After a shaky start in their opener, the Goochland Minors All-Star team righted the ship and breezed to a championship in the Dixie League Tournament being held at Hidden Rock Park. Goochland exited the competition without a loss and sporting a defense that allowed a total of only eight runs.

  The team, comprised of 9-10-year olds selected from various teams in the GYAA league, opened the tournament facing the Powhatan Americans. The visitors jumped out to a 4-1 lead, and the outlook appeared bleak as the game was called due to darkness when lights were automatically turned off at Hidden Rock.

  However a new day brought a different outcome. Goochland came out the following morning to complete the opener and tied the game on a two-run homer by John John King, his first of three tournament hits that cleared the fence.

  Goochland eventually came back, won the contest in extra innings, and never looked back.

  “I think we came out a little bit nervous in that first game and lost our focus in the early innings,” said Goochland coach Greg Harlow. “Our defense kept us in the game and our bats finally came alive.”

  The All-Stars breezed through the next two days of competition, setting up a final contest between Goochland and the Powhatan Nationals, a team they had defeated earlier in the tournament.

  Goochland bats came alive early and often in the championship game, and coupled with a stellar consistent defense, the team made easy work of the Nationals, 15-1 to capture the title.

  In the top of the first, leadoff hitter Cole Ragone reached on a single and scored when Tyler Ott drove him in. Ott then scored on a long Dylan Scruggs single.

  Finally, Gunnar Franko doubled in two more runs giving Goochland a 4-0 lead in the first inning.

  Harlow said the championship game was a good indication of his team’s potential. “We played great defense for the entire tournament, the pitching was great and we hit the ball well in all five games.”

  The coach felt that the intense practices leading up to the tournament paid off for the kids. “We really worked hard the past two weeks and we’ll go back and practice for another week and a half getting ready for the state tournament,” he said.

  For his efforts, King was presented with the tournament’s home run ball to recognize his phenomenal performance at the plate. His three-run homer that ended the finale was part of the five RBI performance for the evening.

  King was humble even with the accolades. “I did pretty good, but this was a team effort tonight,” he said. Even though he didn’t get the pitch he was looking for, King had enough power to pull off the homer to left.

  “It was an outside fast ball that I swung a little early on, but it just had enough to get out,” he said.

  For Harlow and the team, it’s back to work in preparation for this Friday’s state tournament opener in Madison Heights, VA, but he’ll maintain the same philosophy that has served the team well so far.

“We’ll take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time and see what happens,” he said.