By Sean Reilly
Whether he’s on the pitcher’s mound or standing in the batter’s box, Lee Woodruff relishes the chance to do big things for his 10U Orleans Outlaws team.
“I probably like pitching more,” he said. “I like being in the center of the field and having the play start with me.”
That being said, there are also situations where he’s happy to be the player swinging the bat. A case in point was his fourth inning plate appearance in the 10U Summer Bash championship game on Sunday afternoon at Diamond Nation.
Woodruff’s team was ahead by two runs, he was the leadoff batter, and the count was in his favor. Having been productive throughout the tournament, he was ready to do more.
“It was a 3-1 count, and I didn’t want a walk,” he said. “So I was taking a swing.”
That swing resulted in an inside-the-park home run to center field, a blow that helped the Outlaws, from Rochester, N.Y, gain a five-inning, 10-2 victory over Grit 10U Gold for the tournament title.
Woodruff was 2-for-3 in the game, with three RBI. Aside from the home run, he hit a sacrifice fly in the second inning and an RBI single in the fifth.
He was also the winning pitcher, allowing two runs on three hits over four innings, with five strikeouts and two walks.
Woodruff went 7-for-12 over a weekend in which the Outlaws went 4-0 in their final event of the summer. For all of those efforts, he was selected the tournament MVP.
“This was a really good way to end the season,” he said. “I had a really good summer, playing baseball and being with my friends.”
The Outlaws won their two pool games on Saturday, both by 7-6 scores. The first victory came over Grit 10U Gold, the same team that they faced in the final.
In the championship, the Outlaws took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first after Oliver Cross led off with a single to second base, stole second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch.
Grit 10U Gold took a 2-1 lead in the second. Syeon Yoo led off with a single to center, and Rich Aro (2-for-2) followed with an RBI triple to right field. Ryan Danieli was up next, and he hit an RBI groundout to shortstop.
Lee Woodruff of Orleans Outlaws 10U was named 10U Summer Bash MVP.
The Outlaws began the bottom of the second with walks to Micah Kim, Connor Schmidt and Nathan Nau. Cross followed with an RBI walk, and after a pitching change, Woodruff hit a sacrifice fly to left for a 3-2 lead.
The Outlaws extended the lead with a run in the third. Ben D’Agostino led off with a hard single past the first baseman, moved to third when Jace DiMatteo singled to the right field corner and scored on a wild pitch.
After Woodruff led off the fourth with his home run, Mason Gardner tripled to right field. He scored on DiMatteo’s two-out single to right for a 6-2 lead.
The Outlaws ended the game by scoring four times in the fifth.
Nau hit a one-out single to left, and he moved to second as Cross singled to left. Woodruff hit an RBI single to right, with Cross holding at second. Alex DeHaas followed with a single to left to load the bases.
Weston Cornwell was safe on a fielder’s choice after a late throw home on his grounder allowed Woodruff to score the ninth run. D’Agostino then drew an RBI walk to end the game via the mercy rule.
All 10 batters in the Outlaws lineup reached base, with nine getting at least one hit. Cross, Gardner, and DiMatteo joined Woodruff in finishing 2-for-3.