The Arsenal Blue of the Arlington Travel baseball program finished the recent Future Stars Tournament in Hershey, Pennsylvania, with a score of 5-0 and won, scoring ten or more runs in each contest and winning in four games.
In the first of their two group games, the 12-year-old team defeated the Keystone State Bombers 10-2, thanks to strong pitching from Maddox Cory and Charlie Keffer, as well as two hits each from Ethan Hall and Atticus Clark.
In their second game, Arsenal rallied, defeating Hauss Powwa 12-10. Dev Kataria hit a three-run home run and Gavin Vaughan pitched two scoreless innings. A comeback in the fifth inning began with an eight-pitch walk by Logan Duce, and a few batters later, Anders Gick tied the game with a base hit. Arlington then took the lead in the sixth inning, with Miles McBride finally getting the save on the mound.
In a quarterfinal playoff game, Arsenal trailed 4-0 against the Staten Island Orioles when Hall and Clark hit home runs in the first inning to tie the game. Arsenal then scored 12 runs in the third inning to win 16-4. Hall, McBride, Kataria, Gick, Clark and Malakai McBee each had two hits in the win.
In the semifinals, Arlington again fell behind early, but then came back and defeated the Bethel Wildcats 12-2. Big hits were Luke Guffey’s double and home runs by Kataria and Clark. Gleb Kasyan pitched four scoreless innings.
In the final, Arsenal faced Hauss Powwa again. Trailing 3-1 in the third inning, Kataria caught a hanging curveball and blasted it over the center field fence for a three-run home run (his fourth of the tournament) that gave Arsenal the lead for good.
A nine-run fourth inning, including another home run by Clark (also his fourth of the contest), an RBI base hit by Keffer and an RBI bunt single by Cory, resulted in a 13-3 victory.
McBride, Hall, Vaughan, Gick and Jack Dempsey each had two hits in the finale and Kataria threw two scoreless innings to earn the win.
“It has been an honour to coach such a talented and enthusiastic group of players,” said Arsenal coach Omar Casillas.
The Arsenal club, which has had many players on the team since they were nine years old, has won several tournaments in recent years, including four this season. As a 12-year-old, the Arsenal club posted an overall record of 32-8.
Many of the players will join Arlington United’s program as 13-year-olds.
