Howell Central takes U13 District 11 title

After four years of valiant attempts, the Howell Central 13-year-old baseball tournament team finally won the District 11 championship.

The tournament started off with a tough 4-3 loss to rival South Wall. Central had jumped out to an early 2-0 lead against Wall, with Kyle Turk delivering an RBI single in the first and John Flynn crushing a home run in the second inning. But Wall rallied to defeat Central behind the bat of Brian McDermott, who had three hits including a home run. Ryan Kinghorn pitched six solid innings in the opening game loss.

The next game was a thrilling Howell Central victory over North Howell. Danny Watson pitched five solid innings, allowing no runs and only three hits in a 5-4 win. The Central offense was led by Will Riepe, Kyle Turk and Ryan Lowe who each had two hits. The play of the game defensively was made by Stefano Cracolici, whose diving catch in right field with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh saved the victory for Central. Casey Kulik pitched two terrific innings to close out the win and Billy Fitzpatrick played a stellar defensive game for Central.

Central's third game was a rematch versus South Wall. Brian Blood had Central's only two hits and scored the only run of the game as Central stunned South Wall, 1-0, behind a four-hit shutout by Ryan Kinghorn to advance to the championship game.

The championship game matched Central against their undefeated crosstown rival, Howell South. Central jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind the hitting of Eric Niziolek, Brian Blood, Kyle Brancato and Anthony Vescuso. Danny Watson once again pitched brilliantly, allowing only one run over six innings. Howell South rallied to tie the score at four with three runs in the top of the seventh, only to see Central win it in the bottom of the frame 5-4 when Anthony Vescuso was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.

Central and South each had one loss in the tournament and a rematch would decide the championship. Central combined the pitching talents of Ryan Kinghorn and John Flynn in the championship game for an 11-5 victory over Howell South. It was a true team effort with every player contributing with a hit. The offense was led by Kyle Brancato and Brian Blood, who each had two hits and two RBIs.

Blood and Brancato each also scored three runs in the game.

After a heart breaking first-game loss, the Howell Central 13-year-old team went on to play an impressive tournament to become District 11 champions.