Congrats to the 9u Quad City Redbirds for a 4th place finish in the 9u Hitmen Classic, which was held on May 6th & 7th at the WBSA Complex in Rock Island. The weather was perfect for the weekend and the boys played great baseball and showed great talent.

In Game 1 against the Clinton Bandits, the Redbirds won the game 16 to 1 in 3 innings. Matt Grosskopf and Drake Vanderpool combined on pitching for a no hitter and only walked one batter between them. The team together combined for a total of 14 hits, with Hayden Franks having 4 RBI’s. Included in the Redbirds RBI rampage 4 other players each had 2 RBI’s a piece (Tyler Broders, Brady Cartee, Terrill Clayburne & Matt Grosskopf). In addition Nick Hirst helped the team in with strong batting and an RBI.

Game 2 was a 17 to 2 win over the 8U Hitmen. In the 3 inning game Aaron Halligan and Anfernee Crompton combined for a 2 hitter with 5 strikeouts. Again the Redbirds came out swinging and racked up 11 hits as a team. Matt Grosskopf and Hayden Franks led the RBI surge with 8 RBI’s between them. Joey Wescom was the scoring machine during the game scoring 3 times and having 2 RBI’s. Nick Hirst had another strong game of hitting with one hit bringing in 2 runs, in addition Nick scored twice. David Hill showed impressive speed on the bases and helped in the strong ending run total for the Redbirds.

The Tri-City Titans in game 3 came ready to play and showed why they were a tough competitor. The Redbirds came out on top with a 9 to 3 victory in the 6 inning game. Terrill Clayburne and Tyler Broders both pitched and had a 4 hitter, 10 strikeouts and no BB game between them. Hayden Franks again came out swinging with 2 hits, 3 runs scored and an RBI. Anfernee Crompton, Tyler Broders and Terrill Clayburne each gave the team 2 RBI’s. We ended pool play with a record of 3-0 and took the #2 seed for the Championship Bracket

In the Semi-final game the Redbirds gave the opponent the 9u Quad City Hitmen a challenge in the 6-4 lost against them. Both teams gave a solid effort in the game and in the end the Hitmen came out on top. But in this 6 inning nail biter the Redbirds came out swinging with 7 hits as a team, Hayden Franks lead the team with 2 hits and Anfernee Crompton, Tyler Broders, Brady Cartee and Matt Grosskopf having a RBI a piece. Strong pitching helped the Redbirds defense with the Cartee/Grosskopf combination having 8 strikeouts and only walking 3. Good work guys in this hard game and your 4th place finish and your overall record of 15-2.