The 11-12 Sharpsburg Orioles played in the Sub-State Tourney in Fayetteville last week.

The top two teams at the end of the tournament qualify for the state finals.

Wednesday night the Orioles defeated the North Henry Cubs 4-3. The Orioles trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Brian Carey drove in a run with a double to tie the score. Carey then stole third base and Brandon Behenna laid down a squeeze bunt to score the winning run. Shea Hammond went the distance on the mound, pitching a two hitter.

Friday night saw the Orioles beat up the Bogan Cardinals 9-1. Bryan Butts went three for three and Brandon Behenna went two for four, while Anthony Caldwell hit a solo homerun. Bryan Carey pitched a complete game for the win.

The Orioles were scheduled to play two games Saturday. With one win Saturday, the Orioles would qualify for the state finals, which will consist of the final eight teams left in Georgia.

The Orioles faced the North Clayton Tigers and the North Henry Indians Saturday. They defeated the Tigers 7-0 with Shea Hammond going the distance on the mound. In the final game the Orioles beat the Indians 15-9. In the final game against the Indians, Bryan Butts and Josh Thompson provided solid relief pitching and Jordon Schultz came through with timely hitting.

The Orioles finished the tournament with a record of 4-1. They were the runner up in the sub-state bracket, finishing second to the Fayette Mets. The Mets beat the Orioles in the opener 7-4. Both the Mets and the Orioles will now play in the state finals.

The Sharpsburg Brewers also are heading to the state tournament. Last week the Brewers faced the Redan Marlins and won 5-0. Rex Crane pitched seven innings and gave up only two hits. He got help from Tyler Horne, who hit two singles, and Andrew Brown, Danny Dancy and Neil Casey each had a single.

Their next game pitted them against the Fayette Seminoles. Ryan Wetzl took the mound but left in the second inning after giving up six hits and a run. Andrew Brown came in to pitch five innings of relief. He struck out 10 batters and allowed only three hits. The Brewers then got some timely hitting and manufactured several runs to win 5-4.

Later that afternoon, the Brewers took on the Sharpsburg Pirates and won 6-2. The Brewers had three pitchrs share the pitching duties. Crane struck out six batters in the first three innings and Brown struck out seven in the three innings he pitched. Dancy hit a key run-scoring double for the Brewers in the first and Tyler Horne hit a triple in the third to score another run. The win pitted the Brewers against the McDonough White Sox.

Both the Brewers and the White Sox were undefeated at that point of the sub-state tournament, but at the end of the game the Brewers were the only ones to walk away still undefeated. Dane Helmly pitched eight innings and struck out seven batters, while Neil Casey hit a single to drive in the winning run. The Brewers won 7-6 and faced the Shiloh Generals in the sub-state final.

The Generals had lost to the White Sox earlier in the touranment, but had given up only five runs during the course of the tournament. The Brewers scored six runs in the first two innings, thanks in part to Wetzl's solo homerun. At the bottom of the sixth inning, the Brewers led 7-1.

Dancy drove in Casey and then stole home for the winning run, invoking the mercy rule. The mercy rule stops the game if there is a team ahead by eight runs after the fifth inning. The Brewers won 9-1 and will now play in the state tournament at Rex Park.

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