BY: ZACH HAILE
EMERSON,
Ga. – The Upstate Mavericks and Triton Rays clashed in the largest
division of the WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint tournaments. The 18u
division featured 32 teams and was the only championship game that
didn’t feature a team from Georgia.
The
Upstate Mavericks, from South Carolina, narrowly made it out of their
pool, going 2-1 and edging out the Knoxville Reds for the top spot in
the pool standings. Meanwhile, the Triton Rays 17u, from Alabama,
went 3-0 to advance from pool play.
The
Rays continued their hot play picking up a 6-3 win in the
quarterfinals followed by a 3-0 win in the semifinals to advance to
Monday’s championship. Brady Greene picked up the semifinal win on
the hill after tossing 6 1/3 innings while allowing just three hits
and no runs. Greene also threw six innings in the Rays opening game
win and earned MV-Pitcher honors for his two performances and
finished with a line of 12 1/3 innings pitched with a 0.00 ERA and
two wins. He struck out nine combined batters in the two outings
while only allowing four hits.
The
Mavericks continued to heat up as the tournament progressed. The team
picked up a 5-1 win in the quarterfinals on Sunday night before
coming back on Monday and rolling to a 9-3 win over another
powerhouse in the HomePlate Chili Dogs to secure a spot in the
championship.
The
Upstate Mavericks continued the offensive outbreak against the Rays.
After falling behind 1-0 early, the Mavericks scored in three
consecutive innings to pull away en route to an 8-2 victory and the
18u championship.
Benjamin
Peden led the Mavericks offense all weekend. Peden batted .333 and
sported a .533 slugging percentage with three doubles and six RBI,
which earned him 18u MVP honors.
“I
didn’t expect to get this award,” said Peden. “I’m surprised
and honored, it’s great.”
Peden
got some help from teammates in the championship game. Kip Brandenburg
went 2-for-3 at the plate with a two RBI double and two runs scored.
Nicholas Gatewood also added two hits and two RBIs including a home
run in the fifth.
“Our
program is build on playing the game hard and the right way,” said
Upstate Mavericks coach Zach Brown. “We’re an organization that
you’re expected to do the right things and play the game the right
way and in that you’ll showcase your talent.”
On
the bump, Phillip Ganter went six innings and struck out nine to pick
up the win for the Upstate Mavericks in the championship contest.
“I’m
happy for our guys and they had fun out here, which is what it’s
all about,” added Brown.
2014 18u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint runner-up: Triton Rays 17u
2014 18u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint MVP: Benjamin Peden, Upstate Mavericks
2014 18u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint MV-Pitcher: Brady Greene, Triton Rays 17u
The
inaugural 16u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint championship featured a
battle of unbeatens with Nelson Baseball School 16’s taking on the
Triton Rays 16u. The two teams were the last of the 24 teams that
hailed from six different states that remained undefeated.
Both
teams cruised through pool play while featuring solid defenses and
overpowering offenses. Nelson Baseball School coasted to three wins
in pool play, outscoring opponents 35-7. NBS scored double digit runs
in all three games while never allowing more than three. Similarly,
the Triton Rays 16u squad outscored their pool play opponents 38-3 in
their first three matchups of the weekend.
Stephen
Cullen, who earned the 16u MVP award for his performance at the
plate, led the Rays’ offense all weekend. Cullen batted .643
(9-for-14) on the weekend, including three doubles, six RBI and nine
runs scored.
Games
got a bit closer for both teams come playoff time, beginning on
Sunday night as Nelson Baseball School faced Palmetto Xpress in the
first round of bracket play. Ethan Jones of Palmetto Xpress and
Tristan Dobbs of NBS clashed in a pitcher’s duel for the ages.
Dobbs tossed a complete game no-hitter to pick up the win while Jones
suffered the hard luck loss giving up a walk off single with two outs
in the bottom of the seventh by Jamison Wilks to help Nelson Baseball
School advance 1-0 to the semifinals. The performance earned Dobbs
MV-Pitcher honors for the tournament.
“I
felt great out there and just had all my pitches working,” said
Dobbs of his no-hit performance. “This was the first no-no of my
life.”
NBS
followed that performance with a 5-2 victory in the semifinals on
Monday to advance to the championship. Meanwhile, the Rays edged out
Stars Baseball 8-4 in the semifinals to earn a spot in the
championship contest.
The
championship game continued the run of close contests for the teams.
With Nelson Baseball School leading by one in the bottom of the
seventh, the Rays had the bases loaded and none out.
Threatening
with a walk-off, Rays’ leadoff man Hunter Mercer drove a fly ball
to right field. NSB right fielder Alex Prosser made the catch and
made a perfect throw to catcher Alec Scott to catch the runner
tagging up from third for the final out and secure the championship
for NSB.
“The
Rays played a great game,” commented Koch. “Every time we scored
they seemed to have an answer for it. I’m proud of our guys and how
they battled.”
Tyler
Stevens, Prosser and Wilks combined for five hits and three RBI in
the game for NSB. NSB also used five pitchers in the game to combine
for the win.
“This
whole tournament, especially in the playoffs, we played a lot of
close games,” said Nelson Baseball School 16’s coach Evan Koch.
“I’m proud of how we fought and got contributions from everyone.”
The
win clinched a perfect 6-0 Labor Day weekend for Nelson Baseball
School.
“I’d
say it was a very successful holiday weekend,” said Koch.
2014 16u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint champions: Nelson Baseball School 16's
2014 16u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint runner-up: Triton Rays 16u
2014 16u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint MVP: Stephen Cullen, Triton Rays 16u
2014 16u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint MV-Pitcher: Tristan Dobbs, Nelson Baseball School 16's
The
CBA Copperheads Elite 14u and EvoShield Canes South took different
paths to reach Monday’s inaugural 14u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint
championship game.
The
EvoShield Canes South raced through pool play with a 3-0 mark while
outscoring opponents 34-3. The team tossed two shutouts in three
games while displaying an explosive offense led by Hunter Gray, who
hit .357 on the weekend with four RBI and four runs scored.
The
Canes continued to roll on Monday as the team threw yet another
shutout in the semifinals to move into the championship bout. Stan
King threw the first five innings of the game to pick up the win.
King, who was named the 14u MV-Pitcher, struck out nine before giving
way to Gray, who closed out the shutout with two hitless innings.
Meanwhile,
the CBA Copperheads Elite 14U faced an uphill climb after dropping
its opening game of the tournament 5-2 to Team Carolina on Saturday.
CBA showed great resilience as the team battled back and rattled off
back-to-back victories to finish 2-1 and atop the Pool A standings.
“We
seemed a little nervous our first game out,” said CBA coach Jeff
Halstead. “This was this group of guys first time playing in a
Perfect Game event and I think they had heard so much that they were
a bit nervous that first time out.
“We
were able to talk about some of the mistakes we made after our first
game. We bounced back that second game and got it rolling from there
and were able to keep that momentum.”
CBA’s
offense, which scored 22 runs in its final two pool play games, was
paced by Mason Davis. Davis, who was named MVP of the 14u tournament,
started the weekend 7-for-7 before closing out the tournament hitting
.529 at the plate with five RBI and four runs scored.
“To
have all these great teams out here and to win the MVP award is
amazing,” commented Davis. “It was an amazing experience all
weekend.”
CBA
continued its great play in the playoff bracket as the team had an
offensive outburst, outscoring the NLSC Noles 11-3 in the semifinals
to advance to the championship to face the Canes.
After
staking the Canes to an early 3-0 lead, CBA once again showed its
fight. Trailing 4-2 going into the fifth inning, CBA plated three
runs to take its first lead of the day, 5-4, thank to a two-run
triple to deep center field by Caleb Johnson followed by an RBI
ground-rule double by Jerry Bowman. Johnson finished the game 2-for-3
with an RBI and run scored while Bowman picked up a pair of doubles
and three RBI.
CBA
tacked on two more insurance runs, plating a run in both the top of
the sixth and seventh to close out the 7-4 win in the championship
game. The seven runs that CBA was able to score in the championship
was more than EvoShield had given up in its first four games
combined.
Colby
Brabston came in relief for the CBA Copperheads Elite 14u and tossed
two scoreless innings to pick up the win on the mound.
“Our
program believes high energy leads to good things happening as a
team,” explained Halstead. “This team can struggle with energy
and we didn’t have that energy in our first game. I would say
that’s the number one factor with our team; the talent is there but
the energy also has to be there and a credit to our team who
responded well after that first game.”
Needless
to say, this group of players for CBA Copperheads Elite 14u will not
forget their first Perfect Game experience. The team from Columbus,
Ga. leaves LakePoint with not only memories but also the hardware
from the inaugural 14u WWBA Labor Day at Lake Point tournament.
“Absolutely
a successful weekend,” said Halstead. “It was great and much more
than we could have expected.”
2014 14u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint champions: CBA Copperheads Elite 14u
2014 14u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint runner-up: EvoShield Canes South
2014 14u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint MVP: Mason Davis, CBA Copperheads Elite 14u
2014 14u WWBA Labor Day at LakePoint MV-Pitcher: Stan King, EvoShield Canes South
