Master Sports captures Minors league championship

After a delay because of heavy rains last week, the Minors baseball league held its championship game on Monday night at Elks Park. Master Sports entered the game as the tournament's No. 1 seed while Bob's Greenhouse made a run through the loser's bracket to make it to Monday. Both teams made plays through the course of the game, but it was Master Sports that pulled out the 9-5 victory to win the championship.

"It feels good," Master Sports player Brantley Wirtzberger said about winning the championship. "I really like it and it was really fun."

After winning four elimination games in a row, Bob's Greenhouse started the game strong in the top of the first inning. With two runners on base, an RBI double drove in a run to give Bob's Greenhouse a 1-0 lead. A dropped ball by Master Sports then allowed another runner to score to push the lead to 2-0.

But Master Sports responded. In the bottom of the first with a runner on, Wirtzberger hit a single to center field to drive in the run and cut the deficit to 2-1. Then in the bottom of the second with two runners on base, a double to center field brought home a run to tie the game.

Master Sports kept momentum rolling into the bottom of the third. From third, a Master Sports runner scored on a dropped ball to give Master Sports a 3-2 lead. Later in the inning with the bases loaded, a Master Sports batter was hit by a pitch, which brought in another run to push the lead to 4-2. Another Master Sports runner then scored on a fielder's choice to give Master Sports the 5-2 advantage in the contest.

To start the top of the fourth, a Bob's Greenhouse batter took advantage of a double and several errors to score on the first at-bat of the inning. But Bob's Greenhouse was unable to build momentum off that play.

In the bottom of the fourth, Master Sports took firm control of the game. With two men on, Wirtzberger cleared the bases with a double to push the lead to 7-3.

"(We were) just able to time the ball really good," Wirtzberger said about his team's hitting. "I think we really hit the ball well this year."

Wirtzberger then scored himself on a fielder's choice to further push the lead. An inside-the-park home run to end the inning gave Master Sports a 9-3 lead heading to the fifth. Bob's Greenhouse was able to score a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, but Master Sports was able to record the final out to win the game.

With the season now over, Master Sports head coach Patch Wirtzberger can now reflect on the season and tournament that his team had. With the year that ended with the championship, Wirtzberger believes the Master Sports team demonstrated how they grew throughout the year.

"It's just so much fun to see these young kids get better all year long," Wirtzberger said. "Very proud of these young guys for all the work that they put in and for how much better they got throughout the season."