By BY BRUCE HIXON – sports editor
Wil Riggs threw a one-hitter and struck out 10, but it was Giants pitcher Corey Rilling's two-hitter and 14 strikeouts that carried his team to a 5-3 win over the Marlins in Thursday's Brewton Babe Ruth season finale.
The last day of play also saw the season-champion Twins close out the campaign with a 7-5 win over the Orioles.
Brian Sims snapped a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the sixth when he doubled and scored on two wild pitches to give the Twins (12-2) a lead they never relinquished.
The Twins suffered just their second loss of the season Tuesday, both of which came at the hands of the Devil Rays, when they dropped a 6-5 decision.
Sims' thee-run homer in the bottom of the fifth gave the Twins a 5-4 lead, but the Devil Rays battled back to regain the lead in the top of the sixth on an RBI double by Cody Swain and an RBI single by Ryland Dixon.
Giants 5, Marlins 3
GIANTS: Corey Rilling threw a two-hitter and struck out 14 to get the win. Rilling also scored two runs. Keith Bradley scored a run. Shane Jerkins had a single and scored a run.
MARLINS: Wil Riggs and Stephen Warren had a single and scored a run. Spencer Waldrep scored a run.
Twins 7, Orioles 5
TWINS: Conner Denton pitched two scoreless and hitless innings of relief to get the win. Denton also had a single, a double and scored a run. Darrion Salter scored two runs. Kameron Winn, Jaren Jackson and Cameron Knowles scored a run. Dylan Smith ad Bradley Brown had two singles. Brian Sims had a double and scored a run.
ORIOLES: Logan Williamson and Christian Lodge had a single and scored a run. Tyler Nelms had a single. Billie Strength and Josh Tompkins scored a run. Tyler Sawyer had a double and scored a run.
Devil Rays 6, Twins 5
DEVIL RAYS: Gary McGraw went the distance on a seven-hitter with 10 strikeouts for the win. McGraw also had two singles. Eli Tyree had two singles and scored two runs. Cody Swain had two doubles and scored three runs. Ryland Dixon had a single, a double and scored a run. Jon Ellis had a double.
TWINS: Lane Cross and Bradley Brown had a single and scored a run. Dylan Smith had two singles, a double and scored a run. Brian Sims had a homerun. Jaren Jackson scored a run. Darrion Salter had a single.
Marlins 16, Orioles 6
MARLINS: Parker Reiss allowed two runs on three hits with one strikeout over two innings to get the win. Reiss and Edward Hines had a single and scored two runs. Wil Riggs had a double and scored two runs. Spencer Waldrep had a single and scored two runs. Dylan Bell had a single, a triple and scored a run. Stephen Warren and Paul Miller scored a run. Bryant Jernigan had two singles and scored a run. Reid Johnson had two singles, a double and scored two runs. Neill Morris scored two runs.
ORIOLES: Trent Robinson had two singles, a triple and scored a run. Collin Graves scored two runs. Logan Williamson had two singles and scored a run. Curtis Glaize and Josh Tompkins had a single. Tyler Nelms and Billie Strength scored a run.
Nationals 7, Giants 5
NATIONALS: Joseph Strength threw a two-hitter and struck out 10 to get the win. Strength also had a single and scored two runs. Hayden Cooper and Hunter Franklin had a single and scored a run. Stephen Warren had a single, a double and scored a run. Nick Moore had a double and scored a run. Josh Palmer had two singles and scored a run. Houston Pace had a single.
GIANTS: Monterious Culliver scored a run. Corey Rilling had a single, a double and scored a run. Dan Smith scored a run. Derek Smith scored two runs.
Final Standings
Twins 12-2
Nationals 10-5
Devil Rays 8-7
Marlins 6-8
Orioles 4-10
Giants 3-11