Tanner Ketchum and Wildcats finish second at World Series

Tanner Ketchum and his team, the Thomson Wildcats, were runnersup at the USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association) World Series held recently in Kissimmee, Florida. Tanner is in the sixth grade at LCMS.

One thing's for sure — Tanner Ketchum, a sixth-grade student at LCMS, did a lot more than sleep and play video games during his summer vacation.

Tanner and his team, the Thomson Wildcats, were runners-up at the USSSA (United States Specialty Sports Association) World Series held in Kissimmee, Florida.

Tanner is the son of Wayne and Lisa Ketchum of Lincolnton.

After losing to the Diablos from El Paso, Texas, in the Wildcats' first game of the 10-and-under double elmination tournament, the possibility of the Thomson team finishing in the top two or three seemed bleak.

Nevertheless, the boys bounced back and went on to win the next six games, earning the right to play the Katy Curves from Katy, Texas, in the semi-finals. These young Texans, who had an 82-14 record coming into the tournament, were the numberone ranked AA team in the nation last year in the 10-and-under division.

Down 5-3, going into the bottom of the sixth inning during the game against Katy Curve, it looked as though the Wildcat's Cinderella baseball season had come to an end. It was precisely at this point that the Wildcats growled back to win the game 6-5.

The win set the stage for the Wildcats to advance to the championship game against the Bulldogs of Brentwood, Tennessee.

"We were tickled to death and shocked at the same time," said Thomson Head Coach Robert Brown of Dearing. "We were all very proud of them. We couldn't have asked any more of them."

"It's still hard to believe we beat a team as good as they were," admitted Assistant Coach Jon Gridley. "We caught fire as a team and beat them though."

The last inning rally began when Tanner drew a leadoff walk. Kyle Edwards then hit a single up the middle to place runners on first and second with no outs. A short time later, both runners advanced 60 more feet around the base path after pulling off a successful double-steal.

Tanner and Kyle both scored when teammate Garrett McClure smashed a double into centerfield thus tying the game 5-5. Duncan Adams, the right fielder for the Wildcats, was later called on to replace Garrett as a pinch runner. Cade Brown then sacrificed Duncan over to third base on a nicelyexecuted bunt.

The rally ended when Duncan, who was named the "Most Outstanding Defensive Player" of the series, scored the game-winning run on a hard line drive to third base.

"Everybody on our team and all our fans just started jumping up and down with excitement," recalled Coach Brown. "It was a great feeling — one that I don't think will ever go away soon for any of us."

Unfortunately, the Thomson team wasn't able to get past the Brentwood Bulldogs, who defeated them 6-5 to claim the USSSA World Series Championship. To the Wildcats' credit, however, the team led going into the bottom half of the sixth inning, but then the Bulldogs managed to tally a pair of runs to win the game.

"We played two great baseball games," said Coach Brown. "Our kids played as well in those two games as they have played all season. As coaches, we couldn't be more proud of them."

For their efforts, the traveling baseball team received a beautiful crystal trophy, designating the Wildcats as the "Runner-Up Team of the 2008 USSSA World Series." The team members as well as the coaches will keep the trophy for two weeks each.

The Wildcats' roster is comprised of players from Thomson, Lincolnton, Louisville, and Appling. In addition to Brown and Gridley, the team is also coached by Wayne Ketchum and Brad Smith.

Upon their return to Georgia, Tanner and the other players and coaches were honored during pre-game ceremonies at an Augusta GreenJackets' game.

Being recognized in front of hundreds of baseball fans was quite a thrill for Tanner.

"It was neat," exclaimed the Lincolnton baseball player. "It felt good."

Likewise, on Tuesday, August 19, the McDuffie County Board of Commissioners issued a proclamation in recognition of the team's achievements.

As for the experience of playing in the World's Series, Tanner said, "Just playing all those other teams and winning was exciting and fun. I'm proud of my team."

The 11 year old served as the team's second baseman during the tournament and compiled a batting average of approximately .500. During the regular season, he also plays shortstop, pitches, and catches.

In her comments, Tanner's mother, Lisa, stated, "We played eight games over six days, and the last two games were incredible. It was a total shock — the boys really came together as at team. They played like they've never played before. Everybody was hitting."

Tanner was introduced to baseball when he was six or seven years old and loved it from the start. "I like hitting and throwing," he said.

Since then, Tanner, who moved to Lincolnton from Fort Pierce, Florida, two years ago, has played Lincoln County Little League and been a member of the Thomson USSSA team, which plays all year long.

In fact, the new season is about to start with a tournament in Evans set for September 6-7. Basically, the Wildcats practice twice a week and play in tournaments all over Georgia and South Carolina at least two weekends a month.

Now that the team is ranked number one in Georgia, it will have to move up to the AAA division for the upcoming season.

In addition to USSSA ball, Tanner also has plans to play for the Lincoln County Red Devils, and when it's time for college, he would like to wear the uniform of the Texas Longhorns.

When he is not out hitting, catching, fielding, and pitching, the middle school student enjoys riding his bicycle, playing football, fishing, tubing, and spending time with friends.

He is likewise an active member of the youth group at Double Branches Baptist Church.

Tanner has one brother, Kody, 13, an eighth-grader at LCMS, who also plays travel baseball for a team based in Harlem.

The primary focus of USSSA Baseball is the development of programs that allow teams of all skill levels to compete against one another. The organization believes the overall development of all players can be enhanced by the experience and fun of national tournament play.

(Editor's Note: Portions of this article were reprinted with the permission of The McDuffie Mirror.)