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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/4/2018

Team Elite sprints into semis

Nate Schweers     
Photo: Dalton Rhadans (Perfect Game)

EMERSON, Ga. – They say every team must overcome adversity on their way to a championship, and Team Elite Prime was no exception on Day 4 of the 18u Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational.

Trailing Triton Rays Prime Butler 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, time was running out for a team that had high hopes for the weekend. Team Elite was able to scratch across two runs in the bottom half of the fifth, tying the ballgame heading to the sixth and final inning.

After a scoreless inning from Derrius York in the top half of the inning, Team Elite came to the plate looking to move on to the quarterfinal round. With the bases loaded and two outs, Kyle Ayers played hero, lacing a 2-2 pitch into the left field gap, giving Team Elite Prime the round of 16 win.

“I was sitting dead red fastball middle in, I got that pitch, and I did what I was supposed to do with it. It felt good,” said Ayers, who had two hits and a pair of walks in the win. “I’ve just been seeing the ball well, trusting my hands and feeling my load.”

Riding the momentum of an emotional victory, Team Elite came out firing on all cylinders in their quarterfinal matchup against ETA. Team Elite was able to score three runs on three hits in the top of the first inning, but they were far from done with the bats, beating ETA 9-0.

Jalen Jones lead the way offensively with three hits including a laced double, and Danny Grillo added three runs batted in during the nightcap.

“We hit the ball better in this game than we have in the whole tournament, and that was the biggest difference in this game than the other games so far,” said head coach Jamie Crane. “They came back, they were ready to go, and they did what they are supposed to do.”

After the three runs in the top half of the first, Team Elite would strike for one in the third on a double from Jackson “Sonny” Dichiara, before scoring five runs over the last two innings of the ballgame.

On the mound, Dalton Rhadans gave up only three hits firing five shutout innings in the victory. Rhadans, a 6-foot-4 righthander from the class of 2019, said that his defensive support played a big role in the win.

“It's always a relief to know I’ve got guys back there backing me up. I was letting them hit it and my defense was making plays and I was getting outs.”

Mason Barnett, an Auburn commit, entered in relief and struck out the side in the sixth, finishing off Team Elite Prime’s third shutout of the tournament. Barnett is ranked as the ninth-best player in Georgia’s 2019 class.

With a pitching staff that has given up just five runs at the PG/EC Invitational, and a group of hitters starting to have their best swings of the week, Team Elite is feeling confident, and now sits just two wins away from a tournament championship.

Here’s a look at the the rest of Monday’s semifinal field:

Georgia Bombers 17u – The Georgia Bombers used a pair of extra-inning victories to secure their spot in Monday’s semifinal round.  In the round of 16, the Bombers came out on top of a back and forth game with the East Cobb Yankees. The Bombers would break it open in the top of the eighth with a game-winning three-run double from Carter Mullikin.

In the nightcap, the Bombers and Rawlings Southeast 17u went to extras tied at three. After a bases loaded walk, Jake Smith sent a pitch deep over the wall in right, propelling the Bombers to an 8-3 quarterfinal win.

East Cobb Astros 17u – The Astros cruised to an 8-0 win in their round of 16 game against Smartense Angels Black on Sunday. The Astros would strike for five runs in the top of the first inning, highlighted by a 402-foot two-run home run from Florida commit Nathan Hickey. Those runs would be all they needed as Zachary Ottinger (West Virginia) and Tyler Olenchuk (Clemson) were dominant, combining to give up just four hits in the shutout victory.

In the quarterfinal, the Astros used solid defense and timely hitting to knock off Team Georgia 8-3.  Connor Pavolony had a pair of singles in the game, and Jared Hart added a triple. Overall, this talented Astros roster was too much for a solid Team Georgia squad.

Nelson Baseball School 18u – Nelson Baseball School outlasted the 643 DP Jaguars 7-5 in their round of 16 matchup. Starter Nick Swanson used a low-90s fastball to keep the 643 hitters off balance, and Duke Wodetzki added two RBI in the victory.

In the quarterfinals, Zach Camp stole the show firing a complete game shutout in the 6-0 victory of eXposure Prime 18u. Camp, a Swarthmore College signee, was able to strand three walks and two hits, striking out eight in the process. Run support came from Sean Cheely and Connor Frost who went a combined five for five with three RBI.
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