Over this past Memorial Day weekend, the 14U East Cobb Braves claimed First Place in the USSSA Georgia Super NIT tournament at the East Cobb Baseball Complex and surrounding high school diamonds in Marietta, GA. Having already won a berth into the USSSA Elite 32 World Series via a Second Place finish in the rain-shortened Tennessee Super NIT in Kingport at the beginning of May, today's victory was a significant accomplishment that more than solidifies the 2009 Braves as an elite team in the 14U age bracket.
Twenty teams from the southeast competed over the four day tournament as USSSA's "Road To Disney" made its annual stop in North Georgia. After going 2-1 in pool play and emerging as the fifth seed overall in Monday's championship bracket, the Braves defeated three top-ranked USSSA teams enroute to their First Place finish today. The victories included a 10-2 win over the East Cobb Titans in the quarterfinals, a 6-5 win over the Sandy Plains Wildcats in the semifinals, and a 7-2 win over the Hanover Heat in the Championship Game. In bracket play, the Braves outscored and outhit their opponents 23-9 and 29-20 respectively.
When asked about the weekend accomplishment, Manager Shane Monahan commented that it was a total team effort that demonstrated significant improvement by his players over the past two months. "My players believed in their abilities this weekend, and the results were no surprise to those of us who know what this team is capable of doing," said Monahan.
The Braves will next compete in the CABA Georgia State Championship, the USSSA Georgia Major State Championship, and the Perfect Game World Wood Bat Championship. Then, their trip to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando for the USSSA Elite 32 World Series will mark the culmination of 7 months of hard work in mid-July.