A team that made it look easy all season prevailed in exciting fashion Sunday afternoon as Kolberg held onto beat Washington Island 10-9.
It started to look that way after four innings at least when the Braves scored seven unanswered runs after the Islanders plated one in the opening frame on a Luke Geiger sacrifice fly. Kyle Routhieaux (hit by pitch) and Trevor Reinhardt (bases-loaded walk) gave the Braves the lead right back without taking the bat off their shoulders.
The Braves would bat around and score five in the fourth inning thanks to RBI hits from Nick LeCaptain, Austin Rohe, Austin Dart, and another bases-loaded walk earned by Charlie Neinas.
The two teams would trade pairs of runs in the sixth inning to leave the score 9-3 after six innings with Caleb Cornell and Ben Johnson driving in runs for the Islanders and Jake Schneider and Christian Cournard doing the same for the Braves. The two teams would also trade tallies in the eighth with the Islanders' Ben Geiger and Schneider driving in runs.
Schneider's RBI in the eighth would loom large as the Islanders bat around in the ninth, registering their own five-run inning. An error by Schneider opened the door for Cornell's bases-loaded walk, Ben Johnson's bases-loaded hit by pitch, and Geiger's two-run single to make it 10-9. With men still on bases, Tyler Neinas shut the door on the Islanders' rally and secured the Braves' double championship season.
Both teams registered 12 hits and left a combined 25 men on base in the game. Rohe earned the win while Neinas earned the save.
