The 8U Broncos continued their winning ways this weekend as they charged into Clio in search of more championship hardware. The Broncos remained undefeated winning a 3rd straight tournament championship by taking the Clio All-star Classic with 4 straight wins. This victory was especially sweet as the Broncos wanted to earn some well-deserved redemption for last year’s 8U Bronco squad. Last year, this tournament delivered the only blemish on their otherwise perfect 2013 season. This year’s Bronco team was not to be denied. The Broncos outscored their opponents in Clio by a combined 50-6 in route to the championship.
The tourney began with the Broncos going up against the highly regarded Flushing Raiders. The Broncos struck early when Caden Besco smoked a 2 run shot that scored Dominic Minghine who had led off the game with a hard single to center. Will Boisineau followed suit slamming a back to back homer putting the Broncos up 3-0. The Broncos defense was nearly perfect, holding the Raiders in the bottom and continuing to hold them scoreless until the 4th inning when they scored their only run of the contest. The Broncos however were far from finished. They added 6 more runs on 7 hits in the top of the 2nd putting the Raiders in a deep hole from which they would never escape. Joey Broughton added a solo blast in the 3rd, and the Broncos would add 2 more in the 4th to win a mercy shortened game 12-1.
Game two put the Broncos up against the Oxford Gold, but the Broncos were on a mission and this would not bode well for the Gold. The Broncos jumped on Oxford early putting up 6 runs on 7 hits with Carter Jurcisin scoring the final run of the inning. The Gold would get 2 back in the bottom of the first, but little did they know that the Broncos would play lights out defense from that point on. The Broncos got those 2 back in the second inning when Evan Deak and Gabe Clark both scored. The 3rd inning would see Joey Broughton slam his second homer of the tournament, a 3 run shot to center field. The Broncos weren't done though. In the 4th inning, James Redwine would open things with the Broncos 2nd homer of the game. That would be matched just 2 batters later when Jack Wilczewski hit a 2 run shot as well. The 4th inning fireworks were far from over. Later in the inning, Nick Helner came up with the bases loaded and smacked a grand slam home run to end the inning. Trevor Schueller would make the defensive play of the game gunning down one of the Gold when he fired a missile from right field to first. Caden Besco and Will Boisineau would also add their second bombs before games end. The final score saw the Broncos polish off the Oxford Gold 20-2 in another mercy shortened affair.
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In game three, the Broncos needed to be sure to not get stung by the New Lothrop Hornets as they were the last hurdle between the Broncos and a shot at the championship. Fortunately the Broncos had on industrial strength bug repellent. The Broncos started off the first by hanging a goose egg on the Hornets, and then they jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Helner drove in Minghine with a 2 run shot. The Broncos added 6 more in the bottom of the second including runs scored by Andrew Miller and Brady Heron. The Broncos tagged the Hornets for 5 more including a three run bomb by Redwine that scored Isaac Pace and Carter Jurcisin, to end the game after just 3 innings with a 13-0 mercy extermination of the Hornets.
That win propelled the Broncos to their 3rd straight final, this time against the Millington Cardinals. The Cardinals would strike first jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st. The Broncos would answer back with 2 of their own in the bottom of the first taking a 2-1 lead. Both teams played stellar defense, shutting the other out in the second. In the 3rd inning the Cards would add 2 runs to take a 1 run lead. They might have added more in the 4th, but Besco turned a double play tagging the runner and firing to second for the other out. In the bottom of the 4th with the Broncos trailing by one, Isaac Pace drove in the tying run with a single to right. The teams would remain deadlocked through the end of regulation play, so we would be headed to extra innings. The Broncos opened the top of the 7th with another flawless inning of defense, and came up to bat in the 7th wanting to get out of Clio with another championship. When Joey Broughton came up to bat with one on and one out Bronco Nation could almost taste victory. Broughton would not disappoint. He belted a walk off 2 run homer to give the Broncos their 3rd championship in as many tries with a 5-3 victory. All of the Bronco faithful erupted into thunderous cheers as Broughton did his victory lap around the bases of Clio. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and on this sunny June afternoon in Clio it tasted pretty good.
