A group of Blanco Little League players traveled to Mason this past Saturday to take part in the annual Mason Little League Tournament. Blanco competed in the minors division against teams from Brady, Johnson City and Mason.

The Panthers took on Brady in their first game, prevailing 8 to 6 in their final at bat. Austin Van Pelt got credit for the victory, pitching in relief of Aaron Daniels. Eddie Calzoncit Jr. provided the big hit in the game with a walk-off two-run homerun.

Blanco’s second game was against Johnson City. The Eagles jumped out to an early 7 to 2 lead before the Panthers closed the gap to 7 to 6, only to have the game called because of time. Cooper Riley pitched a strong game for Blanco, striking out 5 in 4 innings, while Eddie and Austin collected hits at the plate for the Panthers. Defensively, the Panthers had the play of the day when Kelton Marek fielded a line drive to left field and then fired home to catcher Cade Felps, who blocked the plate and tagged out the runner.

In their final game versus Mason, Blanco needed to beat the Punchers by at least five runs to win the tie-breaker and the tournament. Blanco jumped out to an early 5 to 1 lead and then pulled away for a 12 to 6 victory and the tournament championship. Eddie took the mound and earned the win for the Panthers while also collecting three hits at the plate, along with Austin, as Blanco out-hit the Punchers 11 to 3.

Overall, the Panthers scored 26 runs in three games with every player on the team scoring at least once. Team members for Blanco included: Jackson Hunter, Kelton Marek, AJ Briscoe, Aaron Daniels, Hunter West, Kolby Marek, Lane Lowak, Cooper Riley, Eddie Calzoncit Jr., Cade Felps and Austin Van Pelt. Coaches are Kirk Felps and Jason Marek.