EMERSON,
Ga. – After a very long and hot final day of pool play, many teams
amped up for their first round of playoffs that were to be played
later on Wednesday night. Some teams saw their dreams of winning the
16u WWBA National Championship come to a disappointing end, and
others saw their team flourish. For those who saw their playoff run
extend in to Thursday's early morning games, there is little time to
reflect on the game you just played; you just have to keep trudging
forward and prepare for the next.
This
intense playoff format calls for extreme mental focus, and with the
scalding triple-digit heat in the heart of Georgia, that is quite the
tall order. However, to a team that is battle tested, keeping that
focus is something that comes naturally.
Fortunately
for the teams that received the 8:00 a.m. timeslot of games got to
play in a brisk and breezy atmosphere without the real risk of
complete physical drainage. If you were able to wake up early enough
to catch these games, you were certainly in for a treat, as there
were some great matchups.
The
most interesting being the game between the No. 2 seed Florida Burn
Pennant 2016 and the No. 34 seed Chain National teams. Despite the
gap in seeding between these two teams, this game was about as close
as it gets. Both teams are perennial championship contenders at
Perfect Game events, and both had very respectable rosters with their
fair share of college commitments, so you knew this game was going to
come down to the wire.
The
game began as a bit of a pitcher’s duel between both teams’
starters, but as the game progressed, both were able to muster up a
tiny bit of offense and put one run on the board. The 1-1 stalemate
would hold until the final inning, where Chain National would finally
find their approach at the plate and put together a late inning
rally. This rally proved to be successful, as they scored three runs,
which proved to be just too much of a deficit for the Burn to
overcome.
Chain
National would prevent the Burn offense from scoring in the final
inning and walk away with a 4-1 win. Their ticket to the second round
of the playoffs had now been punched, and Chain National is more
confident now than ever.
Even
though their seed coming into playoffs was unfavorable, Head Coach
Andy Burress and his squad paid absolutely no mind to it. They know
what they are capable of, as their pitching staff, led by PG
All-American Anthony Locey and electric 2017 lefthander D.L. Hall,
has served them well thus far this tournament. Not to mention, they
won the 16u BCS Finals two weeks ago, so there is no doubt in their
mind they can capture the 2015 16u WWBA National Championship title.
“No
matter what the seed was, we won the BCS, and we were the team to
beat,” Burress said after the game. “I don’t believe in being
the underdog ever. With the guys that we have, we just want to go
play our game. We play defense and throw strikes; we don’t have any
huge guys, but we just do the little things right. This win against
the Burn was big, but for us, we just have to keep the mental
mistakes down and take care of the baseball.”
The
Chain National are certainly a team to watch for, but as the morning
shifted from the early morning slot to the one at 10:30 a.m., more
promising teams emerged as winners.
One
of those teams were the Georgia Jackets, who would play their second
round of playoffs against the St. Louis Gamers. The Jackets are no
strangers to the intense atmosphere of the playoffs, considering they
have absolutely dominated at PG 15u events earlier this summer. Last
year they were able to win the 15u WWBA National championship with
essentially the same roster they have in this year’s 16u
tournament. They are definitely a proven squad, but they know they
have a long road ahead of them if they want to add some more hardware
to the trophy case.
The
Jackets would draw first blood in this game, as they brought one run
in off of a walk and two base hits in the opening frame.
Chaney Rogers went 2-for-4 with a big two-run home run in the Georgia Jackets 4-1 win over the St. Louis Gamers on Thursday.
An
error in the second inning with two outs allowed the Jackets to
continue their run at the plate, as first baseman Chaney Rogers, who
has been on an absolute tear all tournament, stepped up to the plate
and hit a skyrocket over the right field fence. The inning would end
shortly thereafter, but Rogers had already done the damage, and now
the Jackets had a little bit of cushion to work with.
The
starter for the Jackets ended his day very early because of a
pre-existing injury, and the game was now thrust into the hands of
Austin Weiermiller. Weiermiller, who was named the Most Valuable
Pitcher at the 2014 15u PG/East Cobb Invitational – one of three
15u events the Georgia Jackets won last year – had virtually no
preparation when he was handed to take over the role as the starter,
but that did not affect him one bit. He pitched very well on such
short notice, and really started racking up the strikeouts. His
fastball was very effective, as he was able to live down in the zone
and locate his pitches with precision on both the inner and outer
sides of the plate.
“I
was just hanging out on the bench, and all of the sudden I was
warming up and thrown into the game,” Weiermiller said. “It was a
little bit of a curveball, going into the game without having any
idea I was pitching, but that’s what baseball is all about.
Battling adversity and getting in tough situations but finding your
way out.
“(Throwing
a) first-pitch strike was really big today; also I was able to mix it
up with my off-speed. I was able to keep them out on their front foot
and come in with the fastball. (My) go-to pitch in this game was the
changeup, just because of the way I was going in and out with it and
also because of the way it complimented my fastball. They were a good
hitting team, so I had to mix it up and keep them off of their game.”
Weiermiller
kept the Gamers' bats very quiet, but they had been putting good
swings on the ball as the innings progressed and finally in the sixth
inning they put it all together. A check swing base knock to start
the inning would put a man on, and then a clutch triple would bring
him in. Ultimately that one run is all they would be able to score,
and the Jackets came right back in the next inning to make the score
4-1, as Weiermiller completed his dominance over the Gamers with a 10
strikeout performance.
This
game didn’t feature much offense, and that is something that Head
Coach Paul Meade would like to see improve moving forward. When there
was offense it was certainly exciting, especially Rogers’ two-run
bomb in the second. Rogers, who was named the Most Valuable Player at
last year's 14u WWBA Naional Championship, has been superb all
tournament, hitting .455 with four RBI and six runs scored, and
finished this game going 2-for-4
“My
approach at the plate today was to see fastball and hit it, really,”
Rogers said of his performance. “They throw a lot of changeups in
the dirt, so I had to see a fastball up, stay back, and put a good
swing on it. I just really changed my approach at the plate this
week. Just sitting back and waiting on my pitch to hit, but I’ve
also just been seeing a lot of good pitches.
“Now
that we’re in playoffs, it’s definitely more intense. We got to
play like it’s our last game, and keep moving forward.”
Coach
Meade is proud of his players, but he knows what it takes to make it
through these long-lasting tournaments, and he would like to see his
team turn the focus up a notch. He knows they have a winning
attitude, it’s just about committing to the overall goal of winning
a National Championship and doing everything in your power to make it
happen.
“Once
we get to playoffs, our guys get more excited,” Meade said. “They
like to compete and go at it, so if anything, we get better in
playoffs. Come bracket play, and when the pressure is on, we feel
like we are at our best.
“(The)
key factor in today’s win was Weiermiller coming off the bench and
stepping it up big time. He came in and kinda does what he does, and
then our defense backed him up real well. Moving forward, we’re
going to have to pitch well and keep that defense up, but we really
have to attack the ball offensively. We have to make these happen,
and we’re best when we’re aggressive like that.”