Royals take out Red Sox in championship; Yankees third

By Brad Greer
Throughout the season, the Royals and Red Sox went toe-to-toe in American Legion summer league baseball so it only seemed fitting the two teams battle it out for bragging rights in the post-season tournament championship game Wednesday.
Fighting a steady light rain, the Royals overcame an early 2-0 deficit to come away with a 4-2 victory.
After being held hitless through four innings, John Blockmon came up with a key two-run single with two outs in the fifth to drive in Wes Morgan and Keshaun Lantern with the tying runs. Two batters later, Ethan Moore drew a walk to force in Dre’ Moore to give the Royals the lead.
The Royals added an insurance run in the sixth as Morgan, who led off the inning with a single, scored on an two-out error. The Red Sox made things interesting in the bottom half of the frame by putting runners on second and third with two outs but could not push across a run.
Moore struck out four of last eight batters he faced in the final two innings to preserve the win. Morgan and Blaine Cosby also saw time on the pitchers’ mound for the Royals.
The Red Sox plated their only runs in the second as Grayden Gullick walked to lead off the inning and later scored on Luke Weldon’s two-out double. Weldon then scored one batter later on a throwing error by the catcher.
Gullick and Dawson Griffin singled to account for the only other Sox hits.
Yankees 9, A’s 3
The Yankees scored four runs in the first to get past the A’s for third place.
Ty Hodges got the Yankees on the board with a two-run single while John Culp and Caleb White added RBI singles in the frame.
The Yankees tacked on three more runs in the third on four walks and a hit by pitch to increase the margin to 7-0 before adding two more in the fourth.
The A’s avoided the shutout with three runs in the fifth. Josh Johnson paced the A’s at the plate with a double and two singles. Brandon Phelps and John Blockmon added singles.
John Culp led the Yankees at the plate with a double and single while Nathan Walls and White each singled.  Wesley Wilson, Brier Busby, White and Forrest Pierce all towed the rubber for the Yankees.