Sandusky Bay Scrappers win 11U Nations state championship

The Sandusky Bay Scrappers 11U baseball team won the 2020 Nations Ohio State Championship in Dayton, going 6-1 and defeating 5 Star Midwest 10-3 in the championship game Sunday at Action Sports. The 12-team tournament featured some of the best 11U teams in Ohio that play in Nations Baseball events. "Only certain teams have the ability to get in that upper division," Scrappers coach Tim Obergefell said. "It's based on points from tournament rankings and from last year." The Scrappers played in the Open Division, scoring 65 runs while allowing only 17. They finished 3-1 in pool play to earn the No. 2 seed in bracket play. The Sandusky area team defeated Ohio Freedom 12-2 and Olentangy Stix Black 2-1 before winning the title game. Eli Hermes threw three shutout innings in each of the last two games. Isaac Brown and Caden Wikel also turned in strong pitching performances. Obergefell said 5 Star Midwest, from the Cincinnati area, was ranked No. 27 in the country before the tournament. "This is where the best of the best come," he said. "There were probably the top three or four teams in the state there."