Page 46 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch July 12, 2013 Sports In The News 26th OC Tuna Tourney Underway Berlin Intermediate Bows Out Of States Tuna of all sizes and species have been stacking up on the docks of resort area marinas over the last week or so, including a nice run on big-eye tuna, just in time for the 26th Annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament that gets underway today. Pictured above are a nice big-eye and a bunch of yellow fins on the dock at the host Ocean City Fishing Center last Sunday. Photo by Shawn Soper By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR Berlin Little League Intermediate player Brett Berquist stands in during the team’s opener in the state tournament at Mount Airy this week. Berquist drove in five runs in the opening round 17-4 win over Hughesville. Submitted Photo By SHAWN J. SOPER SPORTS EDITOR BERLIN – The Berlin Little League All-Star Intermediate team put up a strong showing at the state championship tournament at Mount Airy this week, but fell to Four County, 7-3, on Tuesday after a see-saw game that included five lead changes. The Berlin Intermediate team got off to a great start at the state championship tournament at Mount Airy, beating Hughesville, 17-4, in the opener. Berlin jumped out to an early lead with three runs in the first on an RBI single by Reid Odachowski, a two-run double by Brett Berquist and a sacrifice fly by Nathan Ewell and never looked back. Berlin scored 12 runs in the first three innings to essentially close out the opener. Berquist drove in five runs, while Ethan Gaskill drove in three and Ewell and Blake Ludlam drove in two each. The four Berlin pitchers scattered just three hits over six innings. On Monday, Berlin had the tables turned on them with a 17-3 loss to the District 6 All Stars. Berlin’s Mitchel Orf hit a three-run homer in the first, but the game was tied at 33 after one inning. District 6 added one in the second to go ahead, 4-3, and three more in the third to extend its lead to 7-3. Most of the damage occurred in the late innings, however, as District 6 scored five in the fifth inning and five more in the sixth to pull away for the 17-3 win. The loss to District 6 sent Berlin to the loser’s bracket and they would have to battle back to get a shot at the state championship. Berlin faced host Four County on Tuesday and battled valiantly for six innings before finally relenting on a late home run. Berlin led 2-0 early with single runs in the first and second. Four County tied it with two runs in the fourth. Each team scored a single run in the fifth to keep the game tied at 3-3. Four County took the lead with a single run in the sixth to go ahead, 4-3, and broke it open for good in the seventh with a two-run homer and a single run to prevail and eliminate Berlin. Meanwhile, a couple of other Berlin Little League teams put together impressive runs through the District 8 playoffs only to falter in their respective championship games. The 9-10 softball team beat Snow Hill, 18-8, to advance, but fell in the next round to Delmar. Berlin went down to the loser’s bracket and beat Snow Hill again, 7-6, to earn a rematch with Delmar. However, Delmar beat Berlin, 13-2, to claim the championship and advance to the state tournament. Berlin’s 9-10 baseball team also strung together some impressive wins before falling in the title game. Berlin beat Snow Hill, 18-4; beat Willards, 26-5; and topped Princess Anne, 10-0, before falling to Delmar, 12-0. Berlin then went back down and beat Fruitland, 1-0, in a tight game before falling to Delmar, 16-2, in the championship. OCEAN CITY – The 26th Annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament got underway this week with dozens of boats and hundreds of anglers descending on the resort area for a three-day search for the burly behemoths in the canyons off the coast. After a relatively slow start, the tuna bite has been red hot over the last few weeks with Ocean City’s sport fishing fleet returning to the docks each day with flags flying high and fish boxes full of tuna, setting up what should be a memorable 2013 Ocean City Fishing Tournament. Throughout last weekend, several huge big-eye tuna were weighed at the host Ocean City Fishing Center, setting the stage for a potentially great tournament this year. Last year, 76 boats participated and the total payout climbed past $470,000. The event got started Thursday with a captain’s meeting and late registration under the tent at the host Ocean City Fishing Center before the first of three fishing days today. Captains and teams of anglers must choose to fish two of the three scheduled fishing days, which conclude on Sunday. The annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament is one of the highlights of the summer offshore tournament seasons each year, second only perhaps to the White Marlin Open in terms of prize money awarded and anglers participating. Thousands of spectators will cram into the Ocean City Fishing Center over the course of the fourday event, which has become a celebration of fishing, food, drinks, live entertainment and, of course, the daily weigh-ins at the scale. From modest beginnings in 1988 when just 38 boats competed for $9,000 in prize money, the tuna tournament has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two decades plus. Last year, 79 boats competed for hundreds of thousands of dollars in several categories. While the Ocean City Tuna Tournament might lack the prestige and glamour of the White Marlin Open, it certainly does not lack excitement and suspense. After a modest beginning on Day One last Friday when 71 of the registered 79 boats in the annual Ocean City Tuna Tournament went out, the drama built steadily through the weekend as the leaderboard was written, erased and rewritten again through Saturday and Sunday. Just before the scale closed and the curtain came down on the 2012 tournament just before 7 p.m. last Sunday, angler James Romero and the crew on the “Absolute Pleasure” with Captain Willie Zimmerman pulled up to the scale with a massive big-eye tuna that would take the tournament’s top prize in the 11th hour. The big crowd that had gathered around the host Ocean City Fishing Center on the tournament’s last day watched in stunned silence as the “Absolute Pleasure” crew opened its fish bag and revealed the giant big-eye. When the tuna was raised on the scale, the digital sign crept up to the 257 mark, setting off loud cheers from the crowd and hugs and high-fives from the “Absolute Pleasure” crew. Romero and the crew on the “Absolute Pleasure” came in first and were awarded $224,116 in prize money. Angler Troy Graham and the crew on the “Reel Desire” took second place with its 202-pound bigeye and was awarded $30,978. Barton and the “Restless Lady” team took third with the 194-pounder and earned $25,715. Crowds start forming around the scale at the Ocean City Fishing Center on each of the three days as the suspense begins to mount. The scale closes each day at 7:30 p.m., with the exception of the last day of fishing, when it closes at 7 p.m. The awards are handed out shortly after the scales close at the end of the tournament on Sunday.