AMELIA – After a two hour rain delay and some swift work by the grounds crew at the Amelia Dixie Youth Baseball field, the Amelia All-Stars put on a hitting and fielding display in a 17-1 victory over Buckingham to capture the District IV Coach Pitch Championship on Wednesday night at Pistol McMillian Memorial Park.

Amelia left little doubt as to which was the dominant team in the Final Four, dispatching of Cumberland, which won the Sportsmanship Award, 22-1 on Tuesday night. Buckingham reached Wednesday's final with a 17-13 victory over Powhatan on Tuesday.

Amelia 17, Buckingham 1

In Wednesday night's championship game between Amelia and Buckingham, the BC All-Stars, which were playing as the home team, fell behind 2-1 after the first inning. Camden Allen scored Buckingham's lone run.

Amelia broke the game open with six runs in the top of the second to extend its lead to 8-1, and retired the Buckingham All-Stars in order in the bottom of the second. Another five runs in the top of the third basically put the game out of reach.

“We struggled a bit tonight,” said BC manager Denise Bryant. “We probably didn't handle the delay as well as they did, but that doesn't change the fact that they hit the ball well and fielded it very well. We put the ball in play, but Amelia made several great stops and we couldn't get anything going.

“None of that takes away from the tournament. We had a great run to finish second, and I'm proud of these kids. I'm proud of the way they play, and how they listen to instruction, and that's what it's all about.”

Amelia 22, Cumberland 1

Amelia jumped out to a 6-0 lead and never looked back in a 22-1 victory over Cumberland in the semifinal round of the District IV Coach Pitch Tournament.

Cumberland shortstop Braedyn Schaeffer scored the team's only run in the bottom of the second inning.

“Amelia is the best team in the field, by far, and they showed it tonight,” said Cumberland manager Ben Baldwin. “They were gentlemen, and I think took it a little easy on us toward the end.”

Cumberland, which had drawn early slots in the tournament up until Tuesday's nightcap, was playing its first game after sunset.

“Playing at night is different, and I noticed it when I was on the mound. We didn't play a night game the entire year, either in regular-season or once we got here. Things look so much different at night, and that's something we're going to have to work on going from here.”

The Cumberland All-Stars will have a number of opportunities to work on night practice over the next two weeks, as the team accepted an invitation to participate in the Virginia Coach Pitch (AA) Tournament, scheduled to begin on July 12 in Appomattox.

“We discussed it,” said Baldwin on accepting the invitation to the field that could contain as many as 16 teams. “Do we leave the season here on a good note, or do we continue to play. We were leaning toward not going at one point, but decided that it would be better for us if we go to the state tournament and give these kids the experience of playing at that level. The kids will benefit from the extra practice, and I doubt we'll run into a team that's much better than Amelia.”

Buckingham 17, Powhatan 13

The two teams played a six inning back-and-forth contest. Buckingham fell behind 9-6 in the bottom of the fourth, before scoring six runs in the top of the fifth to take a 12-9 lead.

Powhatan battled back to tie the game at 12 apiece in the fifth inning, but Buckingham scored five more runs in the top of the fifth and allowed just one run in the top of the sixth to preserve the four-run victory.

“We hit the ball very well tonight,” said BC manager Denise Bryant. “We struggled to get a big inning at first, but eventually we were able to make good contact, and string together some hits.”

Dillon Kimberlin scored four runs for Buckingham, while Shawn Garceau, Camden Allen and Eli Bryant scored three. Holden Tyson, Jacob Carter, Sam Trimble and Rondal Richardson also scored runs for Buckingham.

“We were very aggressive on the bases tonight, it got us in trouble early on, but eventually that started to work for us. It's easy to forget that most of these kids are seven- and eight-years-old. There are a lot of things they just don't know yet, or are comfortable doing. Things that will one day become things they don't have to think through. They'll just do it without thinking.”