The boys were loose. They were off playing in the rain before the game during the rain delay and took that energy into the game. Pretty sure NC Valley wasn’t expecting to leave there without those Championship rings… – Coach Mike

Coming off of one of their worst losses the weekend before to the #8 seed as the #1 seed, the boys came out with something to prove. In Saturday pool play, they blew past their first opponent (Lab Rats 12U) 8-3, and then faced off against one of the most fundamentally sound teams they’d seen, NC Valley Gold. Coming up on the short end in that game, 7-3, the 12’s went into Sunday with questions about themselves.

Slotted to play the Lab Rats once again on bracket Sunday, the squad showed up and won in convincing fashion. Led by Marcus Martinez on the mound (4 IP, 6 K’s, 1 Run) and Colin Manago (2 IP, 3 K’s, 0 Runs), the team went on to win by the final score of 10-1.

Facing off once again vs NC Valley Gold in the championship game, Fuego 12’s knew they were in for a tough game. But before the game could even get started, mother nature threw a nasty curveball by storming down on the field with rain and lightning. After a long delay, Fuego 12’s found themselves locked in a pitching duel, led by Lucas Dullaghan on the mound, and backed by great defensive plays. Entering the 4th inning in a 1-1 tie, Fuego 12’s pushed across 3 runs to take a 4-1 lead, only to have NC Valley answer back to make it a 4-3 ballgame going into the 6th and final inning. After adding a run in the top of the 6th to take a 5-3 lead, Fuego 12’s brought in Wyatt Bothen to close the game. Wyatt came in throwing darts, striking out the side, to help seal the victory and give Fuego 12U a memorable championship victory.