Sluggers 16U goes 4-1 at Pathway tournament

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Mason Lewis threw a two-hit shutout, the bottom half of the lineup came up large and the Sluggers 16U team went 4-1 at the Pathway Elite U16 baseball tournament that concluded Sunday.

Lewis pitched a six-inning two-hitter in an 8-0 win over 303 Burn on Thursday, the second day of the five-day tournament; Leum Saisbury hit a triple and Brady Lewellen added a double, with Max Weber and Tristan Victor each getting two hits and two runs batted in. 

That came after an opening 16-15 win over Elite Baseball Bartos in which Ryne Gillette had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in two runs. Weber and Finn Ryan also had doubles; Weber and Lewellen drove in two runs and Lewellyn and Victor each scored three times. 

The Sluggers 16U (7-2) won their first four games, including beating Utah Tribe 9-3 on Friday with Gillette throwing a complete game, allowing seven hits, a walk and no earned runs in seven innings. He fanned eight and saw Saisbury and Victory lead the offense with two hits each. Victor had a double and two RBIs. 

Saturday brought a 9-5 win over the Junior Sockeyes; Saisbury hit a solo home run and Gillette a two-run shot to back the pitching of Weber and Tate Kahler. Kahler threw one scoreless inning; Weber allowed seven hits, three walks and five runs in five innings. 

The run ended with an 11-8 loss to ABA Foulk 16U on Sunday. The Sluggers fell behind 8-1 in the third inning and trailed 11-3 before putting up five runs in the seventh.  

A walk and two hit batters set up the rally, and Gillette hit an RBI single and Lewellen a two-run base hit to cut the gap to 11-7 with two on with one out. Victor added a sacrifice fly and then the rally ended. 

Lewellen went 7-for-11 from the No. 7 spot in the lineup at the tournament, with eight runs scored and six RBIs. Victor worked the No. 6 spot for six hits in 14 at-bats with seven runs scored. Gillette, hitting third, was 7-for-14 with six runs and six RBIs.