Bainbridge’s 11U All Star team made a stellar run in the AA Georgia Division Championship and returned home with a championship trophy after a weekend of adversity on the baseball diamond.

Coached by Kevin Toole, Clint Beckham and Jimbo Godwin, the team won five of six games, playing two on Saturday and four on Sunday.

“We talk about teams not hanging around, we put them away,” Toole said. “I told them the opposite thing, don’t let us hang around, because we are going to put you away.”

SBA 229 beat the No. 2 team in the district, Around the Horn, 10-6 to start Saturday off. They followed it up with an 8-6 win over the Leather Busters, the No. 1 team in the division.

Sunday started off with a tough 4-2 loss to Genesis Power, but got hot again in a hurry. SBA 229 proceeded to wipe out Around the Horn 8-7, then defeated Genesis Power back-to-back, scoring 8-4 and 5-1 respectively.

“We ended up playing the team we lost to twice,” Toole said about Genesis Power. “They jumped up early on us, two runs in the first inning, then we went up six runs and kept going, and we run ruled them in the championship game.”

Toole said it was an honor coaching his players and seeing them grow both on and off the baseball field.

“They make me prouder every day,” Toole said. “Every day we go out there and work, we’re getting better. They’re not only getting better as baseball players, they’re getting better as young men, and they make me proud.”

Toole said the entire team is the MVP, and went on to say you never know who will be a game-changer. During the first games on Saturday, the bottom of the lineup carried the team.

“We’re not individuals, we’re a team,” Toole said. “Every game, somebody stepped up. They all work together and play together.”

Toole will continue coaching the SBA 229 team through November.