After rain halted play on Sunday, the 10u and 12u Super25 tournaments were both packed with games on Monday, as play started early in the morning and lasted well into the night. The day was full of great games that led to the final two teams being decided. The National Championships will be played on Tuesday and will be streamed live from the Perfect Game website.
Easton Elite (Whittier, CA) and the Banditos (Tomball, TX) emerged as the two best teams from the 10u tournament. They will battle it out for the championship Tuesday at 12:15 ET.
Easton Elite started the tournament with a bang, scorching through their competition with great pitching and dominant hitting. They won their first game 3-2, but then rattled off double-digit scoring barrages in their next three games while limiting their opponents to three runs total. They are led by Jesus Villalobos, who is a star for them on both the mound and at the plate.
The Banditos have been just as impressive, going 5-0-1 during the tournament. McKaylon Bowie powers their offense. He is a first baseman with a sweet left-handed swing, and he has mashed five home runs in six games during tournament play.
The Banditos and Easton Elite played on Monday, and considering how that game went, the championship should be a classic. Villalobos hit a two-run home run in the top of the first, but the Banditos stormed back with five runs in the bottom half of the frame. Easton Elite climbed back into the game, but couldn’t catch up to the Banditos in the end, losing 6-5. If the title game is anything like their Monday-battle, it should be a great one to watch.
It was a wild day in the 12u tournament, with a number of teams still in contention for the second spot in the championship game Tuesday.
The Home Plate Chilidogs – Schmits (Sharpsburg, GA) locked up a championship-game berth early on in the day. Their offense carried them throughout the tournament, as they scored 10 or more runs in all but one game. They’ve caused havoc on opposing pitchers throughout their lineup, but Joseph Eichelberger, Evan Eskew, Alan Fluellen and Cameron Foster have been especially effective this week.
The last spot in the title game was up for grabs all day, as every game became more meaningful than the previous. Starting the day, the East Coast Bombers (Charleston, SC) came in undefeated and it looked like they would make the final game easily. However, they ran into a buzzsaw in their first game in the form of East Coast Jays (Oceanside, NY) right-hander Dylan Castaneda. Castaneda was the star from the day, boasting great athleticism on the mound and showing fluid, clean mechanics, throwing up to 78 with his fastball. They then lost a tough game to Home Plate, and were suddenly tied with four other teams. The Bombers were able to rally and win their last game of the day, holding onto the final spot in the title game as the other teams fell short.
The 12u Super25 championship will be a battle of exceptional pitching and elite hitting.
The Bombers will send left-hander Geoffrey Gilbert to the mound. Gilbert threw a no-hitter in the first game of the tournament, striking out 16 batters in six innings while only walking one. He reached the low-80s with his fastball, an incredibly impressive feat for someone at the 12u level.
Home Plate will send Eichelberger to the mound, who is no slouch in his own right, and he should cause problems for the Bombers offense. At the plate, coach Tony Schmits explained that the Chilidogs will approach Gilbert like any other pitcher they face. “We’re going to make him throw strikes, see some pitches, take him deep in the game, and we’re going to work oppo, what we’ve been doing all year long.”
The 12u title game will be a battle between two goliaths, as the Bombers pitching and Chilidogs hitting are the best that the 12u age level has to offer throughout the country.