By Richard Hurd

On Sunday, March 22, 2009, the Atlanta Super NIT came to a close at Moseley Park.  The concession stand sold its last burgers and hot dogs before the field lights were cut off and the park was silent.  You could still feel something lingering, the remnants of a championship in the air; the woe of the defeated, the elation of the victors.  But one thing was for certain: 28 teams in the 9U and 24 teams in the 10U had given it their all, and they’d had a lot of fun in the process.
 
Only hours before, the 10U TPSA Bandits had beaten the Sandtown Red Sox in a 4-3 pitchers’ duel to advance to the championship game.  The 10U Mizuno’s Glory Baseball had eliminated the Bandits of Ringgold by a score of 10-5.  The winning teams of 10U then took the field on Field 4, each with a championship in their sights.

The Glory’s Jose “Hollywood” Ciccarello would set the tone of the game with a leadoff single and two subsequent stolen bases.  He would score on a fielder’s choice RBI by Zach Jackson, which would certainly not be Jackson’s last RBI of the day.  Spanky Robison drove in Alec Sanchez for the second run before the top of the 1st was over.

The TPSA Bandits were quick to respond as their leadoff, #32 David Thomas, ripped a single to right, stole 2nd, and later scored.  Noah Fondren drove in #5 Carter Bowen to tie the game up 2-2.  RBI doubles by #37 Jacob Heatherly and #11 Anthony Crocker put the TPSA Bandits ahead 4-2 going into the 2nd.
 
The Glory were unfazed as Eddie Surinach, Graham Hoffman, and Jackson Green would all single, followed by a 2-RBI double from Alec Sanchez.  Chase Sanguinetti would add to the hit parade with a 2-run bomb to make the score 10-4.  It was Owen Lovell’s cannon from behind the plate that put an end to the Glory rally when he hosed a potential base thief.

The scoreboard did not change until the Glory was at it again in the top of the 3rd.  Colby Lopez and Austin Mitchell each contributed with RBI, followed by a 2-run oppo HR from Sanchez and another 2-run shot from, guess who?...Sanguinetti.  In the 4th, “Action” Jackson stroked another smooth oppo shot to make it 20-4.
 
Any other team might have rolled over and played dead.  But the TPSA Bandits played like true champions in the bottom of the 4th, and perhaps they could have won given a few more innings. They played station-to-station, rallying for 6 runs until the final out with the bases full of Bandits.  The final score was 20-10 for these rivaling offensive juggernauts. 

After the contest the players of both teams were honored, and they posed together for a picture.  At one point Coach Robison commented, “[The TPSA Bandits’ players and parents] are a class act!”

10U Mizuno Glory Baseball Atlanta Super NIT Champions with 10U TPSA Bandits Atlanta Super NIT Runners-Up

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