PAML BEACH COUNTY, Fla.- In the bottom of the seventh inning, 5 STAR National Dobbs earned the walk-off win in Friday's Game of the Day.
With the win, 5 STAR National Dobbs went 2-0 on the day and put themselves in a comfortable spot for the third round of play.
It was a quiet first four innings offensively for both sides until 5 STAR struck in the bottom of the fifth inning. Leon Paulino started the inning with a lead-off walk. A sacrifice bunt moved Paulino into scoring position and a single in the next at-bat by Brian Baughman brought in the innings first run. Another single was produced by Harrison Thiel which advanced Baughman to second and an error by the first basemen plated the second run of the frame, making the score 2-0.
The Canes bounced back to even the score with two runs of their own in the sixth. Nick Gorby led things off with a single before advancing to second on a ground out. One out later, a single by Reece Blanco, who advanced to second on the throw, scored one. The next batter singled up the middle allowing Blanco to score.
A quick fly out gave hope of forcing extra innings for the Canes, however defensive miscues proved to be fatal. After a two-base error by the shortstop, Tiehl scored on a subsequent single by Harrison Long to win the game in walk-off fashion, 3-2.
Tyler Mckenna and Cameron Jones led the offense for 5 STAR with both going 2-for-3 on the day, while for the Canes, Blanco and VonTravius Sands each had a run batted in.
"We didn't expect the game to end that way," said head coach Britt Dobbs . "These are the kinds of games we try to get these top teams prepared for and for the most part we did a really good job."
5 STAR will face Palm Beach Select next to try and withhold their undefeated record at the USA 17U National Team Championships.