EMERSON, Ga. — The North East Baseball Rays took Game 4 of the 17u Elite Round Robin against Power Baseball 2018, 7-5, on Thursday to cap off a sweep of the tournament. The top of the lineup contributed most of the offensive support, with outfielder Grant Lavigne leading the way, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk.
“Usually I try to attack first pitch fastball, if it’s middle-away, middle-in, I want to be aggressive,” said Lavigne. “I go after the fastball and don’t want to get down in the count.”
Fellow Ray, shortstop Bryce Reagan, also delivered at the plate, going 1-for-3 off a double with two RBIs and two runs scored, making Reagan and Lavigne the top run producers.
“I think we are definitely hitting the ball well, and I think we have to keep doing that if we want to win games,” said Reagan. “Pitching has been outstanding and the defense has been great, so we just need to keep up what we are doing.”
Reagan played both sides of the baseball equally well, making several ranging plays to both sides with pinpoint throws to first.
The North East Baseball program is located outside Boston, with most players coming from the New England area, including Maine and New Hampshire. The team has four of the top 200 ranked players by Perfect Game on its roster, making a statement for the quality of baseball in the Northeast.
“From a player development standpoint, for us, everybody is a shortstop,” said head coach Scott Patterson, who has attended PG events for 10 years. “So on this team, everybody moves around and plays different positions. Bryce Reagan may play short in high school, but he plays third here, [or] second. We move guys around, and they are pretty athletic, they are more athletic than they think they are.”
The Perfect Game tournaments outside Atlanta are platforms for the Rays to show off their talent, with 18 D-I bound commits on the roster. Three alone, are headed to Wake Forest; two include Lavigne and pitcher Ryan Cusick.
“They had a really good season,” said Lavigne about Wake Forest. “I am looking forward to playing in the ACC, they have some really good players there, and [play in] one of the best conferences. I am also looking forward to getting out of the Northeast and playing in some warm weather.”
Righty Cusick will join Lavigne in the warmer weather. The 6-foot-4 starter opened the Round Robin for the Rays, going three-scoreless innings, giving up four hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in an 8-0 victory against USA Showcase Prime.
“I just focused on controlling the fastball and getting up in counts,” said Cusick. “Once I started getting up in counts, I started to mix it up with a changeup and curveball. I kind of focused on my breaking ball, but besides that, I just tried to pound the zone.”
Cusick lives on hitting his spots and mixing his fastball, changeup, curve arsenal to keep hitters off balance.
“I think there’s a lot of hard-throwing guys, obviously velocity is great, but I kind of pride myself on having a three-pitch mix and feel comfortable throwing my pitches to the awesome players that are down here. You kind of need that three-pitch mix to feel comfortable to making that switch from the Northeast competition to down here.”
He’ll take his advanced feel and command to a program experiencing recent success, with a regional appearance in 2016 and one out and run away from advancing to the College World Series, against future CWS champion Florida Gators, in 2017.
“A great academic school,” said Cusick. “Couldn’t be more comfortable, I’ve gotten pretty close to some of those guys down there—a few Northeast guys that I workout with. Great coaches and coaching staff, a great run this year, only a few runs away from Omaha, just couldn’t be looking more forward to it.”
Across the country, New Hampshire native Reagan will take his talents to the University of Texas, and echoed the same excitement about the year-round warm weather.
“I [look forward to] getting out of the Northeast,” said Reagan. “I am excited for the nice weather and awesome facilities, good coaching. It’s going to be awesome to go down there a play with the best in the country.”
With the weather being the main obstacle in the North come spring, showcases and tournaments have given the program the opportunities to display the talent, as well as gain life experiences.
“You get to play everyday, in New England, it could snow tomorrow,” said Patterson. “So these guys are forced to check their mental toughness. If you want to play at the next level, this is kind of what it’s like. Everyday you have to go about your business, you have to eat right, have good time management, and I think that’s why these trips are so important for these guys. If you want to do it, it’s a job. We’ve played seven-straight days, but guess what, that’s professional baseball.”
The 17u Elite Round Robin and WWBA National Championship will see over 400 teams and thousands of players, with over 50 fields in-use around the greater-Atlanta area—bringing scouts from across the country to see top talent faceoff.
“[Perfect Game] helps a lot for committing to colleges, and there’s a lot of pro scouts, so it helps for exposure for kids you wouldn’t know about because it brings them all together, all the best players in the country come to Perfect Game,” said Reagan.
Arguably one edge pitchers have coming from the North is the same problem many voice about Northeast players—reps.
“A lot of people say the Northeast has fresher arms,” said Cusick. “I only threw 27 innings this spring, compared to most of these guys who are on 70 or 80 innings. So it just allows me to get in the gym more and get a lot stronger in those February, March, April months when we aren’t playing as much. I think I am at the peak of my game right now, and talking to other players, I think they are starting to get tired.”
While most of the team uses these tournaments for pro visibility going into their senior year, the Elite Round Robin was well-worth the thousand-mile trek for some still uncommitted.
“We have a lot of committed guys, so it’s more [about] the pro side for some of our guys,” said Patterson. “But at the same time, we had a kid throw last night, and after the game he had three phone calls from guys who wanted him to go [to their school.] That’s what is pretty cool about this event.”
Reagan, Cusick, catcher Brendan Tinsman and Lavigne are Nos. 74, 113, 153, and 165, respectively in the 2018 class.
“They are special players, they go about their business differently than most guys,” said Patterson. “If you just watch them warm up, their approach to the game is completely different, and that’s what I think separates them from most guys.”
One tangible testament to the product North East Baseball puts on the field is the geographically diverse cast of schools they have committed to.
“Bryce Reagan going from New Hampshire to Texas, I don’t know if that’s ever happened,” said Patterson. “I don’t think there’s ever been a player from New Hampshire going to Texas. He’s a special guy, switch-hitting middle infielder, [these] guys separate themselves when they get on the field, I think it’s a different noise when it comes off the bat.”