EMERSON, Ga. – As another weekend comes to an end at the must-see Perfect Game Park South at LakePoint, another automatic paid invitation to the coveted WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla. was won. The Chattanooga Cyclones were all smiles when holding the WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2 Champions banner for the team photo after knocking off MBA Pride Elite in convincing fashion.
“It feels awesome,” said Chattanooga Cyclones head coach George Koontz. “A lot of these guys have been with us for four or five years and we’ve got probably two or three pro prospects, but we’re mainly just a blue collar grind-it-out team and I think you saw that here.”
MBA Pride Elite got off to the fast start, putting a run on the board in the top of the first inning. Alec Sanchez led off the game with a hard-hit single, followed by a walk of Mervyl “MJ” Melendez and a one-out RBI single off the bat of Chase Sanguinetti.
They avoided potential trouble in the bottom of the second when, with runners on first and second and none out, pitcher Altoon Coleman made a diving catch on a bunt attempt and turned it into a double play.
Momentum wouldn’t hold for long, however, as the Cyclones would send 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the third and put up a seven spot to take a commanding lead. Walks were the issue for the Pride, who walked six in the inning and sent three different pitchers to the mound in an effort to control the damage.
The big inning was highlighted by a two-RBI double to left field off the bat of Hunter Oliver, which broke a 1-1 tie at the time and gave the Cyclones a 3-1 inning. Cade Evans contributed to the cause with a big two-out RBI single to left field to make it 5-1 before a couple of walks and a wild pitch would cap off the big inning.
The Cyclones added a lone run in the fifth before Nick Gaddis started off the sixth frame with a triple that two-hopped the batter’s eye in an impressive display of power. With two outs, Corbin Brooksbank connected for a walk-off single up the middle to score Gaddis and give Chattanooga the eight-run mercy rule win.
“We’ve been to the round of sixteen before, but this is the first thing we’ve ever won that’s Perfect Game, so it’s huge for the program and huge for the guys,” Koontz said. “It means a lot to the program.”
For many of the Cyclones players, it’s a long awaited opportunity to show professional scouts and college recruiters what they can do at the highest level of amateur baseball on the biggest stage Perfect Game has to offer.
“They’re really pumped,” said Koontz. “I think we’ve got a chance if we can get everybody healthy. We’ve got a couple of our pitchers that aren’t healthy, but if we can get them healthy then we can go down there and compete.”
It was not an easy path to the championship for Chattanooga, who battled to beat many good teams like the East Cobb Astros 17u, the BigStix Gamers 18u, and TGBA Blue Borcherding en route to a 5-0 record entering the title game.
The Cyclones outscored opponents 26-7 on its way to a No. 4 seed in the playoffs. As a team, they tallied 44 hits (44-for-151) and finished the tournament with a .291 batting average and .419 on-base percentage.
The pitching played a huge role in the Cyclones’ tournament run, surrendering just five earned runs through 41 innings of work. The staff combined for an impressive 0.85 earned run average and a respectable 1.20 WHIP (walks/hits per innings pitched).
“We’ve been pumped all weekend and have played better at each stage,” Koontz said. “We’ve actually played better in the playoffs than we did in our pool, so I’m really so proud of these guys.”
The Cyclones offense had six different players with at least 15 plate appearances hit over .300 on the weekend, while the pitching staff saw complete game performances out of Cole Vaughn, Jackson Bell, and Gaddis.
“We’ve got some core guys here that have been with us since they were 12-years-old and they love each other and because of that, it comes out,” said Koontz.
The excitement was evident among the close-knit group, who were eager to pose for a team picture with the banner that reads ‘CHAMPIONS’. You could catch several players talking to each other about their well-deserved trip to Jupiter. They sounded just as eager to take advantage of the big-stage opportunity they will get at the end of October.
“We’ve got as many sophomores on this team as we do seniors, so I think the core of these guys that are younger are gonna be heard from for a while,” Koontz added.
Calling all coaches and scouts: be sure to check out this youthful yet battle-tested Chattanooga Cyclones squad while you’re in Jupiter. You won’t be disappointed.