EMERSON, Ga. – Knights Baseball 18u Platinum downed the Strike One Slammers during pool play of the 2016 18u WWBA National Championship on Tuesday. Knights Baseball used a combination of shutdown pitching and crisp defense to defeat the Slammers 2-0.
Originally founded in 2002 and based out of Nashville, Tennessee, Knights Baseball has been running their program to provide preparation and development for their players. They have expanded operations to include facilities in Kentucky, Alabama and Illinois.
The program has a specific focus on furthering the baseball careers and education of their players while also encouraging personal growth and maturity as achieved through sport.
The program website lists some of their key fundamentals to player development:
Our organization works with young men to:
• Improve their baseball skills to be able to excel at the highest level possible.
• Showcase their skills in front of many college baseball programs.
• Focus on hard work which builds character.
• Become great team members & leaders.
• Show outstanding sportsmanship.
• Promote the importance of furthering their education.
Since 2002, Knights Baseball has sent 200-plus alumni to play college baseball and they have had 23 players selected in the MLB Draft. Some of their more notable alumni include 2014 first-round draft pick Justus Sheffield and his brother Jordan Sheffield, who was selected 36th overall in this year’s draft out of Vanderbilt, both of whom were PG All-Americans while in high school.
College baseball is encouraged by Knights Baseball and it certainly shows on their current team. Of the team’s 24 players on the roster 22 are currently committed to play baseball at the college level. Whether the players are committed to community colleges, JUCOs, or even high-reputation Division I schools such as Vanderbilt, Knights Baseball develops talented players and prepares them for baseball at some of the highest levels.
“All of us here have a lot to work for and have a future ahead of us,” said Alex Brewer, the No. 1 third baseman in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2016 and a Vanderbilt commit. “For this organization it’s exceptional for us to come in here and give it our all and try to win the tournament.”
Knights Baseball Platinum is made up of a collection of players who have been together for a few years now. The majority of the team are 2016 graduates and are beginning their final season of summer baseball at the high school level. Connor Adams, the only 2017 graduate on their team and a Louisville commit, talked about wanting to win as many tournaments as they can this summer to send the seniors off on a winning note.
“Everyone on this team has been together for three years, with a few additions,” said manager Ryan Walsh. “They’ve done a really good job at making themselves into good baseball players. They take it very seriously and they seem to enjoy being around one another and they’re fun to be around. When you have really talented kids it makes our lives very easy.”
The beginning of the summer can be rocky for most teams and Knights Baseball is no exception. They improved to 4-2 in the tournament after Tuesday’s win and are looking to hit their stride as the end of June approaches.
“They just need to stay focused and worry about what they can control,” said Walsh. “They don’t need to make up crazy scenarios and just focus on what we have to do.”
After long amateur careers, the players are aware that their time as high school baseball players is coming to a close. Walsh doesn’t expect their final summer to be much different than other summers, but he admits there is still a lot of baseball left to play.
“It’s early in the summer so I think they’re still trying to get to a certain crescendo in their game,” said Walsh. “I don’t think that they are ready to be done, typically when they were younger Perfect Game was the end of their summer, so I think it’s a weird feeling that they know they still have four or five more tournaments. I don’t think the intensity is different but it is certainly a different feeling.”
Strategically, Knights Baseball is a very aggressive team. They take advantage of hitters’ counts and pound the strike zone on the mound.
“We try to be aggressive with everything that we do,” said Walsh. “At the plate we want our kids to have an awareness of the situation but also to take aggressive offensive swings. On the mound we want our kids to attack the zone and not to waste pitches. We’d much rather go inside on an 0-2 pitch than try to waste a slider on the outside.”
Their game plan’s success was exemplified on the mound as their pitchers combined to throw a shutout and only allowed two walks. Daniel Wright, the No. 11 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Alabama for the class of 2016 and a Memphis commit, started on the mound and threw one scoreless inning. Wright remarked that he was returning from injury and just was looking to get a little work in.
“Throwing strikes, filling up the zone,” said Wright on his performance. “I’m coming back from injury so I’m just trying to get a feel back for my pitches.”
Sam Folks, the No. 6 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2016 and a University of Tennessee at Martin commit, came in and was a strike-throwing machine. He needed only 40 pitches to strike out five batters in four innings pitched. Adams came in to close out the game and seal the victory for Knights Baseball.
At 4-2 with one more game to play and two teams ahead of them in their bracket, Knights Baseball may not advance to the playoffs as they did in 2015, but they can still take pride in their accomplishments on the field as they prepare for the next chapter in their lives.