Savannah 11-and-12s blast their way to World Series

The Savannah 11-and-12 year-old Dixie Youth all stars won five of their six games in last week’s state tournament in Henderson to give them a berth in the Ozone World Series in Lexington, South Carolina. Savannah will enter World Series play as the state champions from the state of Tennessee. The World Series will be held from July 31 through August 5. They are scheduled to play a team from Texas at 5:30 p.m. on July 31.

The Savannah team made lots of noise at the plate in the tournament. They blasted a remarkable 21 home runs in their six games at the state tournament. Savannah outscored their opponents 77-16 overall in the tournament.

Tyler Gammill led the Savannah team at the plate with six home run and 21 RBIs in six games. McKinley Smith and Ike Bormann each had four home runs. Logan Cole added three home runs in six games. Alex Hardin picked up four of the six wins on the mound for Savannah. He pitched a total of 12 innings.

Savannah manager Mark Godwin was very excited about the way the local team performed last week in Henderson. “I’ve coached these kids since they were nine years old, but I’ve never seen them play like they did last week. Every kid on the team made an impact in the tournament and I’m extremely proud of they way they played,” said Godwin.

Team members on the 11-and-12 year old team are Ike Bormann, Logan Cole, Tyler Gammill, Nick Godwin, Ryan Guyer, Alex Hardin, Zack Holt, Christian Kirk, Andrew Robinson, McKinley Smith, Carter White, and Adam Wilkerson.

Savannah 20, Collierville 2

Savannah scored nine runs in the opening inning and added five more in the second to easily pick up the win against Collierville in their opening game. Alex Hardin pitched the first two innings to pick up the win on the mound. Tyler Gammill was 3-for-3 in the game with a pair of home runs and seven RBIs. Ike Bormann was 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs. The duo from Savannah hit back-to-back home runs twice against Collierville. Carter White, Logan Cole, and Christian Kirk also hit home runs in the game for Savannah.

Savannah 16, Fairview 1

Savannah again got started early with six runs in each of the first two innings to open up a big lead. They defeated Fairview in four innings. Alex Hardin was credited with the win on the mound for Savannah. McKinley Smith was 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs in the game. Nick Godwin and Tyler Gammill each had two hits and three RBIs. Gammill also added a home run. Logan Cole and Ike Bormann also had a home run in the game for Savannah.

Savannah 7, Greenbrier 3

Savannah scored seven runs in the first two innings against Greenbrier last week. Greenbrier put together a late rally, but Savannah held them off to pick up the four-run victory. Alex Hardin pitched the first three innings to pick up the win for Savannah. Adam Wilkerson was the only Savannah player with multiple hits in the game. Wilkerson finished the game 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs. Tyler Gammill also added a 3-run home run in the opening inning for Savannah. Carter White scored a pair of runs in the game.

Chester County 8, Savannah 5

Chester County gave Savannah their only loss of the game on Sunday afternoon. After taking a 4-1 lead after three innings, Chester County rallied for three in the fourth inning and four more in the fifth to pick up the win against the Hardin County squad. McKinley Smith, Logan Cole, and Tyler Gammill each had two hits for Savannah in the game. Smith, Cole, and Nick Godwin each hit a home run as well.

Savannah 14, Chester County 4

Savannah got revenge later in the day on Sunday with a 10-run victory against the host team. The local team picked up four runs in the first inning, three in the second, and three more in the third to give them more than enough for the victory. Alex Hardin pitched five innings to pick up his fourth win of the tournament. Hardin struck out seven batters in the game.

Tyler Gammill had a 3-run home run in the first inning that gave the Savannah team some separation early on. Hardin added a 3-run home run in the second inning and Ike Bormann added a 2-run home run in the fifth. Nick Godwin and Logan Cole each had two hits in the game for Savannah.

Savannah 12, Greenbrier 1 (State Championship Game)

Savannah needed only four innings to take care of Greenbrier in the state championship game. The local team scored four in the first, three in the third, and five more in the fourth to secure the 11-run victory. Logan Cole picked up the complete game victory on the mound. Cole only allowed one hit in the game and it came with two outs in the final inning.

Cole also helped out at the plate with two hits and three RBIs. Tyler Gammill was 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including his sixth home run of the tournament. McKinley Smith also had a solo home run for Savannah in the game.