East Cobb Astros defend 15u title

Earlier in the morning in the two 9 a.m. semifinal games, the Canes withstood a four-run rally by the 643 DP Cougars to secure a 5-4 victory while the Astros had to work around a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the seventh on their way to a 7-1 win over Tri State Arsenal Blue.

In the championship matchup at 11:40 a.m., the Astros wasted little time putting the game out of reach, scoring at least one run every inning they were up to bat, including four in the first. Meanwhile, Exley was dealing on the mound, striking out four straight batters at one point on his way to a one-hit shutout.

For the tournament, Hughes batted a scorching .680 with four doubles, a homer, 13 RBIs and 12 runs scored. He also picked up two wins on the hill in 10 innings of work.

Dulaney threw nine shutout innings with 13 strikeouts at the event, allowing only five hits and a walk.

In his ninth year at East Cobb Baseball as well as his seventh with the 15u age group, Astros head coach Dennis Jordan said it took a complete effort to run the table at this tournament.

“We played very good defense throughout the tournament,” Jordan said. “Our pitching really stepped up. The bats came alive too. Offensively we got ahead early, which really helped us out pitching-wise.”

Jordan added that the program’s national reputation serves as motivation to maintain the standard that’s been set.

“Our whole program takes a lot of pride in what’s been done in the past, and the players and coaches who’ve been here and made us what we are,” Jordan said. “We realize and understand that we’re representing something much bigger than ourselves. It’s a situation where we have to come out and play our best every day.”