EMERSON,
Ga. – The quarterfinals for the 2015 18u WWBA National Championship
featured some exciting action, as some of the nation’s top travel
baseball teams competed for a chance to move on to the semifinals in
one of the most prestigious events of the year. There were a few
familiar faces in this round, such as the East Cobb Yankees, Astros
and Team Elite Prime, and a lot of people consider these clubs the
favorites to take home the championship trophy tomorrow afternoon.
However,
there are a few teams that may steal the show when it is all said and
done.
It’s
a common reoccurrence for the EC Astros and Yankees to be playing
late into a tournament, but only one of them would be advancing after
today. There was an East Cobb showdown between the two teams in the
quarterfinals that featured some power arms.
Team
Elite Prime also had a legitimate ace on the mound, Andrew Schultz,
who sat in the low-90s and peaked as high as 96 mph with his
fastball, striking out eight batters and allowing just one hit in a
five-inning complete game performance. Prime took care of the BigStix
Gamers pretty easily with a huge nine-run third inning and eventually
won 9-0. The Yankees cruised to a 4-0 win behind the a two-hit
complete game effort by hard-throwing righty Keyton Gibson, and the
stage was now set for semifinal bout between the two teams.
Those
games came and went, and the attention shifted to an interesting
matchup between Team Louisiana and East Cobb Team Wilson. Both these
teams were undefeated throughout this tournament at 8-0, but had
flown a little bit under the radar due to the powerhouse programs
stealing away all the headlines. They both came into the quarterfinal
matchup with a chip on their shoulder, and the game would come down
to who wanted it more.
To
start the game, the intensity surrounding this matchup was unlike any
other, and one could tell that both teams were going to have to give
110 percent effort on this muggy and humid Thursday afternoon.
Unfortunately for Team Wilson, what started as a promising game for
them after they quickly put one on the board in the second to take
the lead, eventually turned into a blowout.
Team
Louisiana, hailing from Erath, La., are quite used to these weather
conditions, and it did not seem to slow them down one bit. The first
three innings were pretty tight between the two, and the score was
even at 1-1 before the game got out hand in the fourth inning. That
fourth inning would prove to be the difference in the game.
The
monster inning began with a bang, as Louisiana-Lafayette commit,
Dylon Poncho, belted a towering home run over the left field fence to
set the tone. After that, base hits came easy to Team Louisiana and
they continued with rip after rip. A two-run base knock by their
catcher, Joseph LaGreco, really got the ball rolling in this inning,
and by the end of the frame the score would be 8-1.
Aaron George was sharp, going the distance in Team Louisiana's 14-1 win in five innings.
There
was still a little bit of fight left in Team Wilson, but after
another crazy output of offense by Team Louisiana in the fifth
inning, the deficit was just too much to overcome. They scored six
more runs in the fifth inning to make the score 14-1, and now it was
up to their starter, Aaron George to do what he had been doing all
game; put another zero up. That he did, and the game would finish
14-1 after just five innings.
George
was superb in his start today, and featured an upper-80s fastball
that he could spot virtually anywhere on the plate. To complement
that fastball he also had a hard, sweeping slider that was
untouchable throughout the five innings he pitched. He would only
allow three hits on the day, with just one run allowed.
“I
knew the opposing team was good, so I just wanted to come in and
throw strikes, get groundballs, get outs,” said George of his
performance. “I put my blinders on, and focused on one batter at a
time. When I was looking for a strikeout, I would go outside
fastball, then come back with a breaking ball, and that was kinda the
formula for getting those outs. I think we’re looking good heading
into the semifinals.”
The
combination of George’s awesome job on the mound, mixed with the 16
hits that Team Louisiana produced, led to the huge win over Team
Wilson, and it was a complete team effort from all aspects of the
game.
If
anyone stood out, though, it was Dylon Poncho. Whenever you display
power like he did throughout this game, you’re sure to get noticed,
but he was just happy that his team played well and that they are
advancing. Aside from the all-around great day at the plate for
everybody in Team Louisiana’s lineup, Poncho’s huge home run in
the fourth inning was the highlight of this game.
“I
was sitting fastball today, because the first at-bat he threw three
fastballs by me,” Poncho said of his approach. “So the next time
up I was ready for it. I feel great about how I’ve played so far,
but we as a team have done amazing all the way through the lineup.
“It
would feel amazing to win this tournament; everybody has been working
so hard all summer. We need more energy and effort; early in this
game we were going through the motions. We have to make sure we step
it up next game.”
It’s
no surprise that Team Louisiana put up a ridiculous amount of runs
this game since they had scored almost 70 coming into it. Their
talent certainly matches up with other top programs in the country,
with 11 players committed to college. They even have a few guys
committed to big-time D-I schools including LSU and
Louisiana-Lafayette.
Team
Louisiana is relatively unknown, as they haven’t claimed any big
Perfect Game titles in recent years, but they look to get on the map
as they advance to the semifinals in this year’s 18u WWBA National
Championship. Head Coach Jeremy Picard likes their chances, and
hopes the bats continue to stay hot.
“Key
factor in both games was the pitching,” said an enthusiastic Coach
Picard after the game. “They kept us in the game, and then the
offense came around. The first three innings were slow, but a talk in
between innings helped. I just wanted to make them realize the stage
they were on, and the opportunity they had. They were a little
sluggish after that first game this morning, but then really picked
it up in that fourth inning.
“If
our bats stay where they are, and we do the little things, we can win
the next two games. We belong in this spot, and we believe we can win
it.”