Meeting for the second time Saturday Carbon Blue and Vernal went toe-to-toe for the state 10-year-old Cal Ripken Championship. It was a walk off home run in the bottom of the seventh with the score tied at seven that secured the title for the hometown boys.
Trailing 7-3 in the fifth, Carbon Blue knotted the game at seven in the sixth. After some good defensive plays, Carbon did not allow Vernal to score. It was the first pitch in the bottom of the seventh that Jered Davis hit for the winning run. Davis was named game MVP for Carbon.
It was a crushing loss for a scrappy Vernal team that had played twice in the day already. It kept the Carbon team fighting for every run.
The first game of the day was a match up of two undefeated teams that was postponed the night before because of rain. In a tight, hard fought affair, it was Carbon Blue with a 5-4 advantage over Vernal.
Vernal then took on Gunnison in the one-loss bracket. This is a double elimination tournament and the loser was out of the tournament with a third place finish. Vernal edged Gunnison 10-9 to earn the opportunity on to take on Carbon Blue for the championship.
The team from Carbon Blue consists of players: Jordan Fossat, Austin Emerson, Jered Davies, Cayden Steele, Levi Schade, Cooper Schade, Chase Magann, Ryker Childs, Brayton Nielsen, Dillion Thomas, & Austin Fiechko.
Coaches: Bob Fossat, Mark Emerson, & Cletis Steele.
Visalia California will be hosting the 10-year-old Pacific Southwest Regional from July 22-27. The winner that emerges from that tournament will be heading to Florida for the Cal Ripken World Series play-offs.
