WOODSTOCK,
Ga. – It’s been a busy summer thus far, and many teams are
starting to feel the wear and tear of the heat and games played, but
for teams competing in the 2015 17u WWBA National Championship, there
will be no time to lick any wound. The time has arrived to begin pool
play for this year’s National Championship tournament, and many
teams are feeling the adrenaline of that first set of games.
Some
teams are just happy to be here and compete against some of the top
talent in the world, and some teams came with only one goal in mind;
win the whole thing. It’s a long shot, but you have to come in with
the mentality that you’re capable of doing well here or you will
get eaten alive. From teams that have rosters with all college
commitments to teams who have none, anyone has a chance to win any
game in such an unpredictable game like baseball.
The
teams who are more tenured at these types of events – like East
Cobb Baseball, Team Elite and FTB – are not going to settle for
anything less than a deep playoff run, but there is always a chance
that an underdog crashes the party and spoils it.
One
team who won’t be overlooking any of their opponents is the
EvoShield Canes. With that mentality, it is no surprise that they
were the champions of this event last year, and it doesn’t hurt
that literally every single player on their roster has committed to a
Division I school or is dealing with an overflow of offers. This is
quite simply an absurd collection of talent that includes rising
seniors from the West Coast spanning to the East.
Head
Coach Jeff Petty and his team of coaches over at the Evoshield
headquarters in Virginia do an amazing job of recruiting these young
men, but to them, it’s as simple as just identifying the best
talent and asking them to play for them.
“We
try to find players that are professional prospects and if they fit
into what we need, we ask them to come play for us,” said Coach
Petty. “If it’s a fit for both parties, then it works out.”
The
Canes would get their 2015 WWBA National Championship campaign
underway against the SJ Elite. Spectators from all over the East Cobb
complex gravitated to this game, and by the time the first pitch was
being thrown, there were hundreds of people there. The atmosphere
certainly provided a high level of intensity, as if it wasn’t
intense enough already, but like a true reigning champion, the Canes
stayed calm and collected.
Right
from the start, the Canes showed why they were the defending champs
by making not one, but two ridiculously challenging infield plays to
get out of the first inning and let their bats get to work.
Compared
to last year’s championship team, Coach Petty feels that this team
isn't quite as strong when it comes to dominant pitching. However, it
would be hard to top last year's special unit of arms that included
PG All-Americans Beau Burrows and Ashe Russell, who were named the
co-Most Valuable Pitchers of th event, as well as lefthander Logan
Allen.
Given
that their pitching staff stole the show with game after game of
lights out pitching, there wasn't as much of a necessity for the bats
to put up big numbers on a day-by-day basis. However, this year could
be different, although his club did blank SJ Elite in an 8-0 victory
to open pool play on Friday and then picked up a second win against
Gatorball Baseball Academy by a score of 5-1.
“I
think offensively, we have more prospects than we had last year,”
Petty said of his lineup. “On the mound, it’s not as much. We had
fours guys drafted in the first round off of last year’s club, so
it’s going to be hard to repeat that. We don’t have that per se,
but I think we are deeper on the mound.
“There’s
not a lot of difference between our ace and our 10th guy.
Nothing against the guys we do have this year, but I guess we will
see if any of these guys can step up and rise to the occasion. I
think that what we may be missing on the mound could be made up for
with our bats.”
Someone
who may be of service to the Canes is top prospect and San Diego
State commit, Avery Tuck. Tuck, who is going into his senior year at
Steele Canyon High School, just received the announcement of his life
the other night. Tuck had the fortunate opportunity to be the first
one named to the Perfect GameAll-American Classic. He will now join
an elite company of players that have played in high school
baseball's elite all-star style event, including established big
league stars such as Buster Posey, Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper,
as well as emerging ones including Carlos Correa, Addison Russell and
Kris Bryant.
The
Classic is scheduled for Sunday, August 16 at Petco Park and it will
be the 13th annual edition of this prestigious event.
While Tuck, as well as fellow San Diego native Mickey Moniak, were
already announced to be participating in this year's Classic, the
rest of the squad will be unveiled on Monday, July 13 as part of a
Selection Show streamed on MLB.com.
Coach
Petty feels that Tuck is well deserving of this honor.
“Tuck
is a guy that we are happy to have picked up. He brings something to
this team that not a lot of guys can bring and we hope that he can
just play to his ability and have himself a nice week.”
Tuck
feels that he can bring a hot bat and some speedy base running to
this already loaded EvoShield Canes team. Tuck is the fourth-ranked
player in the country for the 2016 class, and the No. 1 ranked
outfielder and position prospect. Coming into the PG National
Showcase, Tuck was slightly unknown as far as top 10 overall
prospects are concerned, but he really shot up after he displayed an
enormous amount of power. He showed a 93 mph arm from the outfield,
and scouts really feel like he is a true five-tool player.
Joining him on the Canes' roster are seemingly countless other elite players
from the 2016 class including Joe Rizzo, Nicholas Quintana, and Dion
Henderson. Tuck hopes to stand out and help the Canes repeat at the
2015 17u WWBA National Championship this week after exploding onto
the scene in the month of June.
“Being
selected is awesome,” Tuck said of the honor of being selected to
play in the PG All-American Classic. “I’ve never been a part of
anything like this. It’s gonna be amazing and a lot of fun.
“The
National Showcase was big for me. I’ve never done something as big
as that showcase, and it was honor being there. I had a lot of fun. I
was just relaxed and before the game I was just working on keeping my
swing fluid. Going into the Classic, I just wanna do what I did at
the National Showcase.”
Tuck,
a San Diego resident, has grown up with the PG All-American Classic
being played in his backyard, and even as a young player, he
remembers watching past players before him compete in this highly
respected event.
“I’ve
heard a lot about the game and watched a couple of guys go through
it, like Bryce Harper and what not. My dad and I, we always follow
the game and luckily I got invited.”
Even
though Tuck is excited for the Classic, he is the kind of player that
doesn’t let accolades cloud his focus. He is ready to contribute to
this Canes team in any way possible, and feels that this team has a
real chance to win it all again. And he did his part on Friday, going
2-for-3 with a double, a sacrifice fly, two walks, two runs scored,
two stolen bases and four driven in the Canes' two victories to open
the tournament.
“I
just want to do what I can for the team and hopefully get another
championship.”