles. Matt Curtis (walk), Whisnant (RBI groundout), Riley Caraway (walk), Thomas (walk, three runs), Payton Hightower (walk) and Ty Causby (run) helped on the offensive front.
Pieto (4 2/3 IP, 30 batters faced, five Ks, 85 pitches) and winning pitcher Crump (2 1/3 IP, 10 batters faced, three Ks, 30 pitches) combined on the mound for Morganton.
The local squad will open play at the state championship at 2 p.m. Saturday versus Greenville Tarheel (D4 champs) on Field A at H.T. White Park in Cherryville.
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