Bantam Sox win tournament in Mancelona

The Elks 341 Black Sox knocked off the host Mancelona Orange Crush on Sunday afternoon to win the Mancelona Orange Crush Tournament in Mancelona, Michigan.

D.J. Carter struck out nine and Corey Jackson stroked a pair of doubles and knocked in a run as the Black Sox defeated the Orange Crush 4-2 in the final. Ben Elliot, Richard Lang and Collin McAuley also hit doubles in the win.

"I'm very happy with the way we played all weekend," said coach Steve Hurley, who was filling in for Chris Walls, who couldn't make the trip. "We got good defence, hitting and great pitching. The kids played their hearts out and for that I'm so proud of them. We went into the finals facing the host team with a big crowd on their side facing their ace and the kids never gave up when we were down early. They showed heart and that's why we came out on top."

The Black Sox got to the finals after defeating Boyne City in the semis by a 2-1 score. Boyne City defeated the Black Sox in the round robin by a 10-8 score. In the semi, Jackson threw a complete game three-hitter. Jackson and Carter knocked in the two Black Sox runs.

The locals also went through the tournament with three call-ups from their Pee Wee affiliate. Lucas Turpin, Jordan Pine and Jeb Pallot all made the trip with the Bantams and saw spot duty on the weekend.

*** ROUND ROBIN RESULTS;

Elks 341 9, Mancelona 2

Corey Jackson struck out 11 and gave up just one hit over five innings while Scott Thornton struck out five in the final two innings in the win. Jackson and D.J. Carter stroked a pair of singles in the win. Ben Elliot hit a single and knocked in two runs while Travis Burmaster hit a pair of doubles and also knocked in two runs.

Boyne City 10, Elks 341 8

Jackson had four hits including a homerun, a pair of doubles and a single and knocked in two runs to pace the Black Sox offense. Collin McAuley also homered and knocked in three runs. Brendon Hansen had a single and a double and knocked in two runs also for the Black Sox.

Elks 341 19, Kalkaska 3

D.J. Carter got the win on the mound and also hit a pair of singles for the Black Sox. Ben Elliot hit a pair of singles and a double and knocked in five runs for the Black Sox. Jackson hit three doubles and a single and knocked in three runs. Call-up Lucas Turpin knocked in three runs and hit three singles in the win.