It is June and the Llano All-Star teams have started with their tournament seasons. The Llano Machine Pitch All-Star teams recently had their first tournament in the Pride of the Hill Country Classic in Mason, Texas. Llano was represented by two teams from its machine pitch league, as the Llano Orange team consists of the 8 year old boys and Llano Black is made up of the 7 year old boys. Both teams performed very well in their first tournament, with the Llano Orange fighting its way through the loser’s bracket to take 3rd place out of 10 teams entered into the tournament. The Llano Major Boys 12U team also had their first action of the tournament season as they hosted a seven-team tournament at the Moore Complex. Llano battled to a second place finish in its home tournament. Congratulations to all of the Llano teams!

Machine Pitch Baseball-Mason Tournament-Results for Llano Black:

Llano Black: 16 vs. San Saba: 6

Game Summary: The seven year old all star team started the Mason Tournament with a bang by run ruling the team from San Saba. Leading hitters for Llano were Carson Kuykendall who was 3 for 3 with 2 homeruns and 2 RBI’s, Brock Fly who was 2 for 3 with a double, a homerun and 4 RBI’s, Ross Prokop who was 3 for 3 with a double and 3 runs scored and Coy Kelso who was 2 for 3 with a double and 2 runs scored.

Llano Black: 19 vs. Bulverde White: 13

Game Summary: The Llano Black continued its hot start in the Mason Tournament by defeating the White team from Bulverde. Rode Ligon led the hitting for Llano by clubbing out 2 hits with a triple and 4 RBI’s. Other players with strong offensive showings were Brock Fly who went 3 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI’s, Jackson Dillard who had 2 hits and 3 runs scored, Coy Kelso who was 3 for 4 with a double and 2 runs scored and Caleb Smith and Jaxon Rhea who each had 2 hits on the night.

Llano Black: 9 vs. Bulverde Blue: 13

Game Summary: In a winner’s bracket game between two undefeated teams, the Llano Black 7 year old all-stars came up short against the eventual tournament champions in Bulverde Blue. Jackson Dillard had a strong outing at the plate going 4 for 4 with 3 runs scored. Other offensive highlights were Carson Kuykendall who went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI’s and 2 runs scored, Rode Ligon who had 2 hits with a double and 2 RBI’s and Jaxon Rhea who went 3 for 3 on the game. Brock Fly threw out a runner to Carson Kuykendall with one second remaining in the game to retire the third out and extend the game one more inning.

Llano Black: 16 vs. Wimberley: 18

Game Summary: The Llano seven year old All-Stars ended the Mason Tournament with a hard fought loss to Wimberley. Rode Ligon had a strong game at the plate and in the field getting 3 hits on the day with a triple and 2 RBI’s to go along with several diving plays in centerfield. Carson Kuykendall went 3 for 3 with 3 RBI’s and 3 runs scored, Jackson Dillard had three hits with 3 runs scored, Coy Kelso went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s, Caleb Smith went 3 for 4 and Jaxon Rhea had 3 hits and 2 runs scored.

Machine Pitch Baseball-Mason Tournament-Results for Llano Orange:

Llano Orange: 8 vs. Brady: 13

Game Summary: The eight year old all star team started the Mason Tournament by losing a hard fought game with the Brady All-Stars. Cade Ligon led the way offensively going 3 for 4 with a homerun and a double. Gunner Ivey also had a strong evening going 3 for 3 with a double and a triple.

Llano Orange: 15 vs. Johnson City: 4

Game Summary: Having to start the day in an early losers bracket game, the Llano 8 year olds rebounded from the previous night’s disappointing loss by run-ruling the all-stars from Johnson City. Michael King had a tremendous game going 3 for 3 with a triple, a double and 3 runs scored. King also had a highlight diving catch in the outfield that would have been fitting for SportsCenter’s plays of the day. Cuatro Rodriguez had a strong game at the plate going 3 for 3 with a double and 2 runs scored.

Llano Orange: 17 vs. Bulverde White: 10

Game Summary: Continuing their winning ways, the Llano Orange clubbed out a victory over the Bulverde White All Stars. Dillon Prokop and Cade Ligon provided the offensive firepower in this game as Prokop went 4 for 4 with a homerun, a double, and 3 runs scored while Ligon slugged 2 homeruns and a triple with 3 runs scored.

Llano Orange: 11 vs. Brady: 6

Game Summary: With revenge on their minds, the Llano Orange team avenged their earlier loss to Brady to eliminate the Bulldogs from the Mason Tournament. Dillon Prokop had a strong day at the plate going 3 for 3 with 2 doubles and 3 runs scored while Owen Schlueter helped the cause by getting 2 hits and 2 runs scored.

Llano Orange: 24 vs. Wimberley: 18

Game Summary: In an offensive shootout to determine which team would make the medals stand, Llano Orange eliminated the Wimberley All Stars in extra innings. Bode Gann had a huge game at the plate hitting for the cycle as he went 5 for 5 with a homerun, triple, double and 2 singles for the game. Jackson Pinkney and Cuatro Rodriguez also had big games as Pinkney went 5 for 5 with 5 runs scored and Rodriguez and 4 hits with 3 runs scored. Cuatro Rodriguez also provided the game’s stellar defensive play as he caught a pop fly and doubled up the runner at first base to record a double play in the final inning and preserve the victory.

Llano Orange: 5 vs. Burnet: 18

Game Summary: Playing in their 5th game on a hot Saturday, the Llano Orange all-stars finally ran out of gas against the all stars from Burnet. Kellen Oldfield and Michael King each had 2 hits for the game as the Llano Orange finished the tournament as the 3rd place team.

Llano Majors Tournament Summary

The Llano Majors tournament team opened their season by hosting the seven-team Llano Tournament. Llano finished second in the tournament falling in the championship game in extra innings to Fredericksburg. Along the way, Llano defeated Brady, Burnet and Mason to reach the final game. The championship game was not a disappointment to the many supporters who were in the stands as Fredericksburg was finally able to break a 2 to 2 tie in the top of the 9th inning to squeak out a victory. As the score indicates, the game was a defensive battle with strong pitching from both teams. With Llano trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the 6th inning, the first two batters were able to reach base for the host team. With pressure mounting, Jake Cockerham was able to lay down a successful sacrifice bunt to advance both runners to scoring position. Mason Greenwood was able to score from 3rd during the next at bat as the Fredericksburg pitcher un-corked a wild pitch. With 1 run needed to tie the game, Anthony Watson hit a hard grounder to the shortstop, which scored Kevin Yeager from third base to force extra innings. Although Fredericksburg was able to pull out the victory in the 9th inning, the boys from Llano showed great heart and effort during the tournament which should bode well for their next tournament in Mason.