Published: July 10, 2008 09:12 am      

North stuns South

By Jerry Burns / For The Times-Tribune

The North Laurel 11-year-old All Stars moved one step loser to the 11-year-old State Tournament after upending rival South London, 8-3.

South London won 15-0 Wednesday against Clay County and will face North Laurel again today at 7 p.m. in the finals.

North Laurel jumped out to a 5-0 lead before putting the game away with three runs in the top of the sixth inning.

Pitchers Kyle Jeffers and Austin Rudder combined to limit South Laurel’s potent offensive attack to only five hits in the game.

North Laurel’s Zack Lawson started things off for his team with a lead-off double in the first inning. Jeffers followed with a walk and both players scored thanks to passed balls.

North Laurel took control of the game in the second inning by scoring three runs.

Lawson and Jeffers added consecutive singles and a walk to Tucker Sharp loaded the bases for Keaton Kennedy.

Kennedy cleared the bases with a single and gave his team a commanding 5-0 edge during the process.

South London tried to rally in the bottom of the second inning, as John McFarland connected with a double, while Tyler Sears and Logan Mallory each drew walks, but Jeffers settled down on the mound and got out of the bases loaded jam.

North Laurel tried to add on to its lead in the fourth inning after Lawson and Jeffers reached base again with consecutive hits, but South London’s Braden Miller got out of the jam by striking out the next three batters he faced.

Miller tried to help his own cause in the next inning by connecting with a double, while McFarland followed with a two-run homer to cut South London’s deficit to 5-2.

South London continued to rally in the fifth inning after a run-scoring hit by Zack Allen. South London loaded the bases again with only one out, but Austin Rudder got his team out of trouble by striking out the next two batters he faced.

Ethan Maxey put the game away for North Laurel in the top of the sixth with a two-run double to make the score, 7-3. Austin Rudder also added a run-scoring hit to seal the win for North Laurel.

Tony Radford’s squad turned a game-ending double play in the sixth inning to advance to the finals of the District 4 Tournament.

“We have worked on that thing ever since the All Star team has been put together,” Radford said. “It finally paid off for us ...”