'Betsy takes third place in D.D.W.S.

from staff reports

   EAST RIDGE -- Third place is not too bad when you're playing in the Dizzy Dean 12-year-old World Series.
   That's exactly what the Elizabethton Cyclones achieved after defeating the Atlanta Tornadoes 17-12, then losing to the Louisiana Cherokees 12-7 on the final day of tournament action Sunday.
   Against the Tornadoes, Nick Papantoniou led a tenacious 'Betsy attack, going 4-for-4. Ben McKinney added a 3-for-4 showing, followed by C.J. Campbell at 2-for-2 with a pair of runs.
   J.D. Scalf went 2-for-3 and scored twice, Jeff Peters was 2-for-4 and Cody Marley batted 2-for-5 with two triples.
   Lance Reed chipped in by going 1-for-1, while Dustin Carden went 1-for-3.
   Elizabethton totaled 18 hits in this game.
   A Papantoniou grand slam gave 'Betsy a quick 4-0 lead in the second game, but the Cherokees bounced back to score six runs in the bottom of the first.
   Marley also homered for Elizabethton, which got two hits apiece from Peters (2-for-2, 2 runs) and Papantoniou. McKinney chimed in with a base hit and a couple of runs.
   In Saturday's late game, the Cyclones dropped a heartbreaking decision to the Baton Rouge Sidewinders, who scored in the last inning to register an 8-7 triumph.
   Marley had a home run, Jake Peters a triple and Papantoniou two hits to pace the boys from 'Betsy. Carden, McKinney and Peters each added a base hit.