EMERSON, Ga. – Just by looking at the matchups in the semifinals on Friday at the 2015 18u WWBA World Championship you knew there would be entertaining games, but they may have even surpassed expectations.

Team Elite Prime and the East Cobb Yankees went head-to-head in a matchup that didn’t feature much offense but had top notch pitching. Together, the two teams combined for just eight hits, and the Yankees gained a lead early in the game that they were able to hold on to until the very end. Their starter, Zac Kristofak, was able to rise to the occasion and pitch very well with little run support, and his valiant effort ended in success, as the Yankees won a close one 3-2.

The other game provided even more drama on a rainy Friday morning from the LakePoint complex in Emerson. The Triton Rays and Team Louisiana went head-to-head in what proved to be one of the most interesting games of the tournament. Mason Duke, the starter for the Rays, threw five innings and featured an upper-80s to low-90s fastball that Team Louisiana had a lot of trouble with until the late innings in the game. Through the first five innings, Louisiana only mustered up two runs, but late in the game when they needed a push to tie it, they stepped up.

This game came down to a fantastic finish, and ended up going to extra innings. In the eighth, Team Louisiana struck first with one run that they hoped would seal the game for them. However, the Triton Rays would refuse to walk away from this game with a loss. Instead they would walk for a win, as the Rays won on a rare walkoff bases on balls to win the game 7-6 after Team Louisiana loaded the bases.

The Triton Rays and the East Cobb Yankees would now go toe-to-toe for the 2015 18u WWBA National Championship.

The Yankees started this game off with a bang and came up with a big first inning of offense against the Rays’ starting pitcher. An error, a couple of walks, a hit batsman and an accumulation of base hits; everything that could have gone wrong for the Rays went wrong to start the game. A grand slam off the bat of Kyle McCann was the biggest blow, and by the end of the eary scoring barrage the Yankees would be up by seven runs before the Rays even got a chance to step in the batter’s box.

The Rays had dug themselves in a hole and it was now up to them to produce a large amount of offense against Yankees starter and Georgia Tech commit, Cody Worthy.

Even though it’s easy to give up after you get deflated by a huge first inning like that, the Rays did not roll over and they came back with a little bit of offense the next inning. Corley Woods hit a two-run bomb that really raised the energy of the Rays, and they were able to scratch across three runs. However, in the fourth inning, the Yankees would come back to stomp on any morale that the Rays had raised with their offensive production. Another three-run bomb from McCann put the game out of reach for the Rays, and the Yankees would eventually be crowned champions after winning by a score of 12-3.

It’s rare that you see this kind of domination in an elite tournament like this, but the Yankees had themselves quite a week and displayed one of the most memorable hitting performances in the history of this tournament. Everyone on their team contributed to this championship title, and after 11 long games, they needed all the help they could get.

Out of the 12 runs that the Yankees scored today in the championship game, Kyle McCann was responsible for seven of them. His day at the plate was special for the Yankees and it was good enough to earn him co-Most Valuable Player Honors.

“I was just looking for the first pitch fastball and swinging the bat as hard as I can,” said McCann. “I just wasn’t seeing the ball earlier in the tournament, and I came up to the plate with a different approach and good things happened. This tournament win means a good thing. We came out and played as a team, and we’re all good buddies; it was a good win.”

The other half of the MVP award was given to none other than Logan Moody. Moody was on absolute tear for the entire tournament and was hitting like a man possessed. He had the kind of tournament that many kids dream of, hitting .519, with four home runs, 16 RBI, 12 runs scored and a 1.148 slugging percentage.

“This tournament was just awesome. We came together as team, put runs on the board, pitching was great, great defense, and just winning the whole thing; great experience,” Moody said. “This win gives us a lot of momentum going into the Connie Mack tournament, and our goal was to win and we did it. I was aggressive the entire tournament, and it really paid off.”

Those two definitely did work at the dish this week, but a tip of the cap to the MV-Pitcher, Keyton Gibson, for the stupendous pitching performances he had in this tournament. Gibson was key in the Yankees’ playoff run, as he pitched a shutout against the East Cobb Astros in the quarterfinals. Gibson’s stat line for the week included 13 innings pitched, no runs allowed and 11 strikeouts.

“I was spotting up, getting my location down and working away,” Gibson said of his success. “I was letting my defense step up and we have bats that will put up runs on anyone. This tournament was great. I always love coming to Perfect Game tournaments, and its fun seeing all the teams here at LakePoint. It’s just a real cool experience. This win is awesome, and we’ve been pretty successful this summer so this is just the cherry on top.”

The Yankees were fortunate enough to win this event back in 2012, and Head Coach James Beavers feels that this win is just as sweet as the one they experienced a few years back. They won the PG/East Cobb Invitational a few weeks ago as well, but this tournament was on a much bigger stage, and seeing as there were 200 plus teams competing, it was anyone’s tournament to win.

The Yankees proved that they are one of the most elite teams in the country with this win, and Coach Beavers is thrilled with his guys’ effort this week.

“I think this was important for us because we had to persevere,” Beavers said. “This has been one of those years where we have had a lot of injuries, and a lot of pitchers hurt. At the beginning we were wondering if we had the pitching to get through this tournament, but it turned out alright. We just played well in every aspect of the game. The biggest thing for us was to just hang in there and keep going and keep going. Early on, different guys contributed on different days.

“Moody was on fire and carried us a little, but our ability to put six runs in an instant helps us win ballgames. The biggest thing was consistency and these kids were fun to watch. We really enjoyed it.”


2015 18u WWBA National Championship runner-up: Triton Rays



2015 18u WWBA National Championship co-Most Valuable Players: Logan Moody and Kyle McCann



2015 18u WWBA National Championship Most Valuable Pitcher: Keyton Gibson