Newport Beach Bat Rays win tournament

The 11U Newport Beach Bat Rays beat the HB Bombers 4-3 to take home the championship in the Huntington Beach USSSA Veterans Day Baseball Tournament over the weekend.

The Bat Rays went 4-0 in the tournament against tough competition by facing three of the top 10 seeded teams.

With three strong innings in the championship game, starter pitcher Jack Bibb led the staff with a combined six innings throughout the tournament, which included four timely strikeouts. Trey Genova went three for three with two triples and two runs batted in. Jarrett Thompson closed the championship game allowing zero runs in the final three innings.

Earlier in the day, the Bat Rays semifinal game included home runs by Cade Overfelt and a walk-off home run by Simon Copeman in the bottom of the sixth inning. Johnny Brigandi went two for two with three RBIs and had a game-saving diving catch in left field. Starting pitcher Clay Liolios threw four solid innings after going three for three in Game No. 2.

Braham Duncan pitched well in the semifinal game and also made a key defensive play in the championship game when he tagged out the potential tying run at the plate.

The semifinal also featured Kyle Binford going two for two with an RBI, and John Humphreys added two of his five tournament RBIs.

The tournament started with Luke Hatfield setting the tone for with a solid pitching performance and driving in a run. Logan Pence also threw strikes in the first two games and made the final defensive play at third base to clinch the Bat Rays second USSSA tournament championship of the season.

The Bat Rays will travel to Palm Desert over the Thanksgiving weekend for their final tournament of the year.

— Reader submission