County Materials (Marathon, Wis.) went 7-1 against the world’ s best, braving a 4-hour rain delay and a long trip back through the losers’ bracket before dominating Patsy’s (New York City) 7-1 in the championship final. It was the fourth straight finals appearance for County Materials, who avenged a 4-0 loss to Patsy’ s earlier in the tournament and now will hold the world No. 1 ranking for a second consecutive year.
In the final, Andrew Kirkpatrick went seven innings, allowing one earned run on three hits, improving his tournament record to 5-0 as he earned the Outstanding Pitcher honor. First baseman Jarrad Martin had a three-run home run in the finale to go with a tourney performance that netted him Most Valuable Player honors. Kirkpatrick and Martin also earned spots on the All World first team.
County Materials got all the runs it needed in the home half of the opening frame, scoring three on Martin’ s blast. Patsy’s answered with a run in the second before County Materials pulled away on an RBI single by shortstop Nathan Nukunuku and a three-run shot by catcher Patrick Shannon in the third.
For more tournament information, visit www.iscfastpitch.com.