10-12 Northern baseball puts out Peach, advances to state

In the District 8 All-Star baseball and softball tournaments, the 10-12-year-old Northern baseball team got the last and loudest laugh.

After losing its opening game of the double-elimination tournament to Peach 7-1, Northern worked its way through the loser’s bracket in search of redemption. The first rematch came Saturday, with Northern’s 7-5 victory over Peach forcing a winner-take-all showdown on Sunday.

Northern delivered once again. Northern trounced Peach 7-2 to clinch a spot at the 10-12 state tournament, which begins July 22 in Peachtree City.

While Northern worked to make the games with Peach a reality, the weather did its best to prevent the action. The second game between the two All-Star squads was originally scheduled for Thursday before inclement weather postponed it. The situation was the same Friday, forcing the games to go into the weekend.

Northern head coach Skip Thompson said his team was not happy with how they played in that initial six-run loss to Peach. It clearly lit a fire under his team, which propelled the players toward a second and later third chance against that same team.

Thompson explained after Northern’s win over American that the pending matchup with Peach was one everyone on his side was hungry for.

“We owe those guys a little something,” Thompson said. “We came out (in that first meeting) and didn’t feel like we played our best. Hopefully we get our shot back at them.”

In the end, the Northern players’ aim proved true.

This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 12:19 PM with the headline "10-12 Northern baseball puts out Peach, advances to state."