Edward Jones wins Shrine Farm Division title
- Max Durbin scored two runs%2C drove in three and contributed on the mound in relief.
- Avery Edwards struck out six in 3 2/3 innings and Owen Poole had eight strikeouts in 4 2/3.
NEWARK – It's not officially a full moon until tonight, but you probably couldn't have proven that to those in attendance at Mound City Little League Wednesday.
Edward Jones came out of a lengthy delay with a four-run explosion and held on for a 9-7 win against North Newark rival Pappy's Grill for the Licking County Shrine Tournament Farm Division championship.
During a discussion over a possible rules infraction, the lights went out at Mound City. Forty-five minutes later, play resumed in the fourth inning of a 3-3 tie. Edward Jones showed you can indeed beat a team three times, as it earned its third close win against Pappy's. On the 10th anniversary of the Shrine Farm Division, Edwards Jones bookended its 2005 title with 2015.
"That's good company to keep," said relieved Edward Jones manager Herk Kashner. "I expected another close game, just not 9-7. The other two were much lower scoring."
"It's a dream come true," said leadoff hitter Max Durbin, who scored two runs, drove in three and contributed on the mound in relief. "Last year, we wanted to win it too, but we lost in the beginning."
Both starters fell victim to the 90-pitch limit, Avery Edwards for Edward Jones and Pappy's Owen Poole. Edwards struck out six in 32/3 innings and Poole had eight strikeouts in 42/3. But when play resumed, Durbin entered to get the final out of the fourth after Pappy's had tied it.
The winners then erupted in the fifth, as Durbin had a sacrifice fly and Carlos Chaney ripped an RBI triple to center, coming all the way around to score on a throwing error. Edwards had a run-scoring single for a 7-3 lead.
"We've had a lot of rain delays this season," Kashner said. "So the boys know what to do. They sing this one song, 'We're going on a ship, the big inning ship,' and we give them drills to do, too. They came out and responded."
"We just stayed pumped up," Durbin said. "We came out and hit the ball, and they had a couple of errors."
EDJ added two big insurance runs in the sixth as Noah Edwards drew a bases-loaded walk and Durbin followed an RBI single. Pappy's didn't go quietly. EDJ committed a couple of errors and Nathan Ramsey and Jaiden Higgins had RBI singles as they pulled within 9-7. But Tyler Flynt came in and struck out the final two batters.
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Durbin stole two bases and scored on a wild pitch in the first, and he had an RBI single in the third. But Pappy's battled back on a run-scoring hit by Cameron Oakleaf and a sacrifice fly by Braylon Bates on a diving grab by EDJ center fielder Miller Hutchinson. Edwards doubled and singled and Flynt added two singles for the winners.
"Max (Durbin) is dangerous any time he comes up," Kashner said. "He gets on base and he's even more dangerous. He makes things happen.
"We came out early and hit the ball tonight," he added. "I felt good about it because it was a good sign we were going to score some runs."
Park National Bank won the consolation game 13-6 against Newark Optometry in the opener.
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For more photos from Sara C. Tobias and a video by Dave Weidig, go to NewarkAdvocate.com.