The Suffolk Youth Athletic Association 10U All-Star team’s 2015 run ended in the East Zone South Region Mustang Tournament, but the squad did not go down without a fight worthy of its solid campaign.

“They played well this year, they really did,” the team’s coach John Brinkley said of his players.

The SYAA squad went 6-4, achieving wins across three different tournaments. Its last two losses came in the regional tourney against a team from Mallard Creek, N.C.

The local boys fell to the North Carolina squad 15-5 in their first regional game. Then, they rebounded with an 11-9 win against local rival Western Branch Gold.

A rematch against Mallard Creek followed, and it was a much closer game than the previous meeting. Going into the top of the sixth inning, the SYAA 10U All-Stars trailed 11-9, and their opponents were up to bat next.

“They scored six to make it 17-9, then we scored six to make it 17-15,” Brinkley said, breaking down the extraordinary 12-run inning, which featured the last scoring of the game.

The Suffolk team finished in fourth place in the tourney with the second loss.

Since SYAA hosted regionals, the local 10U All-Stars got a bye for sectionals and districts and opted to use it. The team did compete in two other tournaments, though, finishing second in both.

The first one was the Deep Creek Summer Showdown. During it, the SYAA squad defeated Deep Creek 19-9, fell to Western Branch Gold 16-8 and then executed a 20-1 win in a rematch with Deep Creek. Western Branch Gold won the tourney.

The Suffolk boys were dominant for much of the SYAA Invitational Tournament in which they went 3-1. First, they decimated Western Tidewater 30-2, then they trounced Smithfield 15-5 and next they routed Western Branch Blue 18-3.

Finally, the SYAA 10U All-Star team faced a West Raleigh squad in the championship and fell in a competitive game, 13-9.

“They worked hard in practice,” Brinkley said, explaining why his team did so well this year. “They had a common goal — they wanted to win.”

The coach noted his squad also benefited from some of its players having played together for a while.