THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,804 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,804 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 3/10/2019

Central Pointe wins wild walk-off

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Central Pointe Christian Academy (Perfect Game)

HOOVER, Ala. – They never stopped making noise, banging metal bats against metal posts and roofs in their first base dugout. They never stopped cheering and chanting from that dugout, either, bringing an enthusiasm and a noise level to the Hoover Met Complex perhaps unlike any the facility had ever seen.

And most importantly, this band of Puerto Rican, Spanish-speaking ballplayers representing Central Pointe Christian Academy in Kissimmee, Fla., never stopped believing, never once showing an ounce of quit in their approach to the game these high-schoolers so rabidly embrace.

Trailing since the top of the first and down to its last strike with a two-run deficit staring at it with a menacing grin, CPCA turned the tables and escaped with a 6-5 victory over Georgia-based East Cobb Baseball Academy in Sunday’s championship game at the Perfect Game High School Showdown-Academies tournament.

Before  junior-turned-hero Melvin Cotto comes out for his curtain call, let’s first recap how this whole noisy, chaotic and especially delicious finish came to be:

East Cobb scored twice in the top of the first, once in the second and two more times in the third to take a 5-0 lead into the bottom of that frame. CPCA answered with three of its own to get within 5-3 and that score held until the bottom of the seventh.

The frame started with a shake of the head from the East Cobb side when CPCA’s Kevin Melendez led-off with a walk. The batter next in the order struck-out swinging and Jan Luis Noa, who was next, came through with a single; the next EPCA batter then struck-out looking.

So, at that point the Central Pointers had runners on first and second with two out, but those two were soon standing on second and third after a passed ball. The East Cobbers decided to intentionally walk the dangerous Justin Tejeda, a senior who had already doubled and singled and drove in a pair of runs.

That brought Cotto, a smallish 5-foot-10, 135-pound junior outfielder/left-hander, to the plate. He soon faced a 1-2 count and on the next pitch lofted an almost lazy line drive down the left-field line for a bases-clearing triple, and a walk-off victory.

“That was amazing,” the tournament Most Valuable Player Tejeda told PG in somewhat halting English when asked about the win. “We’re doing everything (to try to help) the team, and that’s baseball – helping the team and enjoying the game.”

No. 6-seed East Cobb Baseball (3-2) used eight hits to build its 5-0 lead after 2½ innings of play. Alex Espinal and Carter Wright came through with back-to-back, two-out singles and both scored when Will Hubbell reached on an error in the first; Michael Pardee led-off the second with a single and eventually scored on another CPCA error for a 3-0 ECBA advantage.

Two more runs came across in the top of the third when Espinal and Wright again delivered back-to-back singles to go with a combination of yet another error, a wild-pitch and Lance Leatherwood single.

Now down 5-0, No. 1-seed CPCA (5-0) needed something to happen and it did in the bottom of the third. William Nieves started it with a lead-off single and Edrick Ayala followed with a one-out single ahead of a one-out RBI single from Jan Luis Noa. Tejeda stepped to the plate, found an 81 mph fastball to his liking on a 2-2 count, and lined a double into left-field, scoring both Ayala and Noa.

Tejeda, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior outfielder from Kissimmee who attends classes at Central Pointe Christian and who has signed with Hillsborough CC in Plant City, Fla., earned his MVP recognition by going 7-for-12 (.583) with three doubles, six RBI, two runs scored and three stolen bases.

He is ranked No. 104 nationally in the class of 2019 and in January earned inclusion on the Top Prospect List at the PG World Showcase, which was held in Kissimmee.

East Cobb Baseball Academy’s Brady Simpson, a 6-foot, 170-pound left-hander out Marietta, Ga.,  who is a senior at Sprayberry High School and has signed with Lipscomb, was named the Most Valuable Pitcher.

Simpson went 2-0 in two appearances at the Showdown-Academies, giving up three earned runs in 6 2/3 innings (3.20 ERA) on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks. He pitched East Cobb into the championship game by throwing a complete, run-rule, 5-inning game against the Georgia Premier Academy Sox in Saturday’s semifinal, allowing one earned run on three hits with five strikeouts.

Central Point Christian Academy manager, Nestor Castro, spoke with PG in heavily accented English postgame and talked about how hard his players have been working and how they play hard driven by their Christian faith.

He also spoke about how talented the team is with several players seniors Melendez (Bethune-Cookman), Tejeda (Hillsborough CC), Abdiel Alejandro Rivera (Monroe College), juniors Noa (Hillsborough College) and Cotto (Eastern Florida State) and sophomore Dylan Luna (Broward CC) having already committed to college. It’s a talented team that accomplished something on Sunday the players can always be proud of.

“This is special because this team has never won a championship (before),” Tejeda said. “This team is great; we are a family and that’s it. Now we will go to the hotel and have a celebration.”


2019 Perfect Game High School Showdown - Academies runner-up: East Cobb Baseball Academy



2019 Perfect Game High School Showdown - Academies MVP: Justin Tejeda



2019 Perfect Game High School Showdown - Academies MV-Pitcher: Brady Simpson
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
‘28 OF Jakob Groeschel (OH) continues to impress with the bat on the circuit, picked up 2 2Bs in the first game today. Really athletic, went 4.4 on turn; easy to dream on all the traits. #MLKEast @PG_OhioValley pic.twitter.com/wOIwnGKnkg — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) January 17, 2026 2028 OF Jakob Groeschel (Springfield, Ohio) broke out at this event last year hitting a casual .909, and although he didn’t turn in quite the same performance, he hit a strong .462 with 4 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 5 bags and only struck out once. He’s a pretty dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things well, but the bat is the calling card as he just lives on the barrel and has no problem handling all kinds of pitching. It’s a simple swing, but he’s got fast hands and he can really impact the ball without being overly physical yet.  2030 RHP Michael Vazquez...
Read More
College | Story | 1/30/2026

Conference Preview: Big West

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  School W L W L Cal Poly 43 19 23 7 Cal State Bakersfield 18 38 9 21 Cal State Fullerton 29 27 19 11 CSUN 15 34 10 20 Hawai'i 35 21 16 14 Long Beach State 22 31 15 15 UC Davis 27 28 13 17 UC Irvine 43 17 24 6 UC Riverside 16 36 5 25 UC Santa Barbara 36 18 16 14 UC San Diego 26 25 15 15 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Nate Vargas UC Santa Barbara Honorable Mention All Big West performer, posted a 306 average with 10 HR’s and 50 RBI. ...
Read More
High School | General | 1/30/2026

High School Top 50: 10-1

Cam McElwaney
Article Image
High School Preview Index Top 50 Breakdown: 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 10. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 2025 Record: 24-1 Head Coach: Dave Turgeon Notable Prospect(s): C Dillon Moss (Stanford), RHP Michael Ramsey, C Charles Messina (Northwestern), 1B Cy Chrisman (Oklahoma State), SS Dylan Messina (Pennsylvania), RHP Michael Todero (St. Joseph’s), SS Max Hemenway (Tennessee), OF Kyler Meccage (Mississippi State), OF Sebastian Wilson (Tennessee), 1B Frank Thomas III (Auburn), SS Juan Diaz (Florida State), C Ethan Armbruster (Mississippi State), SS Antonio Chavez (University of California, Berkeley), RHP Henry Britt, OF Aiden Choo IMG Academy rattled off an incredible season a year ago, finishing with a 24-1 record, and ended the season being named the national champion. It’s another year in Bradenton with some of the most talented players in...
Read More
College | Story | 1/30/2026

Conference Preview: SWAC

Michael Albee
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Alabama A&M 2 27 10 40 Alabama State 22 10 31 29 Alcorn State 1 29 6 43 Arkansas Pine-Bluff 17 9 19 34 Bethune Cookman 24 5 37 23 Florida A&M 25 5 34 24 Grambling State 18 11 26 28 Jackson State 16 12 30 21 Mississippi Valley State 7 23 12 29 Prairie View A&M 13 14 17 36 Southern 15 14 26 28 Texas Southern 15 15 22 31 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Vinny Saumell Arkansas Pine-Bluff Reliable backstop and offensive...
Read More
Juco | Rankings | 1/29/2026

JUCO: Top 500 Prospects

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
JUCO Preseason Top 50 RK Name Class Pos. School State Commitment 1 Carson Bailey SO LHP McLennan TX 2 Bishop Quarles SO OF Florida Southwestern FL 3 Holden Hering FR RHP Weatherford TX Arkansas 4 Mikhai Grant SO RHP Northwest Florida FL 5 Jimmy Anderson SO SS Heartland IL Kentucky 6 Noah Bentley SO RHP Weatherford TX Oklahoma 7 Hayden Morris SO RHP Blinn TX LSU 8 Collin Smith SO RHP Cochise AZ South Carolina 9 Anthony Quigley SO OF/3B Northwest Florida FL 10 Anson Seibert RS FR RHP Johnson County KS 11 Major Osbolt RS FR RHP Walters State TN LSU 12 Ben Polleschultz SO LHP Blinn TX Texas A&M 13 Peyton Firgens RS FR MIF McLennan TX Mississippi State 14 Garrett Mirel FR LHP Golden West CA North Carolina State 15 Kole Fenton SO SS Walters State TN North Carolina 16 Joseph Sandusky FR SS Weatherford TX Texas A&M 17 Caden Mitchell SO C Weatherford TX Oklahoma 18 Easton Davies SO RHP...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 1/28/2026

2026 Pacific Baseball Championship Set

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME ANNOUNCES VENUES, DATES FOR   2026 PACIFIC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP    Elite global talent converges in Southern California, December 26-29, 2026, at the Dodgers’ new ONT Field Stadium and October Empire Complex    Ontario, California (Wednesday, January 28, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced additional details surrounding the 2026 Perfect Game Pacific Baseball Championship (PBC), including official venues, dates and the various nations that players will be coming from,...
Read More
Juco | Rankings | 1/28/2026

JUCO Top 50: January 28

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Welcome to the 2026 Junior College baseball season. Once again, this year will begin for us with annual coverage of the PCB JUCO Classic in Panama City Beach, FL this week. With that we bring you our beginning of season JUCO baseball rankings. Perfect Game JUCO rankings combine all levels of JUCO baseball across the country into one overall ranking.  The top of this year’s beginning of season ranking begins where the D1 NJCAA World Series ended, with Walters State and Salt Lake. Walters State returns several contributing pieces from last season's team and will begin the year in the top spot. Defending D1 JUCO National Champion Salt Lake will slot in at number 2. This list shows the strength of junior college baseball around the country with programs from 16 different state represented in our initial top 25. Six teams from Florida make our initial top 25, four of which will...
Read More
College | Story | 1/29/2026

Conference Preview: Southland

Troy Sutherland
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Southeastern 38 16 22 8 UT- Rio Grande Valley 36 18 22 8 Lamar 40 17 20 10 Northwestern State 35 21 19 11 McNeese 31 17 19 11 Houston Christian 32 23 17 13 TAMU- Corpus Christi 21 31 12 18 New Orleans 28 26 12 18 Nicholls 17 32 10 20 Stephen F. Austin 17 32 9 21 Incarnate Word 17 33 3 27 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Player School Stats/Notes C Julius Ramirez UTRGV Huge numbers at the Juco level as a member of New Mexico JC. Impact stick that will force his way...
Read More
College | Story | 1/29/2026

Conference Preview: Sun Belt

Michael Albee
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Appalachian State 13 17 23 31 Arkansas State 14 16 26 28 Coastal Carolina 26 4 56 13 Georgia Southern 13 17 28 31 Georgia State 11 19 26 30 James Madison 10 20 17 38 Louisiana 16 14 27 31 Marshall 16 14 33 26 Old Dominion 15 15 22 31 South Alabama 12 18 23 28 Southern Mississippi 24 6 47 16 Texas State 14 16 27 31 Troy 18 12 39 21 Louisiana-Monroe 8 22 22 33 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Jimmy Janicki Troy Lots of buzz coming into the...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 1/27/2026

Believe In Baseball Event Adds Stars

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    JAY LENO, NIKKI GLASER, TIFFANY HADDISH, DUSTIN YBARRA AND GARY CANNON ADDED TO PERFECT GAME   BELIEVE IN BASEBALL CHARITY EVENT     Laugh Factory hosts an all-star comedy lineup for Perfect Game’s charity gala    Los Angeles, California (Tuesday, January 27, 2026) - The Perfect Game Believe in Baseball Foundation today announced an all-star comedy lineup for its first-ever “In the Spirit of the Game” charity awards dinner and auction, taking place this Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the world-famous Laugh Factory in Hollywood to benefit youth...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.