Hurricane Helene Relief Tournament

WINNERS

The Raleigh Captains Oaks and the Mets both were undefeated in the tournament at 4-0. The managers of both teams agreed that a winner did not need to be crowned.

However, there were a lot of "winners" in this tournament. Here are some of the highs:

• The tournament raised more than $5,000. A donation of $5,007 was sent to Samaritan's Purse. Also, donations of diapers, baby formula, clothing, moving blankets, cleaning supplies and more were given to a church in an adjacent town to Boone, N.C., to disperse to needy families. 

• Probably the best game of the tournament was the game between the Raleigh Captains Oaks and the East Coast Enforcers. The East Coast Enforcers lead 1-0 through six innings, but Raleigh scored five in the seventh for the win. If you like the long ball, the best game was between the Mets and the Virginia Diamondbacks. More details on that below. 

• The best pitching performance was by Riley Powell of the East Coast Enforcers. Powell entered the seventh inning after having given up two hits, no runs and one walk through six innings. He also struck out 11. A three-run homer in the seventh by Raleigh's Sam Poindexter did him in, but he was dominant for six full innings.

• Joshua Bumgardner with the Raleigh Captains Oaks had three home runs in the tournament. He was 4-for-9 with eight RBIs and four runs scored.

• Rides Ordonez with the Mets went 7-for-14 with seven runs scored and six RBIs in the tournament.

• The East Coast Enforcers were 2-2 over the weekend, but they easily could have been 4-0. They were competitive in every game, and the time limit played a role in both losses.

• The Virginia Diamondbacks were 1-3 over the weekend, but two of those losses easily could have gone the other way.

• The small confines of Kafer Park showed itself at times, but none more obvious than when the Mets played the Diamondbacks. Zay McPherson and Bill Little homered for the Diamondbacks, but Rides Ordonez, Malik Dixon, Shawn Ryan and Alex Calabrese each hit home runs for the Mets. There were 11 home runs hit in the tournament; six in this one game.

• Final tallies for the fundraiser will be announced in the coming days. Registration fees alone will top $4,400. There were individual donations and sponsor fundraising that will be added. All proceeds will go to the victims of Hurricane Helene in western North Carolina.