The Richmond Hill Wildcats 10U baseball team competed in the third annual Ed Roundtree Spring Invitational in Garden City on March 26. Playing five games in two days, they brought the gold home to Richmond Hill.
This makes two first-place finishes for the team in the first two tournaments this season.
In the first match up, the Wildcats defeated the Crusaders 11-4 after taking the lead late in the game. Eli Howard earned the win for the Wildcats. Richmond Hill collected 15 hits. Will McNeely, Bryce Hendrix, Ethan Clark, Eli Howard and Athen Hudspeth each collected multiple hits. McNeely went 3-for-3 at the plate to lead the Wildcats in hits. The Wildcats tore up the base paths, as four players stole at least two bases.
The second game handed the Cats their only loss of the tournament, where they could not overcome an early lead by the Tigers. Lee Johnson, McNeely and Howard each drove in one run to lead RH Wildcats.
The Wildcats entered the second day of gameplay as a No. 4 seed. The Wildcats defeated the Elite Gamers quickly, with a score of 13-3; the game only going into the third inning. Seven Wildcats had hits; Hendrix, Clark and Jacob Montelbano with multiple base hits. Hendrix had a stellar start on the mound and Howard finished the game strong.
The fourth game was against the No. 1 seed, the Bluffton Waves. Mathew Reynolds collected four hits in four at-bats as RH Wildcats defeated Waves 16-5. The Wildcats collected 15 hits. Reynolds, McNeely, Hendrix, Clark and Connor Gilkey each collected multiple hits. Hudspeth went 1-for-1 at the plate as he led the team with three runs batted in. The Wildcats stole 12 bases during the game as three players stole more than one. McNeely led the way with four.
McNeely started the game for RH Wildcats. He pitched one inning, allowing three runs and two hits, striking out two. Montelbano earned the win for RH Wildcats. He went one inning, allowing two runs and zero hits, striking out one. Johnson recorded the last six outs to earn the save for RH Wildcats.
The Championship was between No. 4 Wildcats and No. 2 Tigers, a rematch from the day before. The Wildcats defeated Tigers 15-4 after taking the lead late in the game. The game was tied at three with RH Wildcats batting in the top of the seventh when Howard doubled, driving in one run. The Wildcats were boosted by Sam Renshaw who went 4-for-5 at the plate. Gilkey earned the win for the Wildcats. He pitched three innings, surrendering two runs and one hit, striking out seven. Renshaw threw three and two-thirds innings, as two relievers helped the Wildcats finish off the victory.
Renshaw recorded the last 11 outs to earn the save for the Wildcats. The team collected 22 hits. Renshaw, Reynolds, Hudspeth, Clark, Montelbano, Howard and McNeely each collected multiple hits for the Wildcats.