EAST MANATEE — When Justin Amspaugh broke the postgame huddle, several of his Manatee National players slid head first in left field in celebration. The Minors division team was rejoicing over more than its nail-biting 13-12 victory over North River American in the Manatee County District 26 All-Star Little League Tournament Friday at Braden River Park, it also snapped an 11-game losing streak in the tournament over a two-year period.
“Holy cow,” Amspaugh said. “I don’t know what more to say. What we did good in the first four ballgames came back to bite us in this ballgame. We made some bad errors, throws that we shouldn’t be making, and not thinking. But we did have some players play well.”
Manatee National nearly let a huge lead slip away.
Manatee National took a 10-0 lead into the fourth inning with three outs from ending the game after racking up six runs, three hits and three errors in the third. Josh Miffin highlighted the frame with a run-scoring double.
But the cushion didn’t last.
North River American (0-5) rallied for seven runs in the fourth. North River American recorded only one hit in the scoring spurt, but three players walked, and Manatee National committed three errors, which allowed four of the runs.
“These kids fought hard in every game we’ve played,” North River American coach Chris Ralston said. “We have a bunch of young kids that were nervous the entire time they’ve been here, but the kids picked it up.”
For North River American, Anthony Vela went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored, and Tristan Ralston was 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Manatee National scored three runs over the final two innings to hold off North River American.
For Manatee National (1-4), Ricky Reyes was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Tyler Amspaugh was 1-for-1 with two RBIs and two walks.
“We deserved to win this game,” said Reyes, who pitched 4 2/3 innings to earn the win.
“We’ve been working hard, practicing for three weeks straight; we deserved to win.”
MANATEE AMERICAN 6, BRADEN RIVER 5 — For Manatee American, Collin Moore was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, and Seth Miller went 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
MANATEE EAST 12, MANATEE CENTRAL 11 — Andrew Berg scored the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning for Manatee East (5-0), which erased an 11-8 deficit in the final frame.
Berg led the Manatee East offense by reaching base three times. Manatee Central is 3-2.
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