Vidalia Over Lyons At District Tournament

The local boys made their mark on the diamond last week as the Vidalia and Lyons Recreation Departments sent their 8U teams to the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association District 1 Tournament in Effingham County. Running from June 6 through June 9, the tournament saw Vidalia Black take first place, Lyons secure second, and Vidalia Maroon finish in fifth.

LRD vs. VRD Maroon

Lyons opened their tournament run against familiar faces, matching up with Vidalia Maroon. The Lyons bats were active early, cruising to a comfortable 14-2 victory.

VRD Black vs. Rincon

Vidalia Black started their campaign in dominant fashion against Rincon. Taking the win via the run rule, Vidalia Black made it an early evening by scoring all 22 of their runs in the first inning to finish with a 22-0 shutout.

LRD vs. Effingham Moving forward in the winners' bracket, Lyons drew Effingham County #1 for their second matchup. Lyons put together another solid performance on both sides of the ball, taking a 15-0 win over Effingham to advance to the bracket's semifinals.

VRD Black vs. Emanuel

Vidalia Black's second outing proved to be a grueling, high-scoring affair against Emanuel County. Vidalia took an early 6-0 lead after two innings, but Emanuel stayed in the fight, answering back to tie the game at 13-13 by the bottom of the sixth to force extra innings. Vidalia managed to push one run across in the top of the seventh, but Emanuel responded with two runs in the bottom half to hand Vidalia Black a tough 1514 loss.

LRD vs. Emanuel

In the semifinals of the winners' bracket, Lyons found themselves in a deep hole early against Emanuel County. Trailing 8-0 after two innings and 11-7 going into the fifth, Lyons refused to fold. After adding a run in the fifth, the Lyons bats caught fire in the sixth inning, putting up seven runs to secure a dramatic 15-11 comeback victory and punch their ticket straight to the Championship Game.

VRD Black vs. Maroon

Down in the losers' bracket, it was an all-Vidalia matchup as Vidalia Black faced off against Vidalia Maroon. Vidalia Black left no doubt, scoring six runs in the first inning and adding 13 more in the second to secure a 19-0 win, ending the tournament run for the Maroon squad.

VRD Black vs. Effingham Tasked with fighting their way back through the losers' bracket, Vidalia Black next faced Effingham #1. The Vidalia offense kept rolling, putting up seven runs in the first inning and nine in the third to walk away with a decisive 16-0 win.

VRD Black vs. Emanuel

That victory set up a rematch for Vidalia Black against Emanuel County in the losers' bracket semifinals. Emanuel struck first with two runs, but Vidalia answered with a six-run third inning to take the lead. After Emanuel closed the gap to 9-8 in the fifth, Vidalia pulled away with five runs in the top of the sixth to seal a 14-8 win and avenge their earlier loss.

VRD Black vs. LRD Championship Game 1 The stage was set for a local rivalry in the Championship, with Vidalia Black needing to beat Lyons twice to claim the title. In the first game, Lyons jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first inning and held a slight edge through the third. However, Vidalia rallied with four runs in the fourth and four more in the sixth. Despite a late run from Lyons, Vidalia held on for a 14-9 victory to force a second, winnertake- all game.

Game 2

The deciding Championship was a tightly contested battle from the first pitch. After a 2-2 tie in the first inning, Vidalia Black broke the game open with a five-run third inning to take a 7-2 lead. Lyons kept swinging and managed to push three runs across in the top of the sixth, but the Vidalia defense shut the door to secure the 7-5 win and the title.

With their first and second-place finishes, both Vidalia Black and Lyons will pack their bags for the GRPA State Tournament next week. Action begins next Tuesday in Statesboro.

LRD 8U Boys 2nd Place – (L to R, Front): Brantley Dowd, Weston Williams, Asher Moore, Cannon Phillips, Ace Brantley, William Milligan; (Middle): Jaydon Phillips, Bo Manning, Keegan Ford, Kai Bo Brantley, Kayden Howard, Hudson Hughes, Milo Pittman; (Back): Coaches Josh Dowd, Jonathon Phillips, Scott Moore, Dirk Brantley, and Jon Milligan.