Ward scores game-winning run on passed ball in 6th

Tyler Ward waited for the opportunity to score in the bottom of the sixth inning and he took it, helping the Twins beat the Pirates 9-8 in the championship of the 11 to 12 year old end of the season tournament on Tuesday night.

Ward made it over to third on a series of walks and one hit in the final inning, where his team scored four runs after trailing 8-5 after the fifth inning.

The Pirates took a commanding 8-4 lead after three innings, but the Twins scored one run in the fifth inning to cut the lead to three runs.

In the sixth, the Pirates walked the first two Twins batters, and Dillan Courson then launched a single to load the bases with no outs.

Tyler Ward was walked as the fifth batter and C. Crain came in to score to make it 8-6.

J.P. Thomason then hit into a sacrifice ground out to score D. Sasser to put the Twins down 8-7.

Ethan Wilson was then intentionally walked, and C. Courson was hit by a pitch, that scored D. Courson to tie the game at 8-8.

After the win, Ward was immediately surrounded by his teammates, giving him a big slap on the back for helping them get the win.

Ward also received the win on the mound, striking out five batters in six innings of work.

The Pirates built a 5-0 lead in the first inning with five runs on four hits as Grant Holley, Joshua Jones, Jakob Walker, Will Clark and Austin Kyser scored for the Pirates.

The Twins answered with three runs in the bottom half of the first inning to cut the game to 5-3.

In the second inning, the Pirates added three runs on one hit. Holley, Jones and Clark scored for the city team.

The Twins scored one run in the third inning when Wilson came in on an error to cut the game to four at 8-4.

The game stayed that way until the fifth, where the Twins scored one run on a sacrifice grounder.

Wilson went 2-for-2 with a triple and a single and three runs; and C. Courson went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple to lead the Twins.

Jones went 3-for-3 with a triple and two runs to lead the Pirates.

The Pirates scored four runs in the fifth inning to edge the Indians 7-6 in the semifinals on Monday night. In the night cap, Wilson scored his team’s only run in a 1-0 win over the Braves in the sixth inning on an RBI single from C. Courson to advance to the tournament championship.