Brady Baumgardner wasn’t going to stop until he was able to be mobbed by all his teammates.
After hitting a double to score the game-winning run, Baumgardner never hesitated. He raced to third and then sprinted on into home.
That was where the party began.
Baumgardner’s two-run double to the right-center gap capped a three-run rally, as the Emporia 10-and-under All-Stars won the Cal Ripken State title with a 5-4 victory over Cimarron Valley in the championship game at Fort Scott.
“I thought Brady would stop at first or second,” Emporia coach Matt Baumwart said, “but seeing him round the bases and continue on was just icing on the cake.”
The All-Stars trailed 4-2 heading into the sixth and final inning.
Trent Burd started the inning with a hit-by-pitch, and Jared Mercer followed with an RBI triple.
Mercer then scored on a throwing error to tie the score at 4.
Tate Demler followed with a single to center and later moved up a base on a passed ball.
Baumgardner ended it with his heroics, sending a double — or a home run, if you wish — to the wall in right-center.
“The kids approached it like they knew they could handle it,” Baumwart said. “They did well responding to the pressure of the day.”
Bryce Baumwart picked up the victory after pitching the final two innings. Demler started the game, and Baumgardner came on in relief in the third.
Emporia also scored single runs in the third and fifth innings.
In the third, Demler singled before a hit from Baumgardner drove him in.
Baumwart scored the team’s other run in the fifth, as he was driven in by a Nick Kirmer single.
Baumgardner, who went 2-for-2, was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Demler also added three hits.
Baumwart was the WOW Award winner.
Emporia now will advance to the Mid-West Regional Tournament in Burlington, Colo., on Thursday.
“I have no idea what the talent will be like,” Baumwart said, “but just knowing that these boys can rise up to the occasion and come from behind if they need to, we should be OK.”