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Tournaments  | Story | 6/14/2021

SWFL 2022 Grinding Out Florida Select

Photo: Logan Waldschmidt (Perfect Game)
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The game of baseball is always easier when your team can put up a lot of runs. It’s even easier when your pitching and defense can shut down your opposition between the lines.
 
For SWFL 2022 Nation, neither have been an issue this summer. In their first three games of the 2021 Perfect Game 17u Florida Select Championship, the local squad from Fort Myers has posted a +25 run differential, the highest in the tournament, en route to three dominant victories to begin pool play. 
 
SWFL kicked off their first Perfect Game tournament of the summer on Saturday by defeating Victus Elite Fl 17u 16-1. Jonathan Negron led the way for SWFL’s offense, picking up two hits and five RBI on the day. Nolan Shamoun carried his weight on the mound as well, striking out three and allowing just two hits through three innings in SWFL’s shortened mercy-rule victory. Heading into their first game on Sunday against South Florida Bullsharks Grey, SWFL coach Greg Dombrowski knew his players were ready from their composed demeanor.
 
“Our guys have done a great job preparing before the game being locked in mentally,” Dombrowski said. “It’s a high-energy group that likes to play together, and that’s helped us put together a great output.”
 
SWFL opened up scoring on Sunday with an eruption of offensive production in the bottom of the second against the Bullsharks. After Negron singled on the first pitch he saw, starting pitcher CJ Bussell provided some run support for himself, smashing a triple to the center field wall on the next pitch and plating the game’s first run. Jake D’Altrui promptly scored Bussell with a sacrifice fly to center, giving SWFL a two-run lead.
 
Bussell said that he finds his job on the mound working advantageously for him at the plate.
 
“I feel like I hit better when I pitch,” Bussell said. “I feel like I’m more into the game, watching the other pitcher. I feel like my game is better when I’m adding on both sides.”
 
The SWFL bats continued to mash as William Wiltshire lined a single and quickly scored after Logan Smith drove a double to left field. After Marcos Torres walked and Smith scored on a wild pitch, Shamoun drove another single to center field but was thrown out trying to get to second. By the end of the second, SWFL had already built a 5-0 lead.
 
The SWFL onslaught continued in the third, as the squad strung together a series of base hits for another big inning. Aiden Nolasco and Kevin RisCassi began the inning with back-to-back singles. Negron then smacked a single to score Nolasco, and Bussell then shot another single over second base to score RisCassi. Wiltshire then continued the pattern as he poked a single up the middle, scoring Negron. As the inning came to a close, SWFL had mounted an 8-0 lead.
 
While the SWFL bats were hot, Bussell needed little room to work with on the mound. The top-1000 ranked player in the class of 2022 made short order of the Bullsharks hitters to begin the game, striking out the side in 15 pitches in the bottom of the first. Bussell then added two more Ks in the second and one more in the third while not allowing a single baserunner. Through his own contributions and help from his teammates, Bussell believes that his team’s offensive performance was vital in allowing him to shove on the mound.
 
“We’re all having fun, getting into the game and putting up a lot of runs,” Bussell said. “I just have a smile on my face the whole time. Then I get into the game, I’m relaxed and can do my thing.”
 
Rhett Raymer relieved Bussell after the third inning and picked up right where he left off. Racking up two strikeouts, Raymer also allowed no baserunners through his two dominant innings. In the last of the fifth, Raymer put a bow on his performance, striking out the final batter for SWFL to take an 8-0 mercy-rule victory over the Bullsharks. Together, Bussell and Raymer combined for a five-inning perfect game. 
 
While his team has shown out offensively, Dombrowski believes that his team’s pitching and defense have been critical in their dominance.
 
“Our pitchers have done a tremendous job setting the tone early on, and that’s allowed us to play good defense as well,” Dombrowski said. “Any time your pitcher shoves the ball in the zone and keeps your fielders in position, good things happen.”
 
Opportunistic baserunning allowed SWFL to jump out to an early lead yet again in their second game of the day against the FTB Expos. After they reached on a hit-by-pitch and an error, Smith and Logan Waldschmidt each crossed home in the top of the second on passed balls, giving SWFL a 2-0 lead to begin the game.
 
However, the SWFL bats ran abnormally cold through the next few innings, and FTB took advantage. After scoring a run in the second and third, FTB took away the SWFL lead for the first time this weekend. However, Luke Pike rose to the occasion in the top of the sixth, plating Nolasco to break the stalemate. SWFL was aggressive again on the basepaths in the seventh, as Wiltshire scored on an errant throw to second and increased their lead to two.
 
The new situation didn’t faze the SWFL arms either. Stepping in as relief in the third, Torres embraced the close circumstances and shut down the FTB batters. Through 3 2/3 innings, Torres fanned five batters, allowing two hits and one walk. After SWFL gave Torres some support, Smith stepped in to get the squad over the hump in the seventh, striking out two while closing the game out for a 4-2 SWFL victory.
 
Through the first two days of their first Perfect Game event of the summer, Dombrowski believes he and his team have gotten a better sense of what their roster is capable of.
 
“We’re building confidence with guys and figuring out what we’ve got now,” Dombrowski said. “Allowing this group to play together and get to know each other in a competitive tournament, we’re learning our strengths and weaknesses. We’ve got a good plan of attack now and looking forward to the summer.”
 
After cruising through the first two days of pool play, SWFL will look to secure a first-round bye on Monday for the Championship’s playoffs. If the squad comes out victorious in their final pool play game against the Miami Stingrays on Monday, SWFL will lock down a top-two seed and have their eye on the Championship crown come Tuesday.
 
As the tournament inches towards title day, Dombrowski said the team is focused on winning, but also enjoying themselves.
 
“This group of kids is really looking forward to just playing hard and grinding it out,” Dombrowski said. “It’s a fun group to be around, and guys are just out there having a good time.”

Tournaments | Story | 5/21/2026

Memorial Day Classics Set to Kick Off

Perfect Game Staff
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Southeast Memorial Day East Cobb Baseball will welcome more than 100 teams spanning the 13-17u age groups this weekend as summer baseball gets underway with the highly anticipated PG Southeast Memorial Day Classic, commencing on Thursday, May 21st. This weekend’s annual premier event will feature 11 nationally ranked teams across the five age groups with the No. 9 16u East Cobb Astros headlining the 17u division alongside top prospects such as No. 11 ranked Bryan Johnson Jr. And No. 22 ranked Georgia Tech commit, Malachi Butler. The No. 34 17u ranked 643 DP Cougars will also be a squad to watch as they will look to challenge the Astros for the championship amongst the other 14 17u division teams. While the oldest division will draw lots of attention with highly touted prospects, the 16u field is stacked with 29 total teams including three nationally ranked clubs. Over 30 top 1000...
High School | General | 5/22/2026

Northeast High School Notebook: May 22

Anthony Gambardella
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‘26 RHP Hunter Brown (@NHLionsBaseball - NJ) struck out 1️⃣5️⃣ thru 6 IP w/ 0 BB & 2 H allowed. FB lived 90-92, T93 w/ ASR & late life. Froze bats with his 11/5 CB both early/late in counts (2600rpm). Mixed in fading CH & short/tight SL. #WeAre commit. @PG_Draft#PGHS @PG_Scouting pic.twitter.com/NbSSOmCyD0 — Perfect Game Mid-Atlantic (@PGMidAtlantic) April 23, 2026 Hunter Brown - 2026 RHP, North Hunterdon Reg (N.J.) was utterly dominant in his start against Franklin last month, tossing six shutout innings with 15 strikeouts, zero walks and just two hits allowed. The 6-foot-5 215-pound right-hander has pitched to a 0.97 ERA this spring with 78 punchouts over 36 innings of work. Brown has been one of the many northeast arms receiving increasingly more buzz ahead of the MLB Draft this July. Brown’s heater lived in the low-90s throughout the duration of his...
Press Release | Press Release | 5/22/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 65

Ron Wolforth
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The Insidious Lie That Hurts Pitchers Thep Most How many of you have ever had a terrible outing and afterward couldn’t really explain what went wrong? And how many of you have ever had a great outing and couldn’t explain what you did differently either? That gap between what is happening and your awareness of what is happening may be one of the most important gaps in player development. Closing that gap has a name. It is called metacognition. In simple terms, metacognition means thinking about your thinking. It is the ability to understand how you learn, how you perform, how you respond under pressure, and how you make adjustments when things are not going your way. For a pitcher, that matters because no matter how good your coach is, he cannot stand on the mound with you. Your coach cannot take the ball with the bases loaded, two outs, and the best hitter in the league...
College | Rankings | 5/20/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 20

Nick Herfordt
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There is a reason the preseason pick to win it all rarely does. College baseball's postseason is a gauntlet — double elimination, best-of-three’s, then a full World Series format — and the team that looks unbeatable in February has to prove it again in May against opponents who have had just as long to get ready. Plenty of programs have entered the tournament as the obvious favorite and gone home early. It happens every year. Nobody should be shocked when it does. Top-ranked teams flaming out in regional weekends happens so many times it has become its own genre of schadenfreude Which makes this particular moment worth noting. The Perfect Game preseason picks to win the NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III national titles — Tennessee Wesleyan, UT Tyler, and the University of Lynchburg — are all still alive heading into the final rounds. All three...
College | Story | 5/21/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 21 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
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Each week I huddle with Vinnie Cervino and Craig Cozart  to discuss Top-25 rankings and Players of the Week. In Coppy’s Corner, I dive deeper into these Players of the Week, providing analysis from 20+ years working in baseball front offices at the highest level.   Co-Player of the Week: Carson Tinney – University of Texas  As a Notre Dame alumnus, it pained me to see Tinney transfer from the Golden Dome to the University of Texas after an All-American sophomore season for the Irish. He’s picked up in Austin right where he left off in South Bend and is currently hitting .321 AVG, 20 HR, .475 OBP / .695 SLG / 1.170 OPS on the 2026 season. It’s plus right-handed power and a plus arm; with the numbers I have found indicating that Tinney has erased more than half of attempted base stealers over the past two seasons of college baseball. Tinney threw...
Tournaments | Story | 5/19/2026

Best of the Best Event Preview

Jheremy Brown
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In simplistic terms, the Best of The Best tournament is an absolute gauntlet as seemingly every game brings a playoff game atmosphere. Coaches must strategically map out their pitching to ensure they can get through Pool Play while also making sure they have arms to make a deep playoff run. Each and every age group is loaded with the best teams, composed of some of the best players that travel baseball has to offer. The 9u & 10u age groups will respectively have 9 out of the Top 10 Teams within the latest PG National Team Rankings participating in the event. At 9U, LTP-Reign will look to hold on to their #1 ranking but will have plenty of competition with the likes of ZT National Prospects and HTX-Wildcatters 9U looking to take over that #1 spot. In the 10u age group, Elevate National will look to fend off plenty of talent with #2 ranked Kaos National, East Cobb Astros and ZT...
College | Story | 5/19/2026

College Players of the Week: May 19

Vincent Cervino
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May 19th Perfect Game/Co-Players of the Week:  Carson Tinney, C, Texas  The Texas Longhorns just finished off another stellar regular season and are heading to Hoover for the SEC Conference Tournament as the No. 2 Seed this week.  To secure their 2nd place finish, they had to sweep Missouri at home last weekend and did so in large part to the power bat of Carson Tinney.  The 6-4/240 catcher from Castle Pines, CO transferred to Austin after two sensational seasons at Notre Dame and has thrived in his draft year.  In the 3-game set, Tinney collected 7 hits in 13 at-bats, scoring 5 runs, with a double, 3 home runs and he drove in 10 runs all told.  With some of the most prodigious power in the college game this year, Tinney is now slashing .321/.695/.473 with 10 doubles an incredible 20 home runs and 54 RBIs while playing in the most spacious ballpark in the...
College | Rankings | 5/18/2026

College Top 25: May 18

Vincent Cervino
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The regular season is behind us, and it is now tournament time and wow, is there a lot to still be decided.  We are a week away from the Field of 64 being announced and hosting opportunities, at-large bids, as well as automatic bids are there for the taking.  The UCLA Bruins (48-6) continue their stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in the land, finishing the regular season without losing a series all year.  ACC powers, UNC (43-10) and Georgia Tech (45-9) remain at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively and SEC regular season champs, the Georgia Bulldogs (43-12) stick at No. 4.  After that there was a small amount of shuffling within the Top 10 with No. 5 Texas (40-12), No. 6 West Virginia (37-13) and No. 7 FSU (38-16) moving ahead of now No. 8 Auburn (36-18) after they were the only team in this group to drop their weekend series.   No. 14 Florida (37-18) and No. 15...
High School | General | 5/18/2026

High School Notebook: May 18

Jordan Gates
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‘27 RHP Grant Slater (@BoydCoBaseball) gets his 1st start of the year (3rd appearance) as he works his way back. FB opened 89-92 w/ ride & was still up to 91 in the 5th (run rule), while touching 93 in the 3rd. CT worked in the mid 8s & breaking ball in mid 7s (sweep). Big summer… pic.twitter.com/w9EXl6Jmrx — Perfect Game Ohio Valley (@PG_OhioValley) May 8, 2026 Grant Slater, 2027, RHP, Boyd Co (KY) Slater made his full start of the year back on May 7th. He had appeared in a few games in relief roles prior as he has come back from a few injury bugs. The Alabama commit went five strong innings, in a complete game fashion (run rule), only allowed a couple hits, one walk, and struck out 13 batters. Slater is beginning to ramp up at the right time with postseason right around the corner. Slater’s fastball peaked at 93 mph a few times, held velocity in the...
High School | General | 5/14/2026

CPBL Showcase Scout Notes

Troy Sutherland
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Logan Cummins (‘26 ON) Silky op with big arm speed and projection. Shaky FB command early, 91-93 T94. CH is present plus, weapon vs both LH & RH hitters at 83-84. Good arm side depth to it. SL has some length to the mostly lateral action @ 77. #KState commit.#CPBLShowcaseWknd pic.twitter.com/7TdJ2neOv6 — Perfect Game International (@pg_int1) May 8, 2026 Logan Cummins (‘26 ON) Very intriguing athletic upside here, came out early a bit juiced up leading to inconsistent fastball command but settled in and started dotting. Ran the fastball up to 94 with running life. Changeup is ahead of the rest of the arsenal  in terms of quality, and has a parachuting arm side dive that gets frequent swings over the top. Slider is tight with varying length at its best it does have an extra gear to garner a late count whiff. Should fit nicely at Kansas State if he decides to...
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