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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/11/2016

TPL claims Southeast Qualifier

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Perfect Game


EMERSON, Ga. – TPL National captured the championship title at the WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1 with a win over East Cobb Baseball in the championship game by a score of 6-5. With this win, TPL has now clinched a spot in October’s WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla.

The game was scoreless through the first two innings as both starting pitchers brought their best stuff to the final game of the tournament. Garrett Wade, the No. 2 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Alabama for the class of 2018 and an Auburn commit, was impressive on the mound for East Cobb. Wade tossed two uneventful shutout innings for East Cobb but ran into some trouble in the third.

TPL broke through first between the two teams and plated three runs in the third inning. Cam McMillan, the No. 48 player in the state of Missouri for the class of 2018 and a Vanderbilt commit, led off the inning and his base running is what brought him home. On the following pitch McMillan stole second, and then he was stealing third when an errant throw by the catcher allowed him to come home for the early 1-0 lead. A run-scoring walk and an RBI fielder’s choice would increase the lead to 3-0. Wade’s final line was two innings pitched allowing three runs (only one earned) while striking out one.

The lead would continue to increase as TPL scored three more runs over the next two innings. An RBI single would be the only run scored in the fourth, but the fifth inning brought the fireworks. Jordon Adell, the No. 2 overall player for the class of 2017 and a Louisville commit, crushed a baseball high and far over the left field fence for a two-run home run to bring the lead to 6-0.

Tanner Stinnett was dominant on the mound for TPL. He finished his outing by pitching into the sixth inning, allowing one run to score while striking out one. The sixth and seventh innings are when East Cobb mounted their comeback.

Thanks to some poor command by the bullpen in the sixth, East Cobb’s patient approach paid off with three walks in the inning that culminated with a run-scoring walk and a sac fly to cut the lead to 6-2 heading into the final frame. In the seventh, East Cobb would plate another run with a run-scoring error. Sam Praytor, the No. 1 catcher in the state of Alabama for the class of 2017 and an Alabama commit, would then knock in two more with a two-run single and all of a sudden the lead was down to one run. The next batter would ground out and TPL was headed to Jupiter.

“It was great. We have a real good collection of guys together,” said manager Travis Coleman. “They’re like a collection of brothers. That’s what we’re big on is competing and competing as a band of brothers and we’re a family. We’re ready to come out and compete against great competition. On a great weekend and on 9/11, a special day for America. We paid homage and honor to everyone by competing. It was a terrific time.”

Coleman was most proud of the way his team competed all throughout the tournament. Winning six consecutive games in three days is challenging for any team, especially when the tournament was a single-game elimination format. Coleman was impressed at his team’s dedication and praised them for coming together as brothers.

“We tell them that there is a difference between playing and competing,” said Coleman. “Competitors go out there and take it to the competition from first pitch to last pitch. That’s what champions do and you keep your eyes on the prize and stay focused on the task at hand. The task at hand was to come here and take the trophy. Guys got better and that’s what we focus on with TPL. It’s great to see a guy like Jordon Adell, who’s come so far, take home the MVP and lead the guys out here.”

“For me it was awesome to come down here,” said Jordon Adell, who participated in the PG All-American Classic in San Diego in mid-August. “A lot of these guys haven’t played together a lot this summer like most of the teams in this tournament. But to come down and play as a team for two or three days was amazing.”

TPL will now continue their fall season relieved knowing that they will be heading to the WWBA World Championship. Coleman expects nothing from the best from his team and he knows that this team is going to be fiery and competitive come October.

“Our motto here is that if you stay ready than you don’t have to get ready,” said Coleman. “We’re going to continue to develop each week and we’re going to bring a solid team down there to compete like we do every single time. In between the white lines from first pitch to last pitch and that’s what we do. It’s going to be a joy to see these guys come together once again and build a bond of friendship that goes into their adult years. That’s what we’re going to do in Jupiter and we do every single time.”

The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Davis Sharpe, the No. 87 overall player for the class of 2018 and committed to Clemson, of East Cobb. Sharpe turned in a solid performance in the tournament by tossing five shutout innings and striking out eight. The MVP of the tournament was Adell for TPL. Adell crushed the ball all tournament and had eight hits (.471 batting average), with three doubles, seven RBI, five runs scored and his big home run during the championship game.

East Cobb defeated Mission Team Baseball by a score of 11-3 to advance to the championship round. Offense was the main story as they were led by Nolan Tressler, the No. 37 overall player in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017 and a Georgia Southern commit, and his perfect 4-for-4 day at the plate (which was also a cycle). Tressler started the scoring with a leadoff moonshot of a home run that traveled an estimated 406 feet. In total, East Cobb scored 11 runs on 16 hits to run rule Mission in the sixth inning.

Nelson Baseball School 18u fell to TPL National in a highly contested 4-3 ball game in the semifinal round. TPL put three runs up in the top of the first inning; two runs scored on errors, and Joe Gray Jr., the No. 4 overall player for the class of 2018, knocked in a run with an RBI double. Nelson would come back to tie the game in the third, however Bailey Sellers came into pitch during the inning and would not surrender a run the rest of the way. Gray would deliver the game-winning RBI in the top of the fifth inning with an RBI triple. Sellers would stifle the Nelson offense the rest of the way and TPL would advance to the championship.


2016 WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1 runner-up: East Cobb Baseball


2016 WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1 MVP: Jordon Adell



2016 WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1 MV-Pitcher: Davis Sharpe
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