EMERSON, Ga. – The 2015 WWBA 16u National Championship has seen some very talented teams thus far, and on the last day of pool play it is very evident who the favorites are heading into playoffs. Coming into Wednesday, the average runs scored for the pool leaders ranges from 30 to 40, but there are some teams that have gone above and beyond that number. Some say pitching wins championships, and late in the tournament it will, but when you have a prolific offense, it makes that road to the championship a lot easier.

The team that has raked in the most runs among all pool leaders topped their pool play round off with a run-rule win and has all the momentum in the world heading into playoffs. The Richmond Braves National Mayers team, led by Coach Tommy Mayers, has put up an astounding 77 runs through seven games and have only let up nine. They have virtually destroyed every single team they have played up to this point and hold a perfect record of 7-0.

The Braves are dangerous because of their big inning potential. They have the ability to run off seven or eight runs in an instant, and they showed that today in their big win against the Mid-Atlantic Red Sox. Just by judging what the Red Sox had done in the tournament prior to their matchup with the Braves today it seemed as if they would put up a good fight and possibly knock the Braves off their throne.

Coming into this game, the Red Sox had a more than respectable 4-2 record. They had won some close games, and showed a lot fight during their first six contests, but in order to hang with this Braves team they would need to put up an abundance of runs. That's something they had not been able to do in any game this tournament, seeing as they had only scored 21 runs up to this point.

The game got underway and the Braves were as advertised; they completely mashed the starter and the reliever for the Red Sox. The first inning was quiet, but once the Braves stepped up to the plate in the second inning this game got out of hand quickly. Even though they’re a free swinging kind of team, they showed great patience at the plate today.

In the second, they drew two walks and three different batters were hit by the pitcher, and from there they capitalized on the free bases. After their first run was walked in, they got the bats going with a two-run single off the bat of Corey Martin. A few more base hits after that, and suddenly the score was 8-0.

At this point, the game seemed quite lopsided, but the Red Sox would not go down without a fight. The very next inning, the Red Sox found their bats and started putting some great swings on the ball. A couple of base knocks here and there led to the Red Sox putting up three runs. Unfortunately for the Mid-Atlantic Red Sox that is all the offense they would be able to produce.

Offensively, the Braves are about as good as it gets. They hit to all parts of the field and have a relentless approach at the plate. They would put three more runs in the third inning, which is a little low for the Braves’ standards, but it was just enough to put them in a position to end the game early for a run rule win. It’s always nice for teams on the winning side to end games early, especially late in the tournament when you are trying to preserve your arms as much as you can.

The game would finish with a score of 11-3 after the top of the fifth inning.

With an offense as productive as theirs, the Braves have had contributions from just about every player on their roster. However, there is one player who has stood out among the rest.

Although he went 0-for-3 in Wednesday's game, shortstop Andre Lipcius has been on fire at the plate this week. Lipcius, a University of Tennessee commit, was hitting .588 with 13 RBI and eight runs scored coming into the day's action. His offense attributed for nearly one-third of the run production for the Braves and is a sure-fire MVP candidate if his team can make it all the way to the championship.

Lipcius plans to stay locked in for the playoffs and likes his team’s chances after a very convincing win to end pool play.

“Coach (Mayers) had been on my back about hitting line drives in the 17u tournament last week, and this week I just started really hitting line drives, which has really helped me,” Lipcius said of his offensive explosion during the 16u WWBA National Championship. “I’ve been trying to hit it to the opposite field, because before I was rolling over a lot to third base, but this tournament it’s been line drives to the opposite field.

“I’m expecting for us to win this thing. We have the team and the fire power to do it. We’re going to need everyone to do their job when called upon.”

Another reason these guys have done so well could be due in part to their dugout atmosphere. Lipcius says the energy in the dugout has been great this tournament, and that they are playing very loose.

“It’s mostly joking around, which sometimes can get a little too much, but it’s just a really nice atmosphere and we feel like a team and a family when we’re together,” added Lipcius.

The Richmond Braves have shown that they are a complete team in pool play, and hope to keep firing on cylinders in their first playoff game Wednesday night. They feel that they have the arms to last, but Coach Mayers really thinks that the defense will have to improve if they want to keep winning.

Other than that, he is proud of the baseball that his boys have played and is very optimistic about their chances at the 2015 16u WWBA National Championship.

“We have really good pitching and really good hitting, and that’s a good combination,” Coach Mayers said of his 7-0 team. “We have played enough defense to where we have had success, but we will have to tighten that up moving into playoffs. Defensively, we have made a few errors here and there, and against really good teams in the playoffs, we can’t do that.

“If we can score enough runs, play errorless baseball, and our pitching stays where it’s at, then we should win every game. Our top pitchers haven’t thrown much in pool play, so we’re going to stretch them out in playoffs, but for the most part we’re going to keep the same philosophy in playoffs that we had in pool play.”