Anthony Sewell takes his turn cradling the Ripken 12U National Championship trophy after his Twitty City team knocked off Elite RBI National in the championship game.
By Rich Bevensee
With almost every step taken during the inaugural Ripken National Championships, the boys from Twitty City Athletics-Duke 12U were doubted by outsiders.
Throughout four rounds of knockout play, the pregame whispers were mostly one-sided, that Twitty City’s opponent was the better team, highly ranked with gaudy records, loaded with star players.
Twitty City hails from Hendersonville, Tennessee, one of the largest Nashville suburbs which sits just northeast of the Music City. But the team entered the Ripken event underappreciated, perhaps because the ranked programs in the tournament are from baseball hotspots like California, Florida and Texas.
None of that mattered to Twitty City and its coach, former Major Leaguer Zach Duke. They met each challenge with the confidence that they belonged with the best teams in the country. That’s an attitude that wins championships.
Climbing the final rung on the tournament ladder, Twitty City withstood a rally from highly-regarded Elite RBI National of Houston, Texas, and turned a tightly-contested championship game into a coronation, earning a 12-7 victory and the first ever Ripken Baseball 12U national title on Saturday evening at All Star Village in Cooperstown, N.Y.
“This is a dream come true. Just unbelievable,” said Jasen Ward, whose two-run double in the top of the sixth inning was the exclamation point in a game-clinching, five-run rally. “It’s crazy that we did this. But this was the goal. We knew we could win because we’re a good team and we knew we could beat these teams.”
“This feels amazing,” leadoff hitter Nolan Murphy said. “Just knowing we can beat anybody is an awesome feeling.”
The game was televised live by CBS and culminated with Billy Ripken, younger brother of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr., making an on-field trophy presentation to a raucous Twitty City gathering of players, coaches, family and friends with Fourth of July fireworks going off in the distance.
“I feel exhausted, stressed out, I lost my voice and I’m just so proud,” said Duke, a former left-handed Major League pitcher who enjoyed a 15-year career with nine teams. “At that age you’re trying to teach them to work their tails off, and here we are. I knew it was going to be an uphill climb. When we got here we had to be prepared to battle every single game, and the boys rose to the challenge.
“I’m feeling pride and love for these kids.”
Twitty City (70-5) went 2-1 in pool play and knocked out their fellow Tennesseans, MAD Mavericks National White, by a 9-5 verdict in the Round of 16. What followed on Twitty City’s tournament trail was a Murderer’s Row of nationally ranked opponents with fearsome offensive lineups.
In the quarterfinals, Twitty City edged SBA JSM X National (36-6-2) of Estero, Florida, 4-3, after stranding the tying run at third base in the bottom of the sixth inning.
In the semifinals, the kids from Hendersonville earned another 4-3 verdict, this time against the top-seeded team in the tournament, ZT Prospects Arteaga (58-15-2) of Fontana, California. And again, the tying run was left stranded at third base in the bottom of the sixth.
Nolan Murphy is greeted at home by his Twitty City teammates after his third-inning solo home run.
Both SBA JSM X National and the ZT Prospects were undefeated in the Ripken tournament when entering their games against Twitty City.
“We just know we can come through in the clutch any time we need to,” Ward said. “It comes down to work, practice and heart.”
Elite RBI National entered the final with a 5-1 Ripken record and was coming off a gaudy nine-homer affair in which they knocked out their fellow Texans, the Dulins Dodgers of Gunter, Texas, 27-1 in the semis.
In the final, Twitty City owned a 7-4 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning when Elite RBI fought back to within a run thanks to an RBI groundout from Gavin Pratt and Mateo Guerra’s RBI single.
Twitty City cut that rally short with a 6-4-3 double play, then went back to work in building a safer lead.
Colin Brown singled and Tripp Elliott reached on an error before leadoff hitter Nolan Murphy roped an RBI double into the left field corner, giving Twitty City a crucial insurance run.
“I don’t know the word for it but I feel it made my teammates feel happier, more encouraged,” Murphy said. “My mindset was ‘just get a hit and hype my teammates up.’”
After Weston Duke was walked intentionally to load the bases, Anthony Sewell walked to force in a run, Ward ripped a two-run double to left center, and Whitten “Tiny” Sanders added a sacrifice fly for a 12-6 lead.
In the bottom of the sixth, Austin Pederson led off with a base hit for Elite RBI and moved to third on two groundouts before Lawson Nerren singled him in with two out.
Murphy, on the mound in relief of Duke, who pitched the first four innings, got the final batter swinging to set off a wild Tennessee-style celebration.
The underdogs had knocked off three national powers in succession to earn the title of Ripken National Champions.
“It speaks to what we teach and the way we practice,” Duke said. “Good baseball fundamentals and teamwork, and that’s what we bring to the table. Hopefully this proves it.”
Ryan McVay, head coach of Elite RBI (62-12), said Twitty City simply responded to the clutch moments better than his players did in the championship game.
“Any time we step on the field our goal is to win it all,” McVay said. “It just didn’t work out today. We had our opportunities with baserunners on but we didn’t execute in a tight baseball game. Hat’s off to those guys. They played well and they executed with runners in scoring position. That’s just how baseball goes sometimes.”
In a 12U ballgame suitable for a championship setting, Twitty City could not shake loose of Elite RBI until the final inning. Twitty City took a 2-0 lead in its first at bat only for Elite RBI to tie the game in the bottom of the first.
Twitty City then took a 5-2 lead in the third, but Elite EBI inched back within a run at 5-4 in the bottom of the inning. And when Twitty City roared to a 7-4 lead in the top of the fifth, Elite RBI made it a one-run game once more in its half of the frame.
Elite RBI was led offensively by Guerra, who batted .571 in four knockout games with two home runs, a double, eight RBI and eight runs scored. He went 2-for-3 in the final.
“I don’t think these guys realize how proud I am of them,” McVay said. “It’s tough to swallow for them, but they’re experienced. We’ve been in these games, we’ve been in these pressure moments, so I had no doubt they’d be able to handle everything that’s going on.”