EMERSON,
Ga. – In early Monday morning action, the Banditos Elite and the
Evoshield Canes Central faced off to determine who would walk away
with the Freshman World Championship crown.
Each
team first had to win their semifinal game braving strong winds and
unusually cold Georgia temperatures. The Banditos topped the Carolina
Vipers 5-1 to advance and the Canes moved past the No. 3 ranked East
Coast Sox Prime 6-2 in their game. The Banditos Elite earned the win
and the Championship with an 8-1 victory thanks to dominant pitching
and timely hitting.
With
both teams trying to stay warm, started play to battle it out. The
top-seeded Banditos took the field with starter Matthew Thompson.
Thompson worked a quick first inning with an electric fastball that
topped out at 88 mph and a sharp curveball that sat in the mid-60s.
The
Canes sent out lefty J.D. Brock who worked around a two-out walk to
throw a clean first frame. At the plate, Brock helped his own cause
with a bloop single down the line with two outs and advanced to
second on a wild pitch, but he was stranded there to end the top of
the second.
Chandler
Freeman led off the bottom of the second with a rope double to the
gap. He advanced to third on a sac bunt and then came around to score
on an error to plate the game's first run. Wade Elliot, who reached
on the bunt, came around to score on an RBI groundout to make the
score 2-0 in favor of the Banditos.
In
the top of the third, the Canes compiled a quick two-out rally.
Scotty Diekman reached on an error by the third basemen and Patrick
Alvarez singled him home to cut the deficit to one run.
After
a pair of walks to open up the bottom of the third, Alexander Lopez
lifted a two-run double to the gap, but he was picked off of second
base. Freeman knocked his second double of the game with a sinking
line drive, then advanced to second on an Elliot groundball. Anthony
Volpe delivered an RBI single to center to plate Freeman and make the
score 5-1 through three innings.
Thompson
worked a quick fourth inning only seeing a runner advance on an error
then he proceeded to strike out the side.
In
the top of the fifth the Banditos broke the game open. The led it off
with a walk and Freeman delivered his third hit of the game to have
runners on first and second. Volpe singled to right to score Lopez
and set up runners on the corners with one out. With Colton Olasin at
the plate, the Banditos executed a double steal which brought home
Freeman. Volpe came around to score on an error by the Canes’
shortstop to make the score 8-1 at the end of the fifth.
The
sixth inning went by quickly. Bryson Lucas came in to relieve
Thompson and fired 1 1/3 scoreless innings to close out the game.
The
Banditos made a mad dash for their pitcher and celebrated the win
with a dogpile just to the left of the pitcher’s mound. It was a
deserving spot to celebrate as the Banditos received dominant
pitching throughout the playoffs.
Jacob
Shaver fired a no-hitter in their quarterfinal game, MV-Pitcher Oscar
Moralez tossed a one-hitter in the semifinal game with 12 strikeouts
and Thompson fired 5 2/3 lights out innings in the championship game.
As a whole, their pitching staff combined to toss 37 innings allowing
only one earned run and striking out an incredible 53 batters.
Offensively
for the Banditos, they were led by Alexander Lopez who was named MVP.
He hit .500 for the tournament with a pair of doubles, five RBI, five
runs scored and three walks.
“Pitching,
pitching, pitching and more pitching,” were the first words
Banditos’ head coach Ray DeLeon uttered after the win. “It’s a
great group of kids, they all play together and there isn’t really
an MVP.”
DeLeon
closed his remarks with one eye on the future. “You start building
from the youth, this is going to be a great group for the next two or
three years.”
2015
WWBA Freshman World Championship runner-up: EvoShield Canes Central
2015
WWBA Freshman World Championship MVP: Alexander Lopez
2015
WWBA Freshman World Championship MV-Pitcher: Oscar Moralez
