Genesis dominates 12u tourney
Genesis cruised to victory in the 12u MLK East Championship thanks in part to an absurd scoring differential of 67-3 over the course of the event. Genesis’ dominance showed in the championship final as they defeated SWFL Aces 13-2.
The scoring started early and often for Genesis as all 13 of their runs came in just three offensive innings. They totaled 14 hits and were completely in control for the entire game. Edward Velasquez and Oscar Hernandez led the way for the offense thanks to their stat lines. Velasquez finished the day going 3-for-3 with three runs scored and four RBI while Hernandez finished 2-for-2 with one run scored and four RBI as well.
Ariel Antigua of Genesis was named MVP of the event and he finished the tournament hitting an absurd .692 (9 hits) with four home runs, 11 RBI, and nine runs scored. Aidan Knaak of SWFL was named the MV-Pitcher for the event. He finished with 6 1/3 innings pitched allowing only one run, on only two hits while striking out eight batters.
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 12u Championship champions: Genesis
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 12u Championship runner-up: SWFL Aces
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 12u Championship MVP: Ariel Antigua
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 12u Championship MV-Pitcher: Aidan Knaak
Kangaroo Court pulls off comeback in 13u
Down 6-0 after two and a half innings, Kangaroo Court pulled off the comeback of the weekend as they fought all the way back to defeat Team Siege 9-8 in extra innings.
Siege put together a strong offensive effort in the top of the first that pushed across four runs early. Thanks to three hits and four walks, Siege was able to consistently move runners across the diamond and knock them in. After the top of the third a 6-0 lead looked to be insurmountable but Kangaroo Court had other ideas.
Kangaroo Court put up a four spot of their own in the bottom of the third. A two-run single from Cade Kurland followed by an RBI single from A.J. Nessler, with a run-scoring wild pitch squeezed in the middle, helped Kangaroo Court pull to within two runs. The teams would go back and forth until the bottom of the seventh with Kangaroo Court trailing by a run.
After two singles, Kangaroo Court had the game-tying run on second base and looked to even up the score. An RBI single drove Kurland around third to score and the teams were heading to extra innings with the score knotted up at eight apiece.
Kangaroo Court faced a similar scenario in the bottom of the eighth with two runners on and one away. Gunnett Carlson then drove a single to the left centerfield gap that scored the game winning run and the celebration was on.
Manager Andy Fleischacker knew that the team that was held scoreless in the first two innings was not the same Kangaroo Court he knew. He was always confident in their ability to hit and score runs so once the pitching and defense started to stop the bleeding, Fleischacker was confident the offense would rise to the occasion.
“I’m really confident in our team,” said Fleischacker. “We’re a new team, we’ve only been together for a couple of weeks, but we can swing the bat. The first two innings weren’t us, this is actually the first 8:30 game we’ve ever had to play, and I knew we would pick it up. If we could stop the bleeding after two we could get back in. We had some great pitching and if our defense could stop the bleeding I knew we could chip away. Once we got to a tie game I knew we could pull it out.”
Fleischacker’s team beat a lot of quality teams and programs en route to the championship. He knows that winning against tough competition early can create a springboard effect to lead them into 2017 on the right note.
“Three of the four teams we beat here are national programs,” said Fleischacker. “Beating Elite Squad, Chain National, and now Siege is just a great confidence for us as we head back to Tampa. We’re going to continue to train and get ready because our ultimate goal is to head into the BCS Finals performing at our best. Getting quality wins like this is just a huge benefit for us. This win gives our guys a lot of confidence. We’ve basically had only three practices and it shows what we can do when we’re not even close to our best. This is just the first step down the road to where we want to end up but this is a great springboard win for us.”
The MVP of the tournament was Aj Nessler of Kangaroo Court. He finished the tournament hitting .667 (six hits) along with five RBI and three runs scored. The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Jaden Paradoa of Team Siege. Paradoa turned in a sparkling performance in the semifinals tossing 6 1/3 innings of shutout baseball while only allowing two hits and striking out nine batters.
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 13u Championship champions: Kangaroo Court
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 13u Championship runner-up: MVP Siege
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 13u Championship MVP: A.J. Nessler
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 13u Championship MV-Pitcher: Jaden Paradoa
Siege controls 14u
MVP Siege dominated Dynasty to cruise to the title by a score of 12-0. Siege had eleven hits, and benefitted off seven errors, for an offensive explosion.
Siege scored in every inning and only needed four frames to put away dynasty. Gregorio Campos led the way on offense going 2-2 with two RBI and one run scored. Campos also dominated on the mound tossing 3.2 shutout innings with only two hits allowed.
Manager Joel Perez Sr. was proud of his team’s effort in this tournament and knows this win will help propel them to more success in the near future. Following up a strong 2016, 2017 is off to a great start for the Siege program.
“It’s awesome, we had a very successful 2016 and we wanted to carry over to 2017,” said Perez. “We started on the right foot. We teach all of our players to play the game the right way, the way it should be played, and to always stay hungry. You always have to play the game of baseball, that I respect so much, the right way.”
Perez talked about making the game simple for his players. He preaches core tenants of the game and when the team sticks to those tenants, it works out well for them.
“I think baseball is very simple: you throw strikes, make the routine plays, and put the ball in play,” said Perez. “If you do that then you are going to be successful. Our pitching took us to the next level. If you throw strikes, you’re good; we threw a lot of strikes. This win helps us to start on the right foot, but this is done and over now. We move on to the next one. You have to stay hungry in baseball, especially if you are successful. At this age, the kids have a tendency to let up so I make sure they keep their foot on the pedal and continue to move forward.
The MVP of the tournament was Joel Perez of Siege. He hit .615 (eight hits) with four RBI and five runs scored. The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Blake Parnell of Siege and he finished the tournament with seven innings while allowing no earned runs.
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 14u Championship champions: Team Siege
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 14u Championship runner-up: Dynasty
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 14u Championship MVP: Joel Perez
2017 Perfect Game East MLK 14u Championship MV-Pitcher: Blake Parnell
Elite Squad hangs on to Freshman championship
For this age group, Elite Squad and MVP Banditos have become rivals at this point. Trading no. 1 rankings in the travel team rankings along with finishing 1-2 in some order fuels the rivalry not only for the players but the coaches as well. This game saw another nail biter as Elite Squad hung onto an early lead to win 3-2.
Elite Squad jumped out to a quick lead thanks to three runs in the first two innings. Jamar Fairweather, ranked No. 71 nationally for the class of 2020 and committed to FIU, roped in an RBI single in the first inning and Mikel Cuvet knocked in another run in the second with an RBI triple. Enrique A. Bradfield Jr., ranked No. 105 nationally for the class of 2020, pushed across a sac fly to bring the lead to 3-0.
Starting pitcher Timothy Manning, ranked No. 61 nationally for the class of 2020 and committed to Florida, turned in a gutsy performance. He threw six strong innings allowing only two runs and striking out five batters. Manning was very excited jumping off the mound after ending the sixth with a strikeout and showed a lot of heart on the mound.
After trimming the lead to only one run, Elite Squad was able to shut the door with a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh.
Coach Richie Palmer talked about the incredible games that happen when these teams meet and how losing the No. 1 travel team ranking added to his team’s motivation.
“The boys have been looking forward to, not only this tournament, but facing this team for a long time,” said Palmer. “These two teams faced each other in the PG World Series and then we got ranked number one, then those guys went to Freshman World and won and they got ranked number one. So that was motivation for our guys. Timmy (Manning) wanted the ball for this game. We rolled the dice and decided to hold on to him for the championship game, usually I don’t like doing that, but we gambled and it worked out. Timmy was fantastic, there’s a reason he’s committed to Florida and, in my own opinion, he’s one of the best pitchers in his class. He was outstanding.”
After losing the first game of the tournament, Elite Squad battled back to come away champions. This championship is a testament to this team’s resiliency and ability to never give up.
“This group doesn’t give up,” said Palmer. “We lost the first game of the tournament. We had a game plan of how we were going to handle our pitchers and it worked out. I have to give credit to Coach Calabrese, he came up with the plan and we stuck to it. He’s been with these kids for years and he’s allowed me to come in and help out. They’re incredible resilient, we were down 2-0 this morning after the third inning and they busted the score open. These kids fight and it’s a pleasure to be around. No matter what the score is they’re going to continue to fight and they’re a great group of kids. They’re excellent ball players but they’re even better kids.”
Enrique A. Bradfield Jr. of Elite Squad was named the MVP of the tournament. Bradfield finished with a .571 average (eight hits), including three doubles and two triples, to go along with six RBI, eight runs, and four stolen bases. Orlando Hernandez, ranked No. 133 nationally for the class of 2020 and committed to Miami, was named MV-Pitcher for the tournament for the MVP Banditos. Hernandez turned in a strong performance in the semifinal round and finished with seven innings pitched while striking out 10 and allowing only one earned run.
2017 Perfect Game East MLK Freshman Championship champions: Elite Squad
2017 Perfect Game East MLK Freshman Championship runner-up: MVP Banditos
2017 Perfect Game East MLK Freshman Championship MVP: Enrique A. Bradfield Jr.
2017 Perfect Game East MLK Freshman Championship MV-Pitcher: Orlando Hernandez
