14U B Eagles Down Kingson, Wrap Up Stellar Season

By Colin Murphy

The Pasadena 14U B Eagles capped a stellar all-around season with a 7-4 victory over the previously unbeaten Kingson Royals at Solley Park on June 20. The Eagles finish the season with an 11-2 record, earning rightful place among the league’s top three teams. First-year Head Coach Neil Powell was proud to see his group continue to improve throughout the year and play their best ball in the final game of the season against a very good Kingson Royals team.

“This was our championship game tonight,” said Powell of the much-anticipated matchup with Kingson, “and I’m just so happy for these kids.”

Preaching pitching and defense throughout the season, Coach Powell saw his team play to standard against the Royals. Starting pitcher Patrick Powell allowed four runs but was dominant throughout most of the game, not allowing a hit until the fourth inning and allowing only one run through the first six innings. The hard-throwing Powell struck out a whopping 14 Royal batters en route to the complete-game victory.

“I felt really good,” said Powell, who struck out the side in both the third and fifth innings. “Our defense backed me up. I was really happy with my team.”

Indeed, the Eagle defense was key in the victory, as Pasadena committed no errors and benefitted from strong play in the infield. The Eagles recorded six ground ball outs—three from shortstop Justin Zakens—and catcher Bryan Goodwyn and first baseman Mike Dougherty each made multiple difficult defensive plays to keep the potent Kingson offense from threatening.

With the Eagles’ pitching and defense leading the way, Pasadena’s lineup likewise did their part. Eric Grimm got the Eagles on the board in the first inning with a one-out triple, scoring one batter later on a sacrifice by Powell. In the second, Justin Shreves led off with a single, and after Dalton Quarrels reached base on a dropped third strike, both runners scored on a two-RBI double by Goodwyn. Goodwyn scored on a Kingson throwing error, and Pasadena held a 3-1 lead after two.

Grimm continued to cause problems for Kingson in the third, leading off with his second triple of the game, then scoring on another sacrifice by Powell. In the fourth, Grimm knocked in Zakens with a double and scored on an RBI single by Austin Andrae, giving the Eagles a 7-1 lead after six. Grimm finished the afternoon three for three with three runs scored, eight total bases, and one steal.

“The ball was just over the plate and I took advantage of it best I could,” said Grimm. “It’s been fun this year with everybody on the team.”

Kingson put up a fight in the seventh, getting four runners on base and plating three runs to narrow the lead to 7-4, but Pasadena’s defense shined once again in closing out the victory. After a sensational diving play at first base by Dougherty led to the first out, Powell struck out a Kingson batter for the second out and Zakens caught a Kingson runner in a run-down to end the game.

“This is the best team that I’ve had a chance to coach,” said Head Coach Powell, who stressed that the entire lineup of Zakens, Grimm, Powell, Andrae, Shreves, Dougherty, Quarrels, Goodwyn, David Calderone, Joe Dougherty, Nate Sentineri, and Nate Thompson have pushed themselves all season long to hustle, back each other up, and constantly improve as a team. “I’m proud of every one of them.”