Down by six after the first two innings, Lee Chevrolet pressed down hard on the accelerator but could not coach up to Paul Funeral Home as the team held on to top Lee Chevy 10-7 in the championship game of the Minor Division of the Cal Ripken League on Wednesday.
Pitcher Ryan Woolard struck out eight batters in three innings and combined with teammate Jonathan Hernandez to get the win, while Will Singleton and Michael Reid each had two hits on the day during the victory.
“I’m very, very happy,” Paul Funeral Home coach Dunker Keech said. “I could not have done it without my coaches and especially my players. Some people put a lot of emphasis on the head coach but the head coach is nothing without his assistant coaches and his players and it took the whole team to win this one. Lee Chevy played a great game.”
Lee Chevrolet was led at the plate by Bryan Guiterrez and Hayes Pippin, who had two hits each, while Hundley Stallings and Pippin pitched well in the loss.
Though they lost, Lee Chevy left the field proud as the players refused to hang their heads after getting down early.
“We got down early and that hurt us but the kids hung in there and didn’t hang their heads down,” Lee Chevrolet coach Chase Stallings said. “They kept going and came back. We just about got back in it but we just couldn’t get there. … I’m very proud of the team, it was a good season.”
The team survived the rough start as pitchers Hundley Stallings and Pippin bucked down.
“They pitched well,” Stallings said. “Hundley pitched well and threw a lot of strikes but (Paul Funeral) just happen to hit the ball well. Then Hayes came in and pitched an inning and threw strikes and did a good job.”
Paul Funeral’s win was boosted by a strong start as the team racked up five runs in the first and then added another three in the second to build up and 8-2 cushion.
“My lineup one through three is going to make solid contact every time,” Keech said. “But what was different about tonight was that my seven, eight, nine and 10 batters really stepped it up and showed their true colors. I had a pep talk with them and told them to bring their ‘A’ game and they did.”

Lee Chevrolet    200    32    —    7
Paul Funeral    530    2X    —    10

Hitting: LC — Bryan Guiterrez 2-3, Hayes Pippin 2-2, Paul Skirko 1-2, Payton Woolard 1-2; PF — Gray West 1-3, Ryan Woolard 1-1, Jonathan Hernandez 1-3, Andrew Keech 1-2, Tyler Ohrli 1-3, Will Singleton 2-2, Michael Reid 2-3.