In a week of accomplishments, the Yankees show off their World Series bling.

Yankees Nab ORVB World Series
Title in Fight to the Finish

The moment couldn't have been more dramatic. Bottom of the sixth. Yankees up 18-17. Two outs. Full count. Yanks hurler Drew Albright, with a sore arm, buckled down and threw one last pitch to the final batter he could face in his 85-pitch count. Strike three.

With that, and following an afternoon slugfest of big bats and runs manufactured on slick baserunning, BHAA's senior little league Yankees became the first Brighton Heights team to capture the crown in Ohio River Valley Baseball's Little League division.

Every Yankee played a part. From Albright's stand-up pitching performance and solo shot over the left-centerfield fence ... to clutch hitting by Luke Calderaro, Johnny Zangaro, Danny Nyman, JT Shannon and Declan Walkush ... to JJ Younger's marathon run from center to deep right field to grab a QV longball. "That's my boy!" his mom, Monica Younger, exclaimed from the stands.

A crowd of BHAA supporters filled the first base side of QV's Chadwick Field and the parking spaces along the street of the same name, cheering on their boys in blue against a hard-hitting and aggressive-running D-Backs squad. The lead changed hands throughout, but a 9-run outburst in the third put the Yanks on top to stay. Still they managed to pad their lead against QV's big No. 99 closer, and it took every run they mustered to bring home the crown.

The victory was an early birthday treat for skipper Jack Shannon, who had no idea this win would be only his first surprise of the day. Wife Kelly and several onlookers were keeping secret the evening surprise party planned in his honor.

"I told you at the first practice to put on your big-boy pants because you're older now and I was going to expect more of you. You all responded to that," he told his troops post-game. "I could not be more proud of a group."