The Maple Valley Bombers have been racking up tournament wins this spring.
The Bombers won the 9U USSSA Summer Celebration Tournament May 8-9 at Sprinker Recreation Center.
This was the Bombers second straight tournament win. The Bombers went 4-1 in the two day event.
The team had some tough competition, losing its first game to the Maple Valley Rain Devils 5-4. There were three lead changes in five innings.
After the initial loss the Bombers came back to win four straight beating the Sound Kitsap Sluggers in two games with a combined total of 35 runs and strong pitching from Connor McGuire, Jacob Woodall and Landon Laramore.
The Bombers needed to beat the Rain Devils twice more to win the tournament, getting a 4-2 victory in the qualifier game, coming back from a 2-0 deficit in the fourth inning. Nik Hendrickson broke the game open with a bases loaded single, followed by Angel Guzman’s sacrifice to bring in the fourth run.
After being down 2-1 through two innings to the Rain Devils in the championship game, Trace Halvorson hit a three run home run in the third inning to give the Bombers a 5-2 lead. The Bombers added another insurance run in the fourth with a squeeze play bunt by Braden Threlkeld and three more runs in the fifth with singles by Adam Campbell and Michael Alar, pushing the final score to 9-5, with Bronson Burton, Adam Campbell and Hendrickson each pitching two innings.
The winning ways continue for the Bombers when they won the 9U BPA Pierce County Invitational tournament May 22-23 at Cirque Park in south Tacoma.
This was the Bombers third straight tournament win and qualified them for the BPA State Tournament. Again the bombers bounced back after a loss, going 4-1 over the course of the tournament, having lost the first game 5-4 to the Sammamish Sparts.
Next up was a 9-5 victory over the Gig Harbor Stingrays as Nik Hendrickson, Adam Campbell and JJ Gerarden each pitched two innings.
Halvorson, Woodall, Alar, Hendrickson and Burton all had hits in a game where six of the nine batters contributed on offense.
On Sunday the Bombers faced the Rain Devils again taking a 2-0 victory in a defensive battle. Woodall drove in the first run of the game on a sacrifice then Campbell drove in the winning run. Burton and Laramore combined to pitch six shutout innings.
In the championship game the Bombers squared off against the Spartans again and came away with a 1-0 victory for the tournament title.
Hendrickson and Burton combined for another six innings of shut out pitching.
JJ Gerarden scored the game’s lone run on a sacrifice by Halvorson.
Meanwhile, the Bombers defense fended off a Spartan comeback as the by spectacular fielding, diving catches and a throw to home plate to end the game.
