The Lake Cumberland 11-year-old All-Star team began their summer season with a tournament championship in London this past weekend. The local all-star squad split two games on Saturday in pool play, and then swept the competition on Sunday in the tournament elimination round.
On Saturday, Lake Cumberland fell to the Central Kentucky Colonels by a final score of 9-6. Noah Helton and Jordy Smith led LC with three hits each, while Colton Fraley and Jeffrey Madden chipped in with two. Smith recorded two RBI's in the loss.
Later in the day, the 11-year-old squad returned to the diamond for a matchup with the Sliders. LC scored two runs in the opening frame, exploded for six more runs during the third inning, and added four insurance runs in the fourth and final stanza to secure a 12-7 victory.
Madden led the all-stars with four RBIs, while Fraley also contributed three runs driven in. Fraley, Helton, and Kameron Gehring each collected three hits. Madden was credited with the win on the mound for LC.
Lake Cumberland returned to London on Sunday for tournament play, and opened the single elimination round with a 20-2 over Pulaski Thunder.
Lancaster led the offensive outburst with three hits and four RBI's. Fraley and Madden each added three run-scoring hits, while Helton, Madden, and Dalton Huling had multi-hit games. Helton picked up the victory on the mound.
In the semi-finals of the tournament, LC squared off in a rematch with the Colonels looking to avenge their only defeat of the tournament. The 11-year-old squad jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after Seth Bennett took a 3-1 offering over the left center field fence. Lake Cumberland scored three times in the fourth frame, and plated one more run in the fifth inning. However, after six innings of play the score was tied at 5-5. LC wasted little time in re-taking the lead, scoring in the top half of the seventh inning. Fraley was the lone all-star with multi-hits and a RBI, while Bennett and Ethan Jones also collected run-scoring hits.
Bennett turned in a gem of a pitching performance for the local all-stars. He tossed six innings, scattering seven hits and striking out eight Colonel batters, and not allowing a single walk. Gehring pitched a scoreless seventh inning while notching the save.
Lake Cumberland moved onto the championship game, but the semi-final matchup with the Colonels resembled more of a title matchup. LC faced the Winchester Power, and absolutely dominated the opposing team, cruising to a 17-0 victory and tournament championship.
Jones led the hitfest for LC, recording a team high three hits. Gehring, Helton, Bennett, Huling, and Brice Russell each had two hits. Helton and Tanner McBryde led the team in RBI's with three each, while Jones and Bennett chipped in with two runs driven in. Gehring tossed four innings of shutout baseball, while only allowing the Power a single hit in the victory.
With the tournament championship, the Lake Cumberland 11-year-old All-Stars kicked off their summer season with a 4-1 record. The local squad will be back in action this weekend in Louisville for an invitational tournament.
