Iowa
Select Black plows through Upperclass competition
EMERSON,
Ga. – The Iowa Select Black program finished a perfect 6-0 to claim
the championship at the 2015 WWBA Upperclass Labor Day Classic at
LakePoint with an 8-2 win over the Triton Rays. The championship game
was somewhat of a rematch of the Underclass title game that saw the
Rays come out on top of Iowa Select Navy earlier in the day.
The
Black squad in the upperclass portion of the event was named the No.
1 seed entering playoff competition on Sunday, and overall out-scored
their opponents 45-4 with a dominant display of both hitting and
pitching.
Three
hitters – Preston Blount (Lake St. Louis, Mo.), Connor Van Scoyoc
(Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and Ben Norman (Des Moines, Iowa) – provided
run-scoring singles in Iowa Select Black's four-run second inning,
which proved to be all the runs the team would need. They put the
game out of reach in the sixth inning with three more runs, as Mount
Vernon, Iowa's Luke Eldred led off the frame with a solo home run.
Talented
2016 lefthander Spencer Van Scoyoc, the older brother of Connor who
has committed to play college ball at Arizona State, worked the first
four innings of the championship game, allowing just one run on one
base hit while striking out five. Eldred, who provided four scoreless
innings in the first game of the tournament for Iowa Select Black,
tossed two more scoreless frames in relief of Van Scoyoc.
Iowa
Select Black beat the No. 4-seeded Nelson Baseball School 18u earlier
on Monday 6-0 in the semifinals to advance to the championship game.
Norman and Grant Judkins (Pella, Iowa) both had three RBI in that
contest, while Brady Stover (Huxley, Iowa) hurled six scoreless
innings of one-hit ball, fanning eight batters. It was one of three
shutouts the Black squad tossed.
For
his dominant semifinal performance, Stover was named the event's Most
Valuable Pitcher.
“I
think it's the type of kids that we get,” Iowa Select and League
Director Steve James said after his program's successful finish on
Monday. “They're talented, but they enjoy hanging out together as a
team. They have the experience, they look forward to the fall, play
hard and can compete with anyone. It's a good group of kidsthat love
to play together.”
James
coached the program's Navy squad (one of five Iowa Select teams that
competed in Georgia) that finished as the runner-up of the Labor Day
Underclass Championship at LakePoint. Iowa Select Red and Steel
finished 3-1 and 2-1 respectively in the Upperclass portion of the
tournament while Iowa Select Royal finished the Underclass tournament
4-1 with a third place finish.
“All
five of our teams practice together,” James continued of his
program's success. “Everyone in our program helps one another. The
older guys help the younger guys (and) it's just one big unit.”
DeAndre
Pitts (Troy, Ala.) of the Rays was named the Most Valuable Player by
providing a .312/.476/.812 triple slash line. Of his five base hits
(5-for-16), he hit a triple and two home runs, scored five runs and
drove in eight.
The
Triton Rays knocked off the No. 2 and 3 seeded GBSA Rays American and
National squads in the semifinal and quarterfinal rounds respectively
to advance and finished the tournament 5-1.
– Patrick
Ebert
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Upperclass) runner-up: Triton Rays
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Upperclass) MVP: DeAndre Pitts
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Upperclass) MV-Pitcher: Brady Stover
Triton
Rays make unbeaten run to LD at LP Underclass title
EMERSON,
Ga. – The Triton Rays made the most of eight hits and took
advantage of five fielding errors and swatted Iowa Select Navy, 12-4,
in the championship game at the Labor Day at LakePoint (Underclass)
tournament Monday at Perfect Game Park South.
The
championship game victory completed a 6-0-0 sweep of the 28-team
field for the Montgomery, Ala.-based and No. 3-seeded Rays; No. 1
Iowa Select Navy from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, finished 5-1-0.
The
Rays pushed across three runs in the top of the second inning, with
David Bohn delivering an RBI double and later stealing home. Javonte
Williams walked and stole home as part of a two-run third and an RBI
double off the bat of Baker Weldon in the top of the sixth gave the
Rays a 6-2 lead after 5½.
Triton
put an exclamation point on the 12-4 victory with a six-run seventh,
highlighted by Williams stealing home for a second time; four of the
six runs were earned. Weldon and Boan each doubled and drove in a
pair of runs for the Rays in the title-game win.
Iowa
Select Navy plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the second on a
hard RBI groundout from Gregory Bennett and a sacrifice fly from
Ethan Hayes. Brayden Frazier smacked an RBI double and Anthony Alepra
drove in a run with a hard groundout as part of a two-run sixth that
brought Navy within 6-4, but the Rays delivered the knockout punch in
the top of the seventh.
Iowa
Select Navy 2017 third baseman Izaya Ono-Fullard from Iowa City –
the No. 1-ranked Iowa 2017 prospect – was named the tournament’s
Most Valuable Player after hitting .625 (10-for-16) with a double,
two triples, five RBI, nine runs scored and a 1.622
on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
Rays’
2017 right-hander Dalton Wilder from Salem, Ala., picked up the MV
Pitcher award after throwing seven very effective innings in two
appearances without allowing a run on three hits and striking out
nine without issuing a walk.
The
Triton Rays, Iowa Select Navy, No. 4 Iowa Select Royal (Cedar Rapids,
Iowa) and No. 7 Trojans Baseball (Gainesville, Ga.) all advanced to
Monday’s semifinal round after winning quarterfinal-round games
Sunday afternoon.
The
two Iowa Select teams matched up in one of the semifinal games, with
powerful Navy – which outscored its four pool-play opponents by a
combined 37-1 – grabbing a 10-4 victory over Royal (4-1-0). The
Rays topped Trojans Baseball (3-2-0), 8-0, in the other semifinal.
– Jeff
Dahn
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Underclass) champions: Triton
Rays
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Underclass) runner-up: Iowa
Select Navy
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Underclass) MVP: Izaya
Ono-Fullard
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Underclass) MV-Pitcher: Dalton
Wilder
Busty
Bulls capture LD at LP Freshman crown
EMERSON,
Ga. – Shane Howell and Chuckie Fishbaugh contributed in big ways
both at the plate and from the mound, and the Busty Bulls 14u
followed them to a 5-1 win over the Southern Athletics in Monday’s
championship game at the Labor Day at LakePoint (Freshman) tournament
played at Perfect Game Park South.
The
Busty Bulls 14u, from Wellington, Fla., worked their way through the
10-team field with a 5-1-0 record while the Southern Athletics, out
of Fletcher, N.C., finished 3-2-1.
Howell
and Fishbaugh – a pair of 2019 right-handers – combined on a
two-hitter without giving up an earned run, striking out 11 and
walking three. Howell was 1-for-2 with a pair of RBI; Fishbaugh went
2-for-3 with a run scored.
This
was the second time in three days the tandem helped the Bulls 14u to
victory. They combined on a four-hitter without giving up an earned
run while striking out eight and walking three – they also plunked
four batters – in a 6-1 pool-play win over Team 360 Baseball on
Saturday. Howell singled twice and drove in two runs and Fishbaugh
doubled and drove in a run in that victory.
Other
key contributors in Monday win were Ethan Kramer, who was 2-for-3
with two RBI, and Jose Gonzalez, who doubled, singled and scored a
run.
The
Bulls 14u’s Gonzalez, a 2019 shortstop from Wellington, Fla., was
named the Most Valuable Player, finishing 9-for-19 (.474) with two
doubles, a triple, four RBI, four runs and a 1.208 OPS. Bulls 14u’s
2019 right-hander Jeremy Neff from Royal Palm Beach, Fla., earned
Most Valuable Pitcher recognition after allowing one earned run in 7
2/3 innings (0.91 ERA) on six hits with nine strikeouts and three
walks in two appearances.
The
Busty Bulls 14u finished 3-1-0 in pool-play, good enough for a
runner-up finish to the Triton Rays North 14u from Muscle Shoals,
Ala., which handed the Bulls 14u their only loss of the tournament.
The Bulls 14u then reached the championship game by rolling past the
Elite Gamers RWB (4-1-0) from McDonough, Ga., 10-1, in one of the two
semifinal games played Monday morning.
The
Southern Athletics finished second in their pool with a 2-1-1 record
and then surprised the Triton Rays North 14u (3-2-0) with a 6-4
victory in Monday’s other semifinal.
– Jeff
Dahn
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Freshman) champions: Busty Bulls
14u
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Freshman) runner-up: Southern
Athletics
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Freshman) MVP: Jose Gonzalez
2015
WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Freshman) MV-Pitcher: Jeremy
Neff
