Smithville, Oklahoma has a lot more than pretty countryside.  The Smithville Braves always seem to bring a busload of pretty good baseball players to the Dodd City Baseball Tournament and for the second year in a row the championship trophy went back across Red River with the Braves. 

Smithville defeated Carrollton Christian and Miller Grove in the early action and then the Prosper freshman team fell to the Braves in the tourney finals.

The Prosper Eagles will be joining Bonham in District 9-3A next season and a game Prosper freshman squad came out swinging in the finals against defending champion Smithville in the DC tourney.  A double and a pair of singles put the young Eagles up 3-0 after the top of the first frame.  Prosper stretched their advantage to 6-1 after the top of the second stanza.

Then it was Smithville's turn.

A leadoff double gave the Braves a duck on the pond and David Donica brought it home to roost with a shot over the left field fence. Another hit, followed by another two-run homer, this one by Smithville slugger Thomas Duncan, cut the lead to 6-5. 

Prosper went to the bullpen, but the Braves were already on the warpath.  Smithville's starting pitcher, Cooper Deaton, came up with a two-RBI double and now the Braves were on top, 7-6.  A bloop single, a fielder's choice, a walked-in run and a couple of errors all added up to a 15-6 Smithville lead after two innings.  The Braves tacked on three more runs in the third inning and captured the 2006 Dodd City Tournament finals with an 18-6 win in a five-inning contest.

Smithville's David Donica connects for a two-run homer.

A Smithville Brave slips around the Prosper catcher.

Smithville's Thomas Duncan takes a good-natured pounding from his teammates after Duncan pounded a two-run shot over the left field fence.

Congratulations to a young Prosper team that knocked off Coleman, Oklahoma and Dodd City to reach the finals.  The Eagles served notice they have a strong baseball program and District 9-3A will be very interesting to watch in 2006-07 with Bonham, Celina, Farmersville, Princeton, Prosper, Pilot Point, Van Alstyne and Whitesboro competing for playoff berths. 

Also, congratulations to a solid Miller Grove squad that took third place in the Dodd City tournament with a 9-4 win over host Dodd City in a battle of Hornets.  Miller Grove's James Weaver pitched the first couple of innings before giving way to relief pitcher Cole Schoenzey.

Tom Bean placed fifth in the tournament.

Additional tournament photos pending...