The 2009 edition of the George Kell Motors American Legion entered the season as a deep and talented group who were seeking to follow up on last year's state tournament appearance with a possible run at a state championship.
Roller coaster performances in the early stages the campaign have had some scratching their heads, but as the temperatures have increased and playing time has become more consistent, so too has Kell Motors.
That consistency was never more evident as they turned in probably their best three consecutive days with a 3-2 showing in the recently completed George Kell Classic Wooden Bat Tournament held in Newport this past weekend.
One thing has become increasingly clear - Kell Motors have shown a penchant for coming up big in big games during the '09 season.
The bigger the game (or name) the better they seem to play and the recently completed George Kell Classic Wooden Bat Tournament was no exception.
For the second time in two weekends the AA squad from Newport knocked off a powerful AAA team as Batesville fell to the host team 1-0 in an emotional pitcher's duel where the intensity matched the blazing temperatures.
The emotional victory pushed Kell Motors to the championship game where they fell to Dunklin Co., Mo. for the second time in the three-day tournament.
However, their championship game performance, an 8-6 struggle with the eventual champions, showed their ability to play with the "big boys," as the perennial Bootheel powerhouse held on for the victory.
Dunklin County jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Newport as they would all day battled back to cut the lead to 3-2.
Edward Pruitt walked to open the home half of the first and promptly stole second and third base before coming home on an RBI single by Sam Sutherland. Following an error by the Dunklin County third baseman, Sutherland scored on an RBI basehit by Dustin McGee.
Kell Motors tied the contest with a run in the third inning as McGee collected a single and scored on a single by Anthony Peel.
Dunklin County began to pull away in the top of the fourth inning as nine batters came to the plate - with four of them scoring. Pruitt, the tough-luck loser for Newport, surrendered all four runs in the frame despite allowing only one hit. Three walks and two Kell Motors errors aided Dunklin County.
Trailing 7-3, Newport cut into the lead again when Pruitt walked to lead off the fifth inning. Following a steal of second and two strikeouts, McGee delivered with Pruitt with an RBI single.
After Dunklin County added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning, Kell Motors had one final rally left in them as Jarrod Eddington singled to start the frame. Sutherland singled Eddington to third base with both runners eventually scoring on passed balls.
Pruitt took the loss as he worked five innings allowing seven runs on five hits and walking eight while striking out three. McGee tossed two innings of relief as he allowed one run on two hits and struck out one.
McGee led the Newport offense with three hits and two RBIs, while Sutherland and Peel had two hits each. Trevor Stevenson and Eddington had a hit each for Kell Motors.
Kell Motors 1
Batesville 0
Newport scored a run in the bottom of the first inning and winning pitcher Tyler Roach made it stand up as he scattered five hits over seven innings an struck out one while walking one to help lead Kell Motors to a 1-0 victory in the semi-finals of the Kell Classic.
Batesville managed to get four runners to second base over the first five innings but each time Roach worked out of trouble to keep Kell Motors in front.
In the sixth inning, Batesville managed their best scoring opportunity as Kraig Kelley walked to lead off the inning and moved around to third base on a two-base error by Newport.
Derek Wooten's ground ball to third base was turned into a double play by the combination of Anthony Peel, Sam Sutherland and Trevor Stevenson with Kelley remaining at third base. Roach got the next batter to fly out harmlessly to centerfield to end the threat.
In the seventh inning, Erik Vaughn singled to lead off the frame, but Newport catcher Dustin McGee threw him out trying to steal second base to quiet the threat. Following a walk to Nick Dailey, Josh Harris grounded up the middle to Pruitt at shortstop who turned the game ending double play when Stevenson scooped his throw out of the dirt at first base.
Pruitt, Sutherland, McGee, Peel and Roach had a hit each to pace the offensive attack for Kell Motors.
Dunklin County 13
Kell Motors 1
Dunklin County rudely kicked the host George Kell Motors to the brink of elimination with a 13-1 pounding in the winner's bracket finals Saturday afternoon.
Dunklin County scored five times in the second, three more in the third before ending the game via the run rule with five more runs in the fourth inning.
Jarrod Eddington took the loss for Newport as he battled into the fourth inning.
Dustin McGee again paced the offense for Newport wit two hits and drove in the lone run as he plated Zac Tate, who had reached on a single, in the third inning.
Sam Sutherland, Anthony Peel and Tate had a hit each for Kell Motors.
Kell Motors 7
Taylor Ambulance 1
In an anticipated battle between the two Newport squads experience won out as AA Kell Motors defeated AA-JR Taylor Ambulance 7-1.
Kell Motors scored four runs in the second inning as Trevor Stevenson was hit-by-a-pitch to start the inning. Anthony Peel reached on an error and Byron Crump singled to load the bases. Brice Holmes fielder's choice plated Stevenson for the first run of the contest. Zac Tate drove home another with a ground ball out. Another Taylor Ambulance plated a third run before the fourth came home on a wild pitch.
Taylor Ambulance scratched the scoreboard in the top of the third inning when Gage Weaver walked to lead off the inning. Michael Reynolds reached on an error ahead of a sacrifice bunt by Jim DuPree. Weaver scored on a passed ball to cut the lead to 4-1. However, Kell Motors hurler Dustin McGee got through the middle of the lineup for Taylor Ambulance without further damage.
Kell Motors added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Edward Pruitt to lead off the inning and stole second base. Stevenson followed with a walk and Peel scored Pruitt with an RBI single. Byron Crump singled to scored Stevenson and move put runners on the corners. Peel scored on a Taylor Ambulance error for the final margin.
Crump had two hits to lead the Kell Motors offense, while Pruitt, Peel and Tate also had hits.
McGee picked up the win with six innings of work on the mound allowing one run on two hits and struck out seven while walking four. Pruitt worked a perfect seventh inning as he fanned the side.
For Taylor Ambulance, Grant Black took the loss allowed seven runs on five hits in 4.1 innings of work. He fanned four and walked three. Reynolds pitched 1.2 innings and struck out one.
Reynolds and DuPree had the lone basehits for Taylor Ambulance in the contest.
Kell Motors 6
Jonesboro Seams 1
In the tournament opener for the hosts, Kell Motors scored a 6-1 victory over Jonesboro Seams Friday night.
Newport scored four times in the home half of the third inning. Edward Pruitt walked and scored on the second of three Seams' errors in the inning. Trevor Stevenson, Anthony Peel and Byron Crump had RBIs in the inning with Peel delivering the big hit - an RBI double. Zac Tate also had an RBI on a ground out.
After Seams scored one run in the top of the fourth, Kell Motors pushed across two insurance runs in the home half of the fifth inning.
Crump reached on an error and moved up on a single by Tyler Roach. Tate followed with a two-RBI double for the final margin.
Dustin McGee, Pruitt and Roach had two hits each for Newport, while Tate, Crump, Peel, Stevenson and Jarrod Eddington each had a hit for Kell Motors.
Roach picked up the victory as he allowed one run on five hits and struck out eight.
Taylor Ambulance 8
Jonesboro Seams 7
Jonesboro Seams evened the season series with Taylor Ambulance with an 8-7 extra innings victory to send Newport home from the George Kell Classic Wooden Bat Tournament.
Seams scored two runs in each of the first three innings before adding a single tally in the fourth frame. Their final run came in the eight inning when a one-out error and a two-out RBI single claimed the victory for Jonesboro.
Trailing all evening, Taylor Ambulance clawed their way back from a 7-3 deficit with four runs in the fifth inning only to fall in eight innings.
Facing a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the first inning, Jim DuPree - who had reached on a one-out error scored on the second Jonesboro error of the inning to cut the lead in half.
After Seams scored twice more in the top of the second inning, Taylor Ambulance cut the lead in half again when Devante Neal walked to lead off the frame. He stole second base, moved to third base on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by DuPree.
Seams added two more runs in the top of the third, but Newport once more cut the lead in half with a single tally in the home half.
Grant Black led off the inning with a walk. Aaron Coots followed with a walk and Colton Shadwick's RBI single scored Black but Seams worked out of the jam.
Trailing 7-3 as the home half of the fifth inning started, Taylor Ambulance staged their biggest inning of the tournament - a four-run rally - to knot the score at 7-7 and send the game to extra innings.
Shadwick singled to lead off the frame. Neal and Gage Weaver drew walks to load the bases in front of Michael Reynolds and DuPree, who drew run-scoring walks. Ryan McGaughey followed with a two-run double to tie the score with no one out.
Newport was not without later chances as they stranded runners at first and second in the sixth and eight innings, however, their best chance came in the seventh inning when McGaughey and Matthew Duvall drew their third and fourth walks of the game respectively. The duo moved up to second and third base with one out but were stranded after back-to-back strikeouts.
Coots took the loss for Newport as he worked 5.2 innings of relief allowing two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out five in the loss. Duvall tossed 2.1 innings allowing six runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out one.
McGaughey had two hits and drove in two runs while Shadwick also had two hits. Reynolds and Neal had a hit each for Newport.
Taylor Ambulance 2
Tuckerman 0
In the first of two intra-county clashes for Taylor Ambulance, Newport came out the victor in the opening game of the annual George Kell Classic as they Tuckerman 2-0.
Taylor Ambulance scored a run in the bottom of the second inning when Grant Black collected a one-out single. He moved up 90 feet on a single by Aaron Coots. He came around to score on a Tuckerman error.
Newport added an insurance run in the home half of the sixth inning when Ryan McGaughey reached on an error by Tuckerman. He stole second base and scored on the second Tuckerman error of the inning to stretch the lead to 2-0.
Colton Shadwick made the runs stand up as he worked seven innings allowing three hits in the shutout. He struck out seven and walked four.
Tuckerman's Jake Hitt was the hard-luck loser as he allowed two unearned runs on two hits and struck out 13 while walking four in six innings of work.
Jonesboro Seams 3
Tuckerman 1
In an elimination game, Tuckerman bowed out of the George Kell Classic with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Jonesboro Seams.
Jonesboro scored a run following a Tuckerman error in the first inning to get on the scoreboard and used two bases-loaded walks in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie and hold on for the victory.
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning, Tuckerman tied the game when Jake Hitt drew a two-out walk. Chase Gates followed with an RBI double into the rightfield corner to score Hitt from first and knot the score at 1-1.
Gates absorbed the loss for Tuckerman as he allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out five while walking six.
Gates had the lone hit for Tuckerman in the loss.
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The 2009 edition of the George Kell Motors American Legion entered the season as a deep and talented group who were seeking to follow up on last year's state tournament appearance with a possible run at a state championship.
Roller coaster performances in the early stages the campaign have had some scratching their heads, but as the temperatures have increased and playing time has become more consistent, so too has Kell Motors.
That consistency was never more evident as they turned in probably their best three consecutive days with a 3-2 showing in the recently completed George Kell Classic Wooden Bat Tournament held in Newport this past weekend.
One thing has become increasingly clear - Kell Motors have shown a penchant for coming up big in big games during the '09 season.
The bigger the game (or name) the better they seem to play and the recently completed George Kell Classic Wooden Bat Tournament was no exception.
For the second time in two weekends the AA squad from Newport knocked off a powerful AAA team as Batesville fell to the host team 1-0 in an emotional pitcher's duel where the intensity matched the blazing temperatures.
The emotional victory pushed Kell Motors to the championship game where they fell to Dunklin Co., Mo. for the second time in the three-day tournament.
However, their championship game performance, an 8-6 struggle with the eventual champions, showed their ability to play with the "big boys," as the perennial Bootheel powerhouse held on for the victory.
Dunklin County jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Newport as they would all day battled back to cut the lead to 3-2.
Edward Pruitt walked to open the home half of the first and promptly stole second and third base before coming home on an RBI single by Sam Sutherland. Following an error by the Dunklin County third baseman, Sutherland scored on an RBI basehit by Dustin McGee.
Kell Motors tied the contest with a run in the third inning as McGee collected a single and scored on a single by Anthony Peel.
Dunklin County began to pull away in the top of the fourth inning as nine batters came to the plate - with four of them scoring. Pruitt, the tough-luck loser for Newport, surrendered all four runs in the frame despite allowing only one hit. Three walks and two Kell Motors errors aided Dunklin County.
Trailing 7-3, Newport cut into the lead again when Pruitt walked to lead off the fifth inning. Following a steal of second and two strikeouts, McGee delivered with Pruitt with an RBI single.
After Dunklin County added an insurance run in the top of the sixth inning, Kell Motors had one final rally left in them as Jarrod Eddington singled to start the frame. Sutherland singled Eddington to third base with both runners eventually scoring on passed balls.
Pruitt took the loss as he worked five innings allowing seven runs on five hits and walking eight while striking out three. McGee tossed two innings of relief as he allowed one run on two hits and struck out one.
McGee led the Newport offense with three hits and two RBIs, while Sutherland and Peel had two hits each. Trevor Stevenson and Eddington had a hit each for Kell Motors.
Kell Motors 1
Batesville 0
Newport scored a run in the bottom of the first inning and winning pitcher Tyler Roach made it stand up as he scattered five hits over seven innings an struck out one while walking one to help lead Kell Motors to a 1-0 victory in the semi-finals of the Kell Classic.
Batesville managed to get four runners to second base over the first five innings but each time Roach worked out of trouble to keep Kell Motors in front.
In the sixth inning, Batesville managed their best scoring opportunity as Kraig Kelley walked to lead off the inning and moved around to third base on a two-base error by Newport.
Derek Wooten's ground ball to third base was turned into a double play by the combination of Anthony Peel, Sam Sutherland and Trevor Stevenson with Kelley remaining at third base. Roach got the next batter to fly out harmlessly to centerfield to end the threat.
In the seventh inning, Erik Vaughn singled to lead off the frame, but Newport catcher Dustin McGee threw him out trying to steal second base to quiet the threat. Following a walk to Nick Dailey, Josh Harris grounded up the middle to Pruitt at shortstop who turned the game ending double play when Stevenson scooped his throw out of the dirt at first base.
Pruitt, Sutherland, McGee, Peel and Roach had a hit each to pace the offensive attack for Kell Motors.
Dunklin County 13
Kell Motors 1
Dunklin County rudely kicked the host George Kell Motors to the brink of elimination with a 13-1 pounding in the winner's bracket finals Saturday afternoon.
Dunklin County scored five times in the second, three more in the third before ending the game via the run rule with five more runs in the fourth inning.
Jarrod Eddington took the loss for Newport as he battled into the fourth inning.
Dustin McGee again paced the offense for Newport wit two hits and drove in the lone run as he plated Zac Tate, who had reached on a single, in the third inning.
Sam Sutherland, Anthony Peel and Tate had a hit each for Kell Motors.
Kell Motors 7
Taylor Ambulance 1
In an anticipated battle between the two Newport squads experience won out as AA Kell Motors defeated AA-JR Taylor Ambulance 7-1.
Kell Motors scored four runs in the second inning as Trevor Stevenson was hit-by-a-pitch to start the inning. Anthony Peel reached on an error and Byron Crump singled to load the bases. Brice Holmes fielder's choice plated Stevenson for the first run of the contest. Zac Tate drove home another with a ground ball out. Another Taylor Ambulance plated a third run before the fourth came home on a wild pitch.
Taylor Ambulance scratched the scoreboard in the top of the third inning when Gage Weaver walked to lead off the inning. Michael Reynolds reached on an error ahead of a sacrifice bunt by Jim DuPree. Weaver scored on a passed ball to cut the lead to 4-1. However, Kell Motors hurler Dustin McGee got through the middle of the lineup for Taylor Ambulance without further damage.
Kell Motors added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Edward Pruitt to lead off the inning and stole second base. Stevenson followed with a walk and Peel scored Pruitt with an RBI single. Byron Crump singled to scored Stevenson and move put runners on the corners. Peel scored on a Taylor Ambulance error for the final margin.
Crump had two hits to lead the Kell Motors offense, while Pruitt, Peel and Tate also had hits.
McGee picked up the win with six innings of work on the mound allowing one run on two hits and struck out seven while walking four. Pruitt worked a perfect seventh inning as he fanned the side.
For Taylor Ambulance, Grant Black took the loss allowed seven runs on five hits in 4.1 innings of work. He fanned four and walked three. Reynolds pitched 1.2 innings and struck out one.
Reynolds and DuPree had the lone basehits for Taylor Ambulance in the contest.
Kell Motors 6
Jonesboro Seams 1
In the tournament opener for the hosts, Kell Motors scored a 6-1 victory over Jonesboro Seams Friday night.
Newport scored four times in the home half of the third inning. Edward Pruitt walked and scored on the second of three Seams' errors in the inning. Trevor Stevenson, Anthony Peel and Byron Crump had RBIs in the inning with Peel delivering the big hit - an RBI double. Zac Tate also had an RBI on a ground out.
After Seams scored one run in the top of the fourth, Kell Motors pushed across two insurance runs in the home half of the fifth inning.
Crump reached on an error and moved up on a single by Tyler Roach. Tate followed with a two-RBI double for the final margin.
Dustin McGee, Pruitt and Roach had two hits each for Newport, while Tate, Crump, Peel, Stevenson and Jarrod Eddington each had a hit for Kell Motors.
Roach picked up the victory as he allowed one run on five hits and struck out eight.
Taylor Ambulance 8
Jonesboro Seams 7
Jonesboro Seams evened the season series with Taylor Ambulance with an 8-7 extra innings victory to send Newport home from the George Kell Classic Wooden Bat Tournament.
Seams scored two runs in each of the first three innings before adding a single tally in the fourth frame. Their final run came in the eight inning when a one-out error and a two-out RBI single claimed the victory for Jonesboro.
Trailing all evening, Taylor Ambulance clawed their way back from a 7-3 deficit with four runs in the fifth inning only to fall in eight innings.
Facing a 2-0 deficit in the bottom of the first inning, Jim DuPree - who had reached on a one-out error scored on the second Jonesboro error of the inning to cut the lead in half.
After Seams scored twice more in the top of the second inning, Taylor Ambulance cut the lead in half again when Devante Neal walked to lead off the frame. He stole second base, moved to third base on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by DuPree.
Seams added two more runs in the top of the third, but Newport once more cut the lead in half with a single tally in the home half.
Grant Black led off the inning with a walk. Aaron Coots followed with a walk and Colton Shadwick's RBI single scored Black but Seams worked out of the jam.
Trailing 7-3 as the home half of the fifth inning started, Taylor Ambulance staged their biggest inning of the tournament - a four-run rally - to knot the score at 7-7 and send the game to extra innings.
Shadwick singled to lead off the frame. Neal and Gage Weaver drew walks to load the bases in front of Michael Reynolds and DuPree, who drew run-scoring walks. Ryan McGaughey followed with a two-run double to tie the score with no one out.
Newport was not without later chances as they stranded runners at first and second in the sixth and eight innings, however, their best chance came in the seventh inning when McGaughey and Matthew Duvall drew their third and fourth walks of the game respectively. The duo moved up to second and third base with one out but were stranded after back-to-back strikeouts.
Coots took the loss for Newport as he worked 5.2 innings of relief allowing two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out five in the loss. Duvall tossed 2.1 innings allowing six runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out one.
McGaughey had two hits and drove in two runs while Shadwick also had two hits. Reynolds and Neal had a hit each for Newport.
Taylor Ambulance 2
Tuckerman 0
In the first of two intra-county clashes for Taylor Ambulance, Newport came out the victor in the opening game of the annual George Kell Classic as they Tuckerman 2-0.
Taylor Ambulance scored a run in the bottom of the second inning when Grant Black collected a one-out single. He moved up 90 feet on a single by Aaron Coots. He came around to score on a Tuckerman error.
Newport added an insurance run in the home half of the sixth inning when Ryan McGaughey reached on an error by Tuckerman. He stole second base and scored on the second Tuckerman error of the inning to stretch the lead to 2-0.
Colton Shadwick made the runs stand up as he worked seven innings allowing three hits in the shutout. He struck out seven and walked four.
Tuckerman's Jake Hitt was the hard-luck loser as he allowed two unearned runs on two hits and struck out 13 while walking four in six innings of work.
Jonesboro Seams 3
Tuckerman 1
In an elimination game, Tuckerman bowed out of the George Kell Classic with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Jonesboro Seams.
Jonesboro scored a run following a Tuckerman error in the first inning to get on the scoreboard and used two bases-loaded walks in the fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie and hold on for the victory.
Trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning, Tuckerman tied the game when Jake Hitt drew a two-out walk. Chase Gates followed with an RBI double into the rightfield corner to score Hitt from first and knot the score at 1-1.
Gates absorbed the loss for Tuckerman as he allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out five while walking six.
Gates had the lone hit for Tuckerman in the loss.
