EMERSON, Ga. - It was a battle of two pitchers at Perfect Game Park South at LakePoint on Monday. The DSB Diablos Gold 14u Major and the All American Prospects were only able to score one run each, ending the game in a 1-1 tie after seven innings. Fortunately for the Diablos, they were able to maintain their undefeated status in the WWBA 14u National Championship.

“We just had two pitchers out here dominating. Both sides had guys throwing strikes. They were pumping the strike zone and neither team could scratch more than one run out,” said Diablos coach Eric Love.

Austin Hunter was on the mound throughout all seven innings for the Diablos. He struck out one, walked two and allowed two hits. At the plate, George Bielan went 2-for-2 with two singles. Jack Hardin and Collin Price both had a single as well. Justin Reid was the only one able to push a runner across home plate with a clutch RBI single in the top of the third inning.

“Justin Reid and Jack Hardin played solid defense all day and then they were the ones that got key hits when it counted so they were the reason that we played so well today.”

After winning their first four pool games and racking up 29 runs, this tie has brought them to the No. 2 spot in their pool, just behind Home Plate Dyal, who they will face on Wednesday.

“We played well in our previous games and were able to scratch some runs across,” said Love about their previous wins.

As a whole, the Diablos have done well at the plate. Tyler Odak is leading the team in RBI with six. Reid is 6-for-14 with four RBI.

On top of playing well offensively, the Diablos pitching has been solid as well. Zach Morochnik allowed no runs in his seven innings of work against Lamorinda 14u on Friday. Later that afternoon, Mitchell Werntz struck out six batters in his five innings on the mound against Team Easton 14u.

According to Love, the top players on the team are Hardin, Reid, Werntz and Josh Hudgins. He said they “really anchor the team and really hold it down offensively and defensively and are great kids.”

The DSB Diablos is an organization based out of Dunwoody, Ga. They have two 13-year-old teams, two 14-year-old teams, and one 15-year-old team. The 13's and 14’s are divided into a maroon team and a gold team.

“The gold teams have all went to World Series this year and played pretty well. The 15u team just got back from a World Series in Charleston and they did pretty well, and 13u just finished up in Panama City,” explained Love.

The Diablos organization has been around for three years. They run a three-year program that prepares the kids for high school baseball. They strive to provide top notch coaching and give the kids the opportunity to play at highly competitive levels. They are flexible in allowing players to try out new positions as they understand at this age, their positions will change throughout the next years.

The Diablos play in some of the top tournaments with high levels of competition to help prepare the kids for their future baseball careers. Love said they really enjoy playing in Perfect Game events.

“Perfect Game is great competition,” said Love. “I like the fact that they use wooden bats and I like the fact that the competition is stiff every weekend so the kids get better when playing in Perfect Game tournaments.

“[Our goal] is to make our players better every day and help them get seen so they can play for a solid high school program or a solid college program somewhere.”

The Diablos program is part of the Dunwoody Senior Baseball program. Their website explains that the DSB program is an organization that “has been providing players from 13 to 18 years of age and opportunity to play recreational and travel baseball for 35 years out of Dunwoody Park on Roberts Drive in the City of Dunwoody. The Diablos are an important part of that mission. DSB is unique in that it offers a baseball option for every player. Whether they prefer recreational play or a more competitive travel level of experience, DSB offers an option.”

“It’s a good program,” said Love. “If kids want to learn and get some good playing time, Diablos is a good place to be.”