AHOSKIE – As one coach said, “Ahoskie is becoming a baseball town.”

That certainly seemed evident Sunday at Ahoskie Creek Park Baseball Fields where the two town’s Youth League All-Star Little League teams claimed championships.

The Ahoskie 12U team shook off a close game with Pocosin of Creswell thanks to a seven-run explosion in the top of the sixth inning and cruised to a 12-4 win in the title game.

The team played two games on opening day, defeating Pocosin in an afternoon game, 10-2, before coming back and topping Hatteras Island in the nightcap of the twi-nighter, 15-2. Saturday they then survived a tight contest with Currituck, 9-5, before claiming the title Sunday afternoon.

Steven Futrell led Ahoskie by going three-for-four and driving in a run.  Tyrek Beverly and Parker Bradley were two-for-four, while Ethan Hughson went two-for-three.

Hughson also was the winning pitcher, with relief help from Travis Williams who shut down Pocosin in the final two innings.

Ahoskie’s defense was outstanding.  They only gave up 13 runs over the four games.

“It feels great, it really does,” said Ahoskie coach Petie Burden, shivering from the Gatorade bath his players surprised him with.  “Lotta hard work, these boys put in a lot of hard work all year.  They shined when we needed them to shine and all 12 boys contributed to this championship.”

The Red All-Stars went 2-1 in three preliminary games, combined with the 4-0 effort in the regionals to end their summer run at 6-1.