FORT MYERS, Fla. – Team Elite Prime defeated Florida Stealth Red in the 18u BCS Finals by a score of 5-1. Both teams were undefeated coming into the championship game and both teams showed why they belonged in the final round.
Zach Yoder started for Florida Stealth and he was dominant through three innings. He only allowed three hits on 49 pitches and struck out two batters.
Connor Thomas, the No. 9 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Florida for the class of 2016 and a Georgia Tech commit, started on the mound for Team Elite. Thomas provided four solid innings of one-run baseball and had Team Elite in a position to win the game.
Florida Stealth was held to only one baserunner through the first three innings as Thomas was having his way with their lineup. Team Elite, however, failed to capitalize with runners in scoring position through the first three innings. They stranded five baserunners in the first three innings and the score was tied at 0-0 heading into the fourth inning.
Florida Stealth was the first team to break the tie and put a run on the board. Tarik Lachtmansingh drove in a run on an RBI double over the center fielder’s head.
Team Elite responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. LSU commit Nicholas Storz, the No. 1 righthanded pitcher in the state of New York for the class of 2017, plated a run on an RBI single. Lane Harris, the No. 3 outfielder in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2017, brought another run home as he hit into a run-scoring double play. Team Elite had plated two runs but they were still squandering opportunities for a big inning.
The big inning never came for Team Elite, but they were able to consistently get runs across in separate innings. In the fifth inning Bryce Bowen, the No. 2 first baseman in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017 and a Clemson commit, brought in another insurance run on a sacrifice fly.
The pitching staff for Team Elite was doing a good job at holding the Florida Stealth offense stagnant for the game. The double from Lachtmansingh was the only run that Florida Stealth was able to push across all day.
In the sixth inning, Team Elite added two final insurance runs. Tyler Keenan, the No. 1 third baseman in the state of North Carolina for the class of 2017 and an Ole Miss commit, brought home another run on an RBI single. Harris knocked in another run on a run-scoring fielder’s choice.
The pitching for Team Elite did a great job at limiting Florida Stealth to the single run. They only allowed one walk during the game and surrendered only five hits to keep the offense at bay. The offense for Team Elite might have left run-scoring opportunities on the table, but they put together enough hits to seal the victory.
Florida Stealth Red defeated Nelson Baseball School 6-2 in the semifinals to advance to the championship game. Max Charnin tossed six strong innings on the mound and only surrendered two earned runs. They took advantage of a big second inning, in which they scored four runs, and Cameron Husing led the way with two RBI.
Team Elite Prime advanced to the championship after dispatching Team Elite Nation 5-3 in extra innings. The game went nine innings and Team Elite Prime was able to secure the victory thanks to a walk-off home run by Storz.
Golston Gillespie (Team Elite) was named the event's Most Valuable Player and Justin Rivero (Florida Stealth) the Most Valuable Pitcher.
2016 18u BCS Finals runner-up: Florida Stealth 17u Red
2016 18u BCS Finals MVP: Golston Gillespie
2016 18u BCS Finals MV-Pitcher: Justin Rivero
