Jupiter, Fla. , October 26-30, 2006
TOP 10 HIGHLIGHTS
SATURDAY, Oct. 28
COMPILED BY ALLAN SIMPSON
The top 10 highlights from the second full day of play Saturday at the World Wood Bat fall championship:
1. ABD goes extra yard. California ?€™s ABD Bulldogs tossed their third straight shutout in a key 4-0, Pool A win over Pennsylvania ?€™s All-Star Baseball Academy , which also was undefeated entering the game. Senior righthander Randy Yard (Palm Desert, Calif. ) threw a no-hitter through five innings, striking out five, but ABD lost a no-hit bid in the seventh when senior righthander Deryk Hooker (San Diego ) allowed singles to the first two ASBA hitters, though he got out of the inning unscathed.
2. Best of the Morales trio. Righthander Joel Morales, one of three top players named Morales on the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy team, stood out in a 4-2 win over the South Charlotte Panthers, walking none and striking out 13 (most on the day) in a complete game, four-hitter. He mixed three pitches for strikes, including an 85-88 mph fastball. Center fielder Angel Morales, the top-ranked player in Puerto Rico for the 2007 draft, went 1-for-2 with two runs and two stolen bases.
3. First four-hit game. Georgia ?€™s OTC Bearcats run-ruled the Austin Baseball Club, 8-0, as DH Tim Jones went 4-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs. It was the only four-hit game of the tournament so far. At 6-foot-6, Jones is actually more highly regarded as a pitching prospect.
4. Next East Cobb pitching ace. The pre-tournament favorite East Cobb Astros won their third straight game as junior lefthander Brett DeVall, who was moved up to the Astros after pitching East Cobb to the WWBA Underclassmen championship earlier this month, worked the first four innings of East Cobb?€™s 4-2 win over the Colorado Slammers. He showed sound command of three pitches, including an 88 mph fastball, while allowing a hit and a walk and striking out seven.
5. Big bat in tournament. Left fielder Daniel Aldrich (Mt. Pleasant, S.C. ) had two extra-base hits for the second straight game as South Carolina ?€™s Diamond Devils beat Florida ?€™s Champions Baseball 7-4 for their third straight win. Aldrich, only a high school sophomore, doubled, homered and had a sacrifice fly to drive in four runs.
6. Second straight shutout. The Atlanta Blue Jays notched their second straight complete-game shutout as senior righthander Omar Alladina (Kennesaw, Ga.) pitched a two-hitter in a 3-0 win over the 2004 champion Houston Heat. He struck out four with a fastball that ranged from 78-85 mph, and also went 1-for-3 hitting cleanup for his team.
7. Pair of combined no-hitters. There were two combined no-hitters thrown Saturday. One was by the Boomtown (Okla.) Prospects?€™ Jake Atwell and Steve Carlin (Edmond, Okla. ) in a 3-0 win over Team California . The second was turned in by PG Crosschecker?€™s Caleb Brewer (Fortson, Ga. ), Ben Ruder (Atherton, Calif. ) and Robert Bono (Waterford, Conn.) in an 8-0 victory over the Puerto Rico Raiders. Brewer and Bono were both clocked as high as 91.
8. Jays win foreign affair. Ontario Blue Jays righthander Eric Wakeman (Aurora, Ontario) shut out Team Puerto Rico 4-0 on a route-going, two-hitter. He struck out five while not allowing a walk. The game matched one of two teams from Canada and one of three teams from Puerto Rico .
9. Brown juices Kelly. Defending co-champion Chet Lemon?€™s Juice got a big pitching effort from junior righthander Brian Brown (Sanford, Fla.) in a 6-0 win over Perfect Game Kelly Green. He struck out 12 in six innings, allowing no walks and two hits, before turning the game over to senior lefthander Brad Tressler (Sanford, Fla.) for the final three outs. Tressler struck out two to give the pair 14 in the game.
10. Melville on the rebound. Righthander Tim Melville (Wentzville, Mo.), who was ranked as high as No. 4 a year ago on the list of top prospects in the Class of 2008 but worked only two games this spring and summer on the mound while recovering from a sore elbow, pitched the first six innings of the Richmond Braves 2-1 win over the Louisiana All-Stars. He walked none and striking out nine. His fastball, 92 a year ago, topped out at 89.