Contributing: Tyler Linn
EMERSON, Ga. – As another action-packed weekend at LakePoint’s new Perfect Game Park South passes, another champion is named in the facility’s inaugural season. The Upstate Mavericks were propelled by a big fourth inning to lead them to the first-ever PG Elite Underclass Championship title and cap off a 5-0 weekend.
“It feels great,” said tournament Most Valuable Pitcher Russ Branch. “The team played really well. We played great together and really came together this weekend.”
The Upstate Mavericks met the BigStix Gamers Cardinal 17u in the inaugural event’s championship game, where the two would take turns trading runs.
The visiting Upstate Mavericks got the scoring started with a two-out rally in the top of the third inning that began with a walk, followed by a line drive double to right field by Douglas Angeli Jr. that drove in the run.
A few walks in the bottom half of the inning and a fielding error knotted the game up at 1-1 before Upstate tallied five runs in a loud fourth inning.
A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases to start the frame before a one-out passed ball brought home Clayton Caudell. Immediately following the passed ball, Joey Allen tripled to deep centerfield to drive home another pair of runs and expand the Mavericks lead to 4-1. A groundout brought home Allen and two more singles produced the fifth run of the inning to complete a huge frame and give the Mavericka a very manageable 6-1 lead.
“We hit in the situations we needed to and we put up the big number today in the championship game,” said Mavericks head coach Doug Angeli.
However, BigStix wouldn’t go away so easily. A couple of singles and two walks factored into a three-run bottom of the fifth inning, which kept the Mavericks on their toes before Branch came in to record the final two outs and earn a championship game save to cap off a great tournament from the bump.
“They’re a really good team,” Angeli said of the BigStix Gamers. “They had a good pitcher, but we matched them up with another good pitcher and we threw strikes, played good defense, and swung the bat when we needed to. We didn’t seem to get nervous in the big situations when we needed to move guys and get guys in. We were locked in with pitching and I think knowing that, our guys didn’t feel pressure to score every time they came up.”
The Mavericks pitching was overwhelming to opponents all weekend, posting a 1.27 earned run average (6 earned runs in 33 innings pitched) and a 1.00 WHIP. The staff was held together by Branch, who threw 6.2 innings over four relief appearances. Branch allowed just one base runner and was 2-for-2 in save opportunities.
“The biggest key is he wants the ball in the big situations and everybody knows it,” said Angeli. “He’s gonna throw strikes and he’s tough to hit. He’s got an awkward motion and a ton of movement on his ball, so it’s hard to square him up. Defensively, we’re on our toes because he’s not gonna strike a lot of guys out.”
“I think we’ve got a lot more good stuff coming our way if we keep playing well,” Branch said. “Our defense was outstanding this weekend.”
The defense was nearly flawless, posting a .973 fielding percentage through five games, committing only four errors, but there was really no weakness to the Mavericks’ game this tournament. They also finished with a respectable .283 batting average (34-for-120) with a .456 on-base percentage thanks to 33 walks.
“A lot of it’s got to do with knowing we can go out there as a team and win,” said Angeli. “They feel like they can do whatever they want and they can beat anybody. On the other hand, we don’t wanna go out there and feel like we can just throw ourselves on the field and win, too.”
The Mavericks outscored opponents 34-9 over the course of five games, averaging nearly 7 runs scored per game. They entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed and used a dramatic extra-inning comeback win in the semifinals to beat the Georgia Jackets, 3-2.
The BigStix Gamers, the No. 1 seed in the playoffs, took a very different path to the title game. They outscored opponents 27-2 before falling short in the championship, including a 12-1 semifinal win over Home Plate Chilidogs-Childs.
The Gamers finished the tournament with a .307 batting average (35-for-114), a 1.63 earned run average, and a .963 fielding percentage. They were paced, offensively, by tournament MVP Bo Townsend, who hit .429 (6-for-14) with 6 runs and a .500 on-base percentage. He turned in three multi-hit performances, including a 2-for-4 showing in the championship.
“The key was just getting my timing down and seeing the ball well, that’s about it,” Townsend said. “We’ve got a lot of momentum going, we just didn’t hit the ball as well in the championship game.”
In the other dugout, the Mavericks hope to use this weekend’s tournament win as fuel for next weekend’s WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2 in hopes of earning an automatic paid invitation to the prestigious WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla. and again at the WWBA Underclass World Championship in Fort Myers, Fla.
One thing is for sure, the Upstate Mavericks will return to LakePoint with a ton of confidence next weekend and will be a team to watch out for.