Strong defense and hot bats carried the Saginaw Old Golds to the World Tournament of Historic Base Ball title last weekend in Greenfield Village.
Saginaw kicked off the tournament with a resounding 26-1 victory over the Northville Eclipse. John Piersall, Dennis Konuszewski, Toby Larkin and Sonny Guerra each had four hits for the Golds while Kevin Beemer added five RBIs.
Game 2 saw the Golds defeat Forest City/Cleveland 14-5. Konuszewski went 4-for-4 and Guerra added four hits.
The Old Golds topped defending champion Columbus Capitals in the third game 25-6 to advance to the finals. Larkin and John Smith each went 5-for-5 to pace the Golds. Piersall, Konuzewski, Nate Hall and Jason Leppek added four hits a piece.
In the championship game, Saginaw defeated local rival Bay City Independents for a seventh straight time by a score of 13-5. Adam McCauley and Matt Shaner both went 4-for-4 to lead the Golds.
Chuck Mahan and Shaner combined to pick up the four victories on the mound while McCauley had 16 putouts behind the plate at catcher for Saginaw.
The championship marked the second time the Golds have won the World Tournament in the last three years.
Saginaw, who improved to 17-3 on the season, is back in action Saturday against Rochester at Ojibway Island.
