AVALANCHE HOLD ON TO WIN THE TITLE

By Eric Hughes

STRUTHERS OH-  Avalanche held off Whiting late in Game 5 on Tuesday night to win the 16U championship following an exciting 8-7 finish.

Avalanche started off hot with a pair of RBIs from Rocky Serafino and Nick Solderich in the first inning and a three-run homer from Serafino in the second inning to jump out to an early 5-0 lead.

Whiting got on the board in the third inning off an RBI single from Ryan Rebholz that scored two and added another run in the fourth inning to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Avalanche responded by scoring one run a piece in the next three innings to take a resounding 8-3 lead after six innings.

Whiting did not go down without a fight, as they scored four runs in the seventh inning, including an RBI single from RJ Kissick that scored two runs and cut the deficit to one.

Landon Whippo, who was called on to relief pitch in the sixth inning, was able to pull through for the Avalanche and strike out Tyler Houk with a runner on first and two outs to seal the deal.

Rocky Serafino picked up the win on the mound for the Avalanche, allowing three runs on three hits in four innings. He also had four strikeouts.