Paul Pierce and his players from Junior Team Georgia were perhaps a little weary after catching the red-eye flight Thursday morning, less than eight hours after finishing the championship game of the Junior Sunbelt Baseball Classic in McAlester, Okla., late Wednesday night.

However, the jet lag and general fatigue was well worth it after Junior Team Georgia brought home the tournament’s championship trophy for the sixth time in the last 12 years following a 5-4 win over Tennessee in the title game.

What was perhaps most impressive about the latest title was how it happened, with Team Georgia battling back after going just 3-2 in its first five games, including a 10-8 loss to Tennessee in the opener, before winning the last four straight.

“The guys fought back,” said Pierce, who coached Collins Hill to a Region 7-AAAAA co-championship earlier this spring. “Our backs were to the wall on Monday, but the guys hung in there. We told them that it was a marathon, not a sprint.”

Junior Team Georgia had quite a finishing kick, belting 23 home runs as a team in 10 tournament games.

And the representatives from Gwinnett-area high schools played a big part in that late surge.

Leading the way was Mill Creek catcher Jerad Curry, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after hitting .482 with five home runs, 13 RBIs, 12 runs scored and seven walks in 34 plate appearances.

Curry’s first-inning solo homer set the tone in the title game as Junior Team Georgia avenged the earlier loss to Tennessee.

Loganville’s Kenneth Anderson also had a big hit in the game with a two-out, two-run double in the top of the fifth that put Junior Team Georgia ahead to stay.

Anderson was also named to the All-Tournament Team after hitting .500 with a homer and seven RBIs and going 1-0 on the mound with six strikeouts and a 2.87 ERA in 71⁄3 innings.

Winder-Barrow catcher Max Pentecost was the other local player to make the All-Tournament team after hitting .387 with a homer, six doubles and 13 RBIs in 31 at bats.

The other three area representatives on the team also made major contributions to the team.

Buford infielder/pitcher Josh Heddinger was 1-0 with a save, a 1.00 ERA and eight strikeouts in seven innings, and hit .400 with three homers and nine RBIs at the plate.

Buford teammate Jake Burnette made two pitching appearances, including a strong six-inning no decision against Colorado in which he gave up only two earned runs and struck out four.

Collins Hill’s Morgan Ownbey was 1-0 with a save, a 3.50 ERA and six strikeouts in six innings, while Loganville’s Chance Bridges hit .389 with five RBIs in 18 at bats.