By By BRUCE HIXON – Sports Editor
The clock struck midnight on Cinderella and it also hit midnight on the East Brewton Cardinals.
The Cardinals, who entered the Age 11-12 Little League City Tournament as the sixth seed, advanced all the way to the championship round where they were blanked by the top-seeded Brewton Astros 4-0 in Friday's title game.
The Astros outscored their three opponents in the tournament by a combined 28-4 margin. The champions downed the Brewton Nationals 12-2 in the opening round and the East Brewton Dodgers by the same score in the semifinals.
Astros pitchers Kameron Winn and Conner Denton combined on a three-hit shutout in the championship game. Winn allowed just one hit with a strikeout over the first three innings. Denton gave up just two hits and struck out eight over the final three frames.
The Astros took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Shawn Odom walked, went to second on a groundout and scored on an error. Denton ripped a double and scored on an RBI single by Randy Davis.
The only other inning where the Astros broke through against Cardinals pitchers Keith Bradley and Trace Thomas was the fourth. Winn helped his own cause with a two-run double after Jesse Williams singled and Miller Vickery reached on an error.
Bradley had two of the Cardinals three hits, both singles. Trace Thomas also had a single.
The Astros got two singles from Williams, a double from Winn and Denton, and a single from Davis and Tyler Etheridge.
The Cardinals earned their spot in the championship game Thursday with an 8-7, seven-inning semifinal win over the Brewton Orioles.
The Cardinals and Orioles both pulled surprises in Tuesday's opening round. The Cardinals knocked off the third-seeded Brewton Red Sox 5-3, while the Orioles upset the second-seeded East Brewton Yankees 6-4. In addition to the Astros' win, the other first-round game went according to seed where the fourth-seeded East Brewton Dodgers doubled up the fifth-seeded Brewton Dodgers 10-5.
First round
(EB) Cardinals 5, (B) Red Sox 3
EB CARDINALS: Brian Settle struck out five over three and one-third innings to get the win. Keith Bradley had a single, a double and scored two runs. Shawn Lucas had a single.
(B) RED SOX: Eli Tyree had a homerun. Louis Miller and Rasheen Thomas had a single.
(EB) Dodgers 10, (B) Dodgers 5
EB DODGERS: Logan Williamson struck out five and scattered six hits to get the win. Williamson also had a single and scored two runs. Cam Blackman had a single and scored two runs. Monterius Culliver and Sacore McCants scored two runs. Dalton Evans had a single. Hayden Cooper had a single and a double.
B DODGERS: Kevin Davis had a single. Sam Smith had a single and a triple. Austin Graddy had two singles. Brett Smith had a double.
(B) Astros 12, (B) Nationals 2
B ASTROS: Jesse Williams went the first three innings and struck out two to get the win. Kameron Winn had two singles and scored two runs. Conner Denton had two triples and scored two runs. Randy Davis scored three runs. Tyler Etheridge had a single and scored two runs. Williams, Hunter Franklin and Dylan Carpenter had a single. Jaren Jackson had a double.
B NATIONALS: Robert Stokes had a single.
(B) Orioles 6, (EB) Yankees 4
B ORIOLES: Dylan Bell worked two innings to get the win. Bell also had two singles. Jacob Fillmore, Curtis Glaize and Nick Adams had a single. Ricky Curry had a triple and scored two runs.
EB YANKEES: Austin Redash, Reid Johnson and Houston Pace had a single. T.J. Davis scored two runs. Evan Clayton had a double.
Semifinals
(EB) Cardinals 8, (B) Orioles 7
EB CARDINALS: Joseph Strength pitched one inning of scoreless relief to get the win. Strength also had a single and scored two runs. Brian Settle scored two runs. Keith Bradley, Shawn Lucas and Trace Thomas had a single.
B ORIOLES: Jacob Fillmore had a homerun. Ricky Curry had a homerun. Dylan Bell had a double. Tyler Dehoff had a triple. Nick Adams had a single, a triple and scored two runs.
(B) Astros 12, (EB) Dodgers 2
B ASTROS: Kameron Winn picked up the win, as he and Conner Denton combined on a three-hitter. Winn also scored two runs, while Denton had a single, a homerun and scored three runs. Shawn Odom had three singles and scored two runs. Tyler Etheridge and Jaren Jackson had two singles. Hunter Franklin had a single.
EB DODGERS: Logan Williamson, Hayden Cooper and Dalton Evans had a single.