Pedal Valves batters Tupelo to punch ticket to American Legion regional championship

It was a terrific Friday for the Louisiana American Legion state champion Pedal Valves Cardinals at the Southeast Regional in Tampa, Florida.

Early in the day, the Cardinals whipped West Tampa, Fla. 10-3. In the evening, Pedal Valves trounced Tupelo, Miss. 13-4.

Ron Franklin went 3-for-3, including a 3-run home run and a pair of doubles with four RBI, Stephen Klein had two hits and three RBI and Kolby McWilliams drove in three runs to pace a 13-hit attack for the Cardinals.

“Our offense was very impressive today. We were able to get a lot of baserunners on then get the key hits,” said Pedal Valves head coach Danny Riehm. “We scored in bunches which is always a positive thing. Ron Franklin and Stephen Klein had a significant impact with many clutch at bats”

Cory Cook pitched six and a third innings, allowing four runs on eight hits. He walked two and struck out six to pick up the victory. Grant Goodbee obtained the final two outs of the game to secure the win.

“Great start for us. He’s been getting better as the games get bigger. Really competing hard on the mound. He was putting up zeros which allowed us to build the lead,” Riehm said.

The Cardinals have one more game to play Saturday but Pedal Valves is now 3-0 in the tournament and is guaranteed a spot in the Southeast Regional championship Sunday. However, the results Saturday could have an effect on the remaining patch to the title for Pedal Valves.

“We are going to play to win it. Ideally, we would like to force someone to beat us twice on the last day,” noted Riehm.

The regional champion advances to the American Legion World Series slated for Aug. 15-20 in Shelby, North Carolina.