10U- Elite 32 World Series (FL)- #3 Louisiana Thunder vs. Oklahoma Mudcats

The Lousiana Thunder played fundamental baseball and used four smart sacrifice bunts to defeat the Oklahoma Mudcats 9-5 on Thursday, July 16th in the 10U Elite 32 World Series.

The Thunder took the lead in the bottom of the first when Taylor Young scored on a passed ball following a sacrifice bunt by Alex Packett. Jacob Pearson plated Ty O�Neal with an RBI single to make the score 2-0, and Westin Swanner added one more RBI to make it 3-0 Thunder.

The Mudcats threatened in the second, but Thunder starting pitcher Slade Bolden finished off his second scoreless inning, getting four of his first six outs on pop ups.

Taylor Young continued a strong offensive performance in the bottom of the second, knocking in Caleb Raffay to make the score 4-0. Young stole two bases on a single wild pitch and eventually scored on a passed ball.

Cale Francis led off the Mudcats with a double in the third and scored on a Caden Landers fielder�s choice to put the Mudcats on the board. Brady Ballard knocked the glove off pitcher Slade Bolden with a sharp line drive, but Bolden threw out Ballard to cap the Mudcat rally, leaving the score 4-1 Thunder.

Mudcat catcher Joey Pena threw out a stealing Thunder runner in the 3rd, but the Thunder added 3 more runs on 2 RBI singles in the inning.

After a scoreless fourth, the Mudcats put runners on first and third with one out. A left field error allowed Caden Landers to plate the Mudcats second run. Brady Ballard followed with a clutch 2 RBI double to bring the Mudcats to 8-4, and a passed ball brought the score to 8-5. But the Mudcats couldn�t claw their way out of the hole as Taylor Young pitched the sixth for the save, getting a 1-2-3 inning and securing a 9-5 Thunder victory.