The 11U Santa Barbara X-Factor Baseball Club lost in the championship game to British Columbia Bullpen Baseball, 11-4, in the U.S. Specialty Sports Association Super NIT in Arizona on Sunday.
It was a back in forth game with both teams trading the lead in the early innings.
X-Factor took the lead in the top of the second inning on an rbi single by Xander Glover that plated Ethan Caldwell. In the bottom of the second Bullpen scored two runs on an pair of singles and an RBI groundout. X-Factor rallied for two runs of their own in the top of the third after Bradley Brennan and Makoa Anderson scored on an rbi single from Ethan Caldwell. Bullpen again answered with two runs in the bottom of third thanks to a solo home run and an RBI double.
In the top of the fourth inning Glover reached on a hit by pitch to lead off the inning. Blake Downing drove Glover in to tie the game on a single with two outs. Dallas Knothe reached on a walk, but the rallied stalled on a deep fly out by Brennan to center field.
Bullpen took the lead for good scoring 6 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. They loaded the bases with no outs after an error and a couple of walks to start the inning. After a couple of singles and a double the damage was done.
X-Factor tried to rally in the fifth and sixth innings, but Bullpen closer Preston Giroday-Busch was too tough.
X-Factor finished the three day tournament 6-1. They completed pool play 4-0 to earn the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. They defeated the Bakersfield Bulldogs in the semifinals to reach the finals earlier Sunday 5-2.
The second place finish in the Super NIT propelled X-Factor to the No. 2 ranking in the nation in their division and No. 1 in the state.
The 11U X-Factor Baseball Club is managed by George Downing, Justin Knothe, Ray Lopez, Darren Lang, and Bryan Anderson. Team members include JP Lopez, Blake Downing, Dallas Knothe, Bradley Brennan, Makoa Anderson, Ethan Caldwel, Hudson Lang, Ezekiel Martin, Xander Glover, and Colt Minus.
