WILLIAMSTON — Big time efforts on the bump, mixed in with some powerful displays at the plate highlighted the final day of the Tarheel League District 7 8U, 10U and 12U All-Stars tournament at Kehukee Park on Sunday.
In the 10U division Brandon Beach tossed a no-hitter against Washington to lead his team to a 7-2 victory in the championship game. In the 12U title game pitcher Conner Harrison one-hit Edenton in a losing effort as Williamston fell 2-1 and Perquimans rolled past Edenton 10-3 to lockup the 8U crown.
Overall, the tournament lasted over a week as three straight days of rain paused the action but at the end of the day 12-year tournament director Steve Barnes was pleased with how the event unfolded.
“This is probably the best tournament I’ve had,” Barnes said. “We’ve had zero complaints. Everybody was understanding about the rain and everything that happened here. It was a great tournament.
“(Williamston league president) Garry Manning and his crew put on a show and they need to be commended for what they did and I appreciate what they’ve done.”
The final day of the tournament was filled with great games but perhaps the best one came in the 10U division as Washington battled Belhaven for the right to play Williamston in the title game.
Both teams traded leads until they found themselves locked in a 9-9 tie heading into the sixth. Belhaven’s Clark O’Neal helped break the stalemate with a three-run triple as his team held a 13-9 lead and stood three outs away from advancing. However, Washington would retaliate in the home half of the inning. A Wilson Peed three-run home run over the left-center field tied the game at 13 and shortly after the Washington All-Stars would plate the game-winning run to cement victory.
After surging to the 10U title game, Washington was silenced by Beach as his no-hitter, combined with a strong effort by the Williamston lineup, led to a 7-2 victory and punched Williamston’ ticket to the state tourney.
“We started out like a two-stroke motor, just a little slow going but after we got going we were hitting on all cylinders,” said Williamston coach Kenneth Stevens, whose team finished 5-0 in the tourney. “We started coming through about the fourth or fifth inning and our pitcher threw well. He didn’t allow a hit and kept the ball down.”
Upon conclusion of the tourney Washington coach Paulette Everette was pleased with the effort of her team.
“They are a great group of kids. There were no attitudes on the team and we had a lot of team spirit,” Everette said. “I’m very proud of them.”
In the 12U division Williamston’s Harrison was awesome as he belted three over-the-fence home runs against Plymouth, while teammate Cody Thompson was solid on the mound to lead Williamston to an 11-3 victory over Plymouth to trek into the championship game against an undefeated Edenton team.
In the title game Harrison locked horns with Edenton’s Ben Ward as both pitchers were on top of their game. The two teams rolled into the final inning tied at 1, but Edenton was able to pull out a run in the bottom of the sixth to win the tourney title.
“I was proud of our pitching today, Ben Ward threw a heck-of-a game,” Edenton coach Justis Bobbitt said. “You also have to give credit to Williamston, they had a pitcher shut-down pitcher. We didn’t have near as many hits and he was the most powerful thing we seen hitting and pitching that we faced all tournament.”
Despite the loss, Williamston coach Wyn Kinion was happy with how his team battled.
“It was a great effort. We had to come out of the loser’s bracket to get into the championship game,” Kinion said. “It was just a great effort. This group of kids are special and I couldn’t ask for a better group to coach.”
In the 8U division, Perquimans finished with a perfect 4-0 record after topping Edenton 10-3. It was a performance that coach Leary Smith happy.
“These guys have worked really hard, we put them through a lot,” Smith said. “We didn’t hit the ball as well as we normally do but we had our best defensive game today and that’s something we pride ourselves in.”
8U
Perquimans 10
Edenton 3
Hits: P — Avery Biggs 3, Jacob Meads 2, Cody Ives 1, Landon Gregory 1, Scott Kresicki 1, Cole Langley 1, Trevor Smith 1; E — Aaron Jones 2, Colson Williams 2, Christopher Morris 2, Nathan Columbo 1, Hunt Tynch 1.

10U
Game 1
Washington 14
Belhaven 13
WP: Brodie Moore
Hits: B — Wyatt Mann 1, Alex Van Staalduinen 1, Clark O’Neal 2, Tyler Harris 1, Tyler Turner 3, Tyler Harris 1, Carson Bowen 1, Trent Linton 1; W — Brodie Moore 1, Harrison Schmidt 1, Wilson Peed 1, Isaac Gonzales 1, Gavin Everett 1, Henry Jennings 1.

Game 2
Williamston 7
Washington 2
WP: Brandon Beach
Hitting: Williamston — Ty Johnson 1-3, Jake Raynor 2-3, Reese Bullock 2-3, Cody Stalls 1-3, Turner Griffin 1-2, Mat Davis 1-3.

12U
Game 1
Williamston 11
Plymouth 3
WP: Cody Thomspson
Hitting: P — Austin Shain 2-3, Tyler Hendrix 2-3; W — Conner Harrison 3, Austin Lee 4-4, Matt Legett 2-4, Hunter Kinion 2-4, Gray Cowan 2-4.

Game 2
Edenton 2
Williamston 1
WP: Ben Ward
Hitting: E — Wade White; W — Austin Lee 1-3, Conner Harrison 1-2, Trey Thomas 1-2, Aaron Sitterson 1-2, Justin Mills 1-2.