Cubs Are Rookie 8 Champs With 18-17 Win In Extras

The Cubs are champions of the Green Hornets Rookie 8’s club baseball league.

In classic 8-year-old title-game fashion, the Cubs won a wild seesaw battle against the Orioles at Cypress Creek Park on June 9, coming from several runs down to force extra innings and claim the club championship by defeating the Orioles 18-17 in seven innings.

The Cubs team of JT Strawbridge, Asher Ball, Calvin Cheatheam, Wyatt Duncan, Liam Sipe, Connor Hance, Jayden Cobbs, William Abboud, Will Butler, Liam Holley, Lincoln Latchaw, Lucas Sepp and Chris Gramil took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning only to see their lead slip away after the Orioles battled back to regain the advantage. The teams traded offensive bursts before the Cubs rallied to tie the game in the sixth and push the winning run across in the seventh.

The Cubs had to “play their best defense all season to stay alive,” said coach John Strawbridge, who coached the Cubs with David Law, Jared Duncan and Bruce Sipe.

“Spectators [saw] some of the best pitching, hitting and defensive plays these two teams put up all season,” Strawbridge said of both the Cubs and Orioles. “Both teams brought their best as they knew win or lose the season would come to a close at the completion of the game. An amazing game played by all.”