EMERSON, Ga. – We are now about halfway through the 2015 14u WWBA National Championship, and the most exciting part is left to come. Nearing the end of pool play there are only a handful of teams that are still undefeated. Those teams came in to Monday's set of games with a huge target on their back, but teams like the CBA Bulldogs embrace that target. It pushes them to play to a higher level when they know that teams are gunning for them, and in Monday afternoon’s game against Team Demarini GA Gold, it would take great effort to come out with a win under this blazing hot summer sun.

CBA has traveled all the way from California to compete in this prestigious national tournament, and along with one other team, they are one of the only ones to make the trip from the Golden State. So Cal NTT is the other, but the difference between these two teams is that CBA handpicked all their players right in their home state of California. With the exception of one player from Texas, they are all Cali natives, and they are pretty much the opposite of the chill, laid back stereotype that many Californians are associated with.

This team is a fireball of energy throughout the entire game.

Their dugout makes a lot of noise, and they are an upbeat group that could rattle any opposing pitcher. And when they see you rattled, they get even louder. This group plays the game extremely loose, and you can see their smiles and hear their laughter throughout the entire game.

Even though they come across as a rowdy group, their Head Coach, Joe Spiers, makes sure they retain a sense professionalism and class. Coach Spiers calls for his players to tuck in their shirts, show up to games in their full uniform and wear polos and khaki shorts when they’re traveling. They have a gentlemanly persona off the field and are a rag-tag group of aggressive baseball players on the field.

Monday's game against Team Demarini showed the true grit of the CBA Bulldogs, and even though the Bulldogs won 9-0 in a game that was called early due to the run rule, they had to stay locked in the entire game.

The game started with CBA scoring an easy run off of Team Demarini trying to backdoor a runner at second. The Bulldogs would load the bases, but Demarini would fend off an early onslaught of runs and get out of the inning with only one run of damage. The next inning, the Bulldogs showed aggressiveness on the basepaths and tried to take home on a throw to second, which scored them another run.

The Bulldogs are a kind of team that never lets you catch your breath, and every pitch offers them a chance for them to do some damage. The Bulldogs would put up two in the second inning to make the score 3-0, but their offense would stay dormant until the fifth inning.

In the meantime, they cruised with their three-run lead behind the right arm of Brandon Madrigral, who pitched his way to a complete game shutout victory. Madrigal was very good at keeping the ball low today and got a lot of ground ball outs. He only had three strikeouts, but he made quick work of the Demarini hitters and allowed just four hits. Madrigal had a presence on the mound today and he is ready to be called on again if he is needed later on in this tournament.

“My mindset coming into this start was to just make sure I could get the W so we could stay undefeated,” said Madrigal after the game. “With this undefeated record, we really have a shot at making it all the way. I just wanted to give us a chance to get to that next game.

“I feel like we have both pitching and hitting, but to know that your team has your back when you’re on the hill is a great feeling; it relaxes you as a pitcher when you know they can have a big inning of offense at any time. Every one of our starters has touched the ball now, but I still feel like we have the arms to carry us for the rest of the tournament.”

Even though it was a low scoring game at first, the Bulldog offense would make a late appearance in the fifth inning to put this game away. The sparkplug to this offense on Monday was Jasiah Dixon. Dixon had a bunt for a base hit in his first at-bat of the game, which contributed to the Bulldogs’ early run scoring. Dixon showed that he can really fly, tracking down balls in the outfield with ease and going from first to third in the blink of an eye.

“In the beginning , we had a little tussle with them, so I knew there was going to be some conflict in this game, but I just stepped to the plate like I usually do and just take till I get a strike,” Dixon exclaimed. “Then I ended up getting pegged, and I was a little mad, but I stayed focused and just let the game take its course.

“Bunting is a huge part of my game because of my speed, and I’m glad that I was able to utilize that today. Our dugout played a big role in this game, and our team is young and energetic. We like to have fun and pump each other up. We have been doing well in our local summer league, so we were excited to come out here and face top competition.”

Not to mention, that huge six-run fifth inning was started by a line drive single off the bat of the speedy Dixon.

The Bulldogs have finessed their way to the top of Pool A, with a solid 40 runs scored and only seven runs allowed. They haven’t quite found a team that can hang with them yet, but as the tournament goes on they will find a team that will push them to their limit.

The Bulldogs hope to continue this winning streak as this year’s 14u WWBA National Championship continues, and Coach Spiers is ready to lead them to victory.

“This team is a good blend of character; every one of these guys likes to go hard,” Coach Spiers said with a stern yet confident tone. “We have been together about two years now and first off they weren’t clicking, but watching the chemistry evolve has been fun to watch.

“In today’s win, we got a great start out of Madrigal and a big inning that carried us. This is a very high baseball IQ group, so it’s nice to see these guys go out and do their thing without really being coached. We need to improve on the basepaths, and just learn from our mistakes. Everything is a work in progress.”