Eufaula Pre-Majors win 13-inning marathon

It’s a good thing the state tournament for Pre-Majors begins next weekend.

It might take the Eufaula All Stars that long to recover from Wednesday’s district tournament final. In a game that took 3 hours and 51 minutes, Eufaula doubled up Greenville 8-4 in 13 innings.

To put Wednesday’s marathon game in context, the average Pre-Majors tournament game lasts two hours, or seven innings. Wayne Baker of the Eufaula Parks and Recreation Department said it was the longest tournament game he remembers at Old Creek Town Park. And he’s been with the department for nearly two decades.

By the 11th inning, Eufaula catcher Tyler Crouch was limping back to the dugout between innings. One Greenville player quipped that if his team won, he wanted to play the deciding rubber game one day later so he could get some rest.

Both teams combined only used six pitchers, even though their cumulative pitch count approached 400.

Eufaula coach Roy Johns struggled to describe what had just occurred at Old Creek Town Park field eight.

“I’m at a loss for words,” he admitted.

More on this story will appear in the weekend edition of The Tribune.