FORT MYERS, Fla. – The 16u BCS Finals came to a close on Sunday morning as Clutch outlasted 643 DP Baseball Academy-Mang 5-0 to secure the BCS championship. Clutch lost only one game the entire tournament (9-1) and put together an impressive stretch run to make short work of bracket play. The toughest game in the playoffs for Clutch was their opening game against the Teel Ravens, a 6-5 victory, as they would allow only three runs total over their final four games.
The story of the championship game was Jacob Trantham and his dominant performance on the mound. Trantham finished with a complete game shutout and struck out six batters all in 93 pitches. He was attacking the strike zone all day, as evidenced by his 67-percent strike rate, and did an excellent job working ahead and mixing in off-speed.
The offense did not take long to arrive for Clutch as they scored four runs in the top of the first inning. The first run came home on an RBI single from Reed Beverly, the No. 3 outfielder in the state of Texas for the class of 2018, as his ground ball through the left side gave Clutch the early advantage. Later in the inning with two outs, Isaiah Faz delivered a huge blow to 643 as his line drive, bases-loaded double cleared the bases and gave Clutch a 4-0 lead heading into the bottom of the first.
Clutch would look to add to the lead in the top of the third inning. Faz, yet again, brought home a run on an RBI double to increase the lead to 5-0. That would signal the end of the line for 643’s starter and would be all the run support that Trantham needed to hold onto the lead.
Keeping 643 scoreless was a tall task for Clutch, but Trantham found a way to navigate the treacherous lineup. 643 would have runners on base every inning except for the first and the seventh, but Trantham was able to escape without any damage. In the third and sixth innings, 643 was able to get multiple runners on with two outs for Trantham to escape thanks to some stellar defense.
The bottom of the seventh was uneventful as Trantham was able to send the lineup down in order. He capped off his excellent performance with a strikeout and started the celebration of a BCS championship title.
The MVP of the tournament was Matthew Maldonado, the No. 26 righthanded pitcher in the state of Texas for the class of 2018, from Clutch. Maldonado finished with an insane slash line of .480/.563/1.040 and included two home runs, three triples, two doubles, 12 RBI and eleven runs scored. The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Trantham. In addition to his remarkable championship game performance, Trantham finished the tournament with a 1-0 record in 12 innings pitched with 12 strikeouts. He had a similarly dominant performance earlier in the tournament as his five-inning no-hitter over the Teel Ravens helped Clutch coast past them 8-0.
643 had an exciting 2-1 extra-inning victory over Florida Burn Platinum South in the semifinals to advance to the championship game. Both teams would score in the first inning that was capped off by Ethan Underwood’s RBI double to knot the game at one apiece. From that point on, pitching headlined this intense affair. Both teams managed to combine for a mere three total hits from innings two through seven.
Guillermo Granier was particularly impressive for 643 in his outing. He managed to throw an eight-inning complete game and allowed only one run to score while striking out three. Granier was remarkably efficient on the mound as he completed eight full with only 86 pitches, thus allowing him to remain sharp and to keep the bullpen fresh for 643.
643 was able to get a walk-off victory in the bottom half of the eighth. With two outs, 643 was able to get runners on the corners thanks to a hit by a pitch followed by a single to right field. Ryland Goede came up with the clutch game-winning RBI single on a line drive to center field and send the winning dugout into a frenzy.
Clutch had another signature, dominant performance with a 9-1 win over Elite Squad South Prime to advance to the championship game. Trailing early, Clutch was able to put up nine runs in three innings to secure the victory.
John Hoyle, the No. 17 righthanded pitcher in the state of Texas for the class of 2018, was filthy on the mound for Clutch. In his complete game, five-inning performance Hoyle allowed one unearned run and struck out seven batters while only allowing three hits.
Elite Squad jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but Clutch responded in the top of the second inning. Thanks to an RBI single from Isaiah Faz, the score was tied at one heading into the bottom of the frame. With Hoyle’s electric pitching, Clutch would have a chance to score more runs.
The big blow came in the third inning where the Clutch offense exploded for five runs. Brett Baty started the scoring with an RBI single to give Clutch the lead. Matthew Maldonado was the next batter and he broke the game open with a three-run triple to center field. The next batter was Brittan Howeth, the No. 7 outfielder in the state of Texas for the class of 2018, and his RBI single gave Clutch a 6-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
Clutch was able to tack on three more runs in the top of the fourth to seal the game. Jacob Navejas, the No. 4 catcher in the state of Texas for the class of 2018, rocketed a two-run double to bring the lead to 8-1. He would come home to score later in the frame on an error and Clutch had built up its 9-1 lead in only three offensive innings.
Hoyle was on cruise control from there on out. He finished the game with two perfect innings in the fourth and fifth and helped Clutch secure their berth in the championship game.
2016 16u BCS Finals runner-up: 643 DP Baseball Academy-Mang
2016 16u BCS Finals MVP: Matthew Maldonado
2016 16u BCS Finals MV-Pitcher: Jacob Trantham
