Tribune photo by John Byrne - Spanish Springs 12-year-old All-Star Noah Parks launches a solo home run to left-center field during his team's 16-6 victory.
A day after the 11-year-old All-Stars punched their ticket to the state championship game, the Spanish Springs 12-year-old Cal Ripken All-Stars did the same by winning their tournament game versus Sun Valley, 16-6 in four innings.
Spanish Springs pounded the ball all day, scoring at least three runs in every inning.
After Sun Valley posted three runs in the top the first to take the early lead, Spanish Springs stormed back with four in the bottom half of the inning to claim the lead for good.
Back-to-back walks set the table for Brandon Koszuth's run-scoring ground-rule double that took one hop and went over the fence in center field, cutting the deficit to 3-2.
Noah Parks followed with a bomb to deep right field that barely stayed inside the park. He had to settle for a game-tying triple. He also picked up the pitching win and would help his cause even more at the plate in the next inning.
But Spanish Springs wasn't done in the first. Duncan Wilmot's RBI single plated Parks for a 4-3 lead.
In the second, the hosts added five more runs to go up by a 9-3 advantage.
Quin Peerschy sent a shot out of the park in a hurry for a three-run homer. Peerschy had RBI doubles in the final two innings to finish with five RBIs on the day. He had the game-ending hit.
Three batters later, Parks dropped a bomb to left-center field. His solo shot made it 8-3. Ian Walton capped the rally with an RBI single.
Back-to-back RBI doubles by Peerschy and Parker Kittilsen pushed the gap to 11-3 in the third, while Parks' sac fly made it 12-3.
Sun Valley tallied three more runs in the fourth frame, but Spanish Springs got four in the bottom of the fourth to send everyone home early and clinched a berth in today's championship game at 12:30 p.m. with a chance to head to regionals in Long Beach, Calif.
"Unbelievable. That's the only word I have for it. This is a team of hitters. They did what we expected of them," coach Damon O'Connell said.
•Like the 12-year-olds, the 10-year-olds made quick work of their Silver State opponents in four innings.
Back-to-back RBI two-baggers by Derek Mannens and Logan Cox got Spanish Springs started. Colton Forman's RBI single kept the first-inning rally going, and an error led to the fourth run in the inning.
In the second, Mannens ripped a single to left field, driving in a run to increase the lead to 5-0.
Cox's two-run double in the third was the big hit in the three-run inning.
Spanish Springs needed just two runs in the fourth inning to end the game with the 10-run mercy rule. An error led to a 9-0 score, and Hayden Bosco's infield hit allowed the game-ending run to come home.
"They played real well. That's kind of how we hoped it would go in the first game. We'll be ready to go with a doubleheader tomorrow and see what happens," coach Wayne Smith said.
Spanish will need to beat Fallon twice in order to win the state championship. The first game is at 3 p.m. If Spanish Springs wins, a second game will be played right after.
•The 9-year-olds remained in the winners' bracket by beating Silver State 6-4 in an early game Saturday. Their championship game will be at 2:30 p.m.
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