EMERSON, Ga. – At this point in the 2015 14u WWBA National Championship most pool winners have pretty much been decided, but there are a couple of pools that have some intriguing final matchups as we move closer to the playoffs. One of those matchups occurred Tuesday afternoon between the East Cobb Astros and Team Georgia White. The outcome of this game could decide the champion of Pool C, seeing as Team Georgia is the only team left in this pool that still has a chance to knock the EC Astros off the top of the totem pole.

Coming into this game, Team Georgia posted a record of 4-1, while the EC Astros had a rare record of 5-0. A win for Team Georgia would mean that they have the head-to-head advantage, giving them the chance to advance if there is any discrepancy at the end of pool play between the two teams. This game’s implications were huge, but both sides can breathe easy knowing that there will be multiple wild card spots.

Those spots aren’t just guaranteed though; they factor in runs scored and allowed for each team that didn’t win their pool. That’s why it’s important to play your best baseball every game, win or lose. These two teams came out to the LakePoint complex today knowing that they would have to play their best baseball at the right time.

This game between the two contenders almost had a David vs. Goliath feel to it. Team Georgia has been known to consistently win games throughout most PG events, but the East Cobb Astros have been winning championships for years. In fact, the East Cobb Astros have won the 14u WWBA National Championship four times in the last eight years; claiming back-to-back titles in 2007-08 and 2010-11.

Not to mention, Team Georgia is slightly undersized compared to the East Cobb Astros, but as the old cliché saying goes; it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

This game would get started with the East Cobb Astros jumping out to an early lead in the first inning. They benefitted from their big first baseman, Carson Bryant, who drove in the first run. After that first inning, the Astros got on somewhat of a roll, cruising through the first three innings behind their starter, Antonio Jareno. Jareno was great in his first few innings, featuring a low-80s fastball, and good location with his curveball. It also helped that he had gold glove material at third base, where Jarod White was virtually a vacuum for the entire game.

The dugout for Team Georgia was quiet throughout most of the game, but in the top of the fourth inning they loaded the bases with no outs and the energy increased tenfold. Jareno had not been in a jam the entire game until this inning, and the pressure of the moment may have momentarily phased him, as he walked two runs in and allowed Team Georgia to take the lead. Luckily for the Astros, they can rely on their bullpen in tough situations like this.

This jam would end Jareno’s day, as the Astros put the ball in the hands of Josiah Miller to put out the fire. He did so, but the Astros now had to battle from behind.

The starter for Team Georgia, Carson Tate, had himself quite a game through five innings of work, but his luck would eventually run out. Tate didn’t have a power fastball, but he had a very effective 12-to-6 curveball that kept hitters off balance. He induced a lot of ground balls, and the Astros had a hard time squaring him up for most of his start.

The key word in that sentence is “most” because the Astros would eventually find their swing against Tate and knock him out of the game in the fifth inning. The Astros would score two runs to tie the game back up, and that fifth inning of offense for them would be the key factor in this game.

Considering the implications of this game, both teams gave it everything they had in order to win the game. It was a real team effort for both sides, as neither team had any players with a multi-hit performance. Everyone was doing their part at the plate, and the success was split pretty evenly among players.

If anyone stood out, it was an unsung hero by the name of Josiah Miller. Miller was the leadoff batter in that important fifth inning, and he made an impact in this at-bat that would change the course of this game. He immediately belted a line drive to center field to start the inning, and then proceeded to steal second base to put him in scoring position. This base hit got the offense going for the Astros, and without that spark, who knows if the Astros would have came back to eventually win the game.

The very next inning, they took the lead on a clutch RBI single off the bat of Ryan Davis. After that, the score would stay 4-3, and the Astros would finish on top.

Miller contributed to this win from the mound, from the plate and on the basepaths. Even though he came into the game cold off the bench, he was able to provide a burst of energy that the Astros needed. Miller was sharp in all aspects of the game, and hopes to continue his success as his team heads into the playoffs.

“Coming in bases loaded was pretty tough,” said Miller after the game. “I definitely felt the adrenaline going out there, but I feel like I used it to my advantage. What our coach teaches us is a formula to throw two pitches for strikes, and if you can control your fastball, your off-speed will eventually come along. I wanted to make these guys hit the ball, because all their previous runs were off walks. They weren’t squaring it up, so I knew to just attack the zone.

“At the plate, I was thinking away because (Tate) was throwing slowly. He threw me one down the middle, and I just reacted to it and drove it to center field. Our attitude coming into the playoffs is to keep on fighting, and not settle for one-run wins. We should have put that team away early, but we let them hang around, and we can’t do that moving forward.”

The East Cobb Astros have now clinched their pool, and are looking forward to the playoffs. They have a good chance at winning, given their history at this event, but the competition gets better and better each year. Head Coach Dave Roberts expects his team’s intensity and sense of urgency to increase as they head into the playoffs, and hopes to build off this win moving forward.

“This is a tight knit group, and they have been finding ways to win in close games, so that’s a good sign, Coach Roberts said. “But we don’t need close games every time. Today we got a little bit more patient at the plate. We worked some counts and got in some good fastball counts and were able to get some timely hits. I’d like for our approach at the plate to improve. Every umpire’s zone is different, and we need to be aggressive on hitting fastballs early in the count.

“I think that when you get in the playoffs, the intensity rises, and we have been playing a lot of baseball, but we just have to pace ourselves and stay focused on the task at hand.”