It was a blowout.

Garnet Garage blasted Channing 20-1 in a five-inning game on Sunday afternoon in Stanton to take the title.

In short there was no stopping the hard-hitting lineup of Garnet Garage from the top of their lineup on down and from the top of the first inning onward. Catcher Mike Saari and first baseman Jordy Reynolds started things off with a single and a double respectively and crossed home to make it 2-0 after one inning.

In the second, the bats only got hotter as Garnet added another 10 runs as they went through their lineup almost twice. Big hits came off the bats of Justin Norkol, Gideon Scott and pitcher Chris Saari who helped his own cause with a base hit up the middle. A couple of walks given up by Channing starter Noah Berg and muffed grounders by the Channing infield did not help stop the bleeding.

Channing pitcher Noah Berg, right, catches a fly ball next to third baseman Matt Wiitanen against Garnet Garage during the championship game in the 20th annual Leo Durocher Tournament on Sunday, July 11, 2021, at in Stanton, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

In the third, Channing was able to muster their one and only run by way of outfielder Luke Holsworth. He got on base with a double and came home on a Brandon Punzel fielder’s choice two batters later.

Chris Saari threw a complete-game win. Interestingly, he had just one strikeout however the Garnet defense stopped everything hit at them. The title game was Saari’s third win of three-day tournament and because of such a strong weekend on the mound he and his brother Mike, who hit everything thrown his way, were named co-MVPs for the tournament.

“I can’t say enough about the Saari brothers,” said Garnet manager Joe Romano. “Both had just a fantastic tournament. For that matter, all the kids played well.”

Garnet Garage beat Houghton Building Supply-Stanton 10-9 in eight innings in a semifinal. Channing beat REL Inc.-Mohawk Technologies 16-14 in the other semifinal.

Romano added that the tournament win on Sunday was a special one for him.

Garnet Garage's Gideon Scott, right, bats in front of Houghton Building Supply-Stanton catcher Kevin Bostwick during a semifinal game in the 20th annual Leo Durocher Tournament on Sunday, July 11, 2021, at in Stanton, Mich. (Adam Niemi/The Daily Mining Gazette)

“Leo (Durocher) and his brother took me under his wings when I was 15,” he said. “I played for Leo, and I will always be grateful for that. So, now for me to manage a team that won this is very special to me. This tournament is always well run, and I look forward to it each year, and it’s a real honor to win it.”

Garnet Garage 2100 35 — 20 14 1

Channing 001 00 — 1 2 7