FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a race to beat the upcoming storms, Elite Squad Prime 17u and the Jacksonville Warriors gathered at Jet Blue Park to determine who would walk away with the 18u WWBA East Memorial Day Classic Championship.

The teams sat in the dugouts and came up with creative games to pass the time of the delays. After an hour delay, the game was called and both teams were named co-champions, the second straight year for Elite Squad Prime.

Elite Squad came into the Championship game undefeated and with a roster loaded with 17 Division I commits. Despite the low stress nature of a rained out championship game, Elite Squad played an eight inning game that ended with a walk-off grand slam against North East Baseball in the quarterfinals.

“It was a crazy game” said head coach Alan Kunkel. “It was an electric experience and then (Ronald) Washington came up and hit the grand slam.”

MV-Pitcher Anthony Masiello, a Miami commit, threw six innings earning a win and a save and struck out 10 batters over his two outings. FAU commit Dylan O’Connell also pitched well for Elite Squad tossing five innings allowing only one hit and recording seven strikeouts. Those two highlighted a group that pitched to a sterling 0.55 ERA.

For the Jacksonville Warriors, they too came into the Championship game without a loss and outscored opponents 27-7 thanks to strong pitching.

“Players grinding all weekend with the inclement weather really played great,” said Jacksonville Warriors coach Scott Marabell about his Warriors club.

MVP honors were awarded to John Cassala who hit .429 with one homer, two doubles, four RBI and five runs scored. Blake Marabell helped ignite the Warriors offense all tournament hitting .400 with one double, four RBI, three runs and five stolen bases.


18u WWBA East Memorial Day Classic co-champions: Jacksonville Warriors



18u WWBA East Memorial Day Classic MVP: John Cassala, Jacksonville Warriors





Elite Squad Prime 16u and Florida Burn Pennant 2017 share 16u title

Outside of baseball tournaments, the one thing South West Florida may be known most for is rain and lightning. Meeting for the second straight year, the Elite Squad Prime 16u and Florida Burn Pennant 2017 were looking to repeat the highly intense game from last year that saw Burn walk away with a win.

Teams were quickly put into a delay after the first shot of lightning in the distance, and after a lengthy delay the teams met and agreed to become co-champions. The players, however, were still fueling for some competitive action and decided a race to center field would decide which team would be credited with the symbolic win. The Burn won that one.

The Florida Burn Pennant 2017 entered the game undefeated and outscored opponents 55-12 over the course of the weekend. They batted an astounding .391 as a team and pitched to a pristine 1.55 ERA over the course of the tournament. The Burn’s closest game came in the first round of the playoffs against the Miami Suns 17u team where they won 9-5.

“We were able to rebound and play our game,” said Head Coach Mark Guthrie on how his team benefitted from the rain delay due to their cold start.

MVP recipient Jordan Butler led the way for the Burn offense, batting .529 with three doubles, 10 RBI and five runs scored.

“It seemed like I was seeing a lot of off-speed pitches, I would just put them the other way,” Going opposite field and not trying to pull the ball,” said Butler of his approach, who was also quick to credit his team’s rituals in the outfield pre-game that help him relax.

As for Elite Squad Prime, they similarly cruised through pool play and outscored opponents 47-13 and defeated the GCBA Black Sox in the Semifinals. And for a team that has not been with each other long, they have quickly adjusted.

“As a coaching staff we’re kind feeling everybody out and not trying to extend pitchers,” said Elite Squad head coach Scott Morrison.

Daniel Federman earned MV-Pitcher honors for Elite Squad earning two wins on the mound over the course of seven innings allowing five hits and striking out 13 batters.

“I felt good out there, my arm felt fresh,” said Federman when asked about how he felt during both of his starts. “It was a good way to start off the summer, it makes it real easy when you have such a talented defense behind you.”


16u WWBA East Memorial Day Classic co-champions: Elite Squad Prime 16u, Florida Burn Pennant 2017



16u WWBA East Memorial Day Classic MV-Pitcher: Daniel Federman, Elite Squad Prime 16u





Team MVP rallies against Florida Burn Pennant for 14u Championship

The Florida Burn Pennant 2019 and Team MVP dodged weather and lightning for the entire tournament, but on Monday there were blue skies just long enough for the two teams to play for the 14u WWBA East Memorial Day Classic. Team MVP ultimately prevailed to take the crown, and the trophy.

The game started off quickly with the Florida Burn Pennant 2019 posting three runs in the first inning, including a towering two-run home run from shortstop Steven Parker Farris. Josh Rivera added in another run with an RBI double to quickly give the Burn a three-run advantage. That first inning was already three times as many runs as Team MVP had allowed throughout the entire tournament up until that point.

The Florida Burn did not stop there as they added another run on an error in the top of the second and Kevin Dubrule added an RBI single to give them a 5-0 lead to start the game, but Team MVP rallied.

“Keeping our composure and being patient was the key to having such a successful run in the tournament,” said Team MVP head coach Mike Sagaro.

Stay composed they did, as Team MVP came around to score seven runs in the bottom of the third.

Colton Olasin came up with the bases loaded and no outs and delivered with a big two-run single to get Team MVP on the board. Jonathan Vega and Luis Diaz each added an RBI single of their own to help cut the deficit. Diaz posted an impressive tournament at the plate hitting .750 with two doubles, three RBI and four walks.

Tournament MVP Michael Machin smacked an RBI double to tie the game, then came around to score the seventh run of the inning. Hitting a scalding .636 for the tournament with three doubles, five RBI, five runs scored and two stolen bases, Machin credited his team’s resiliency and ability to fight back as the key to the win.

Parker Foss came in out of the bullpen for Team MVP to close the door and earn the save tossing two perfect innings and striking out one batter.

Pitching was not only on the side of Team MVP. Alex Ballard earned MV-Pitcher honors for the Florida Burn Pennant 2019 after tossing a dominating six innings allowing only one hit and recording 12 strikeouts. Ballard was quick to deflect the credit to his teammates, but did say he was feeling his changeup in his Saturday start and thought he had good control over his curveball.


14u WWBA East Memorial Day Classic champions: Team MVP



14u WWBA East Memorial Day Classic MVP: Michael Machin, Team MVP