EMERSON, Ga. – Coach Ford Pemberton of Team Louisiana made very clear his perspective of the state of baseball in the Bayou state after his team’s 2-0 victory in their game Monday in the 18u Perfect Game WWBA National Championship.
Team Louisiana currently has four players who are committed to four-year universities and two players with JUCO commitments. The colleges are all based out of Louisiana and all of the players on the team are from Louisiana. Cole Tracey, the No. 7 righthanded pitcher in the state of Louisiana for the class of 2016, enjoys playing teams from other states to introduce them to Louisiana-style baseball.
“A lot of people count us out because we’re from Louisiana,” said Tracey. “I like to show them differently.”
College baseball in Louisiana is thriving. LSU, Louisiana Tech and Southeastern Louisiana all made the NCAA tournament this season and all schools have a recruit playing for Team Louisiana. With successful programs at the collegiate and amateur levels, Louisiana has a pipeline of talent that shouldn’t be overlooked.
“I think Louisiana is a baseball state,” said Pemberton. “You look at the colleges like LSU and UL-Lafayette every year they have an identity and have power arms. They have guys who play hard and are smart guys. You have Tulane, Louisiana Tech is back on the map, (LSU) Eunice is a junior college that has multiple national championships. There’s a lot of great coaches in Louisiana who love to keep players in Louisiana.
“Every team that comes over here wants to have success because we want to build a brand for Louisiana baseball. It’s a pride thing, it’s like SEC football, and we want our colleges to have success. LSU, Tulane, Nicholls State, McNeese, you look all throughout the state the teams are good; it’s a special place for baseball.”
The WWBA National Championships are some of the largest events that Perfect Game hosts each year. These tournaments are utilized as a platform to showcase the talents of teams all across the southeast region and Louisiana is no exception. Pemberton enjoys coming to large events like this in order to showcase the abilities of his players and the state of Louisiana.
“Exposure is a great thing,” said Pemberton. “This tournament has gained so much popularity all over. You talk to players and coaches and they all say ‘I’d love to go play in Atlanta.’ It’s their time to shine and at the same time they’re doing what’s best for them.”
In last year’s WWBA National Championship, Team Louisiana fell at the hands of the Triton Rays in the semifinals. The game ended on a walkoff walk and that is as tough a way as any to lose a playoff game. The four players on this year’s squad who were with the team last year are Donovan Ohnoutka, Kyle Griffen, Matthew Beck, and Ty O’Neal. Beck, the No. 3 righthanded pitcher in the state of Louisiana for the class of 2016 and committed to LSU, and Griffen, the No. 9 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Louisiana for the class of 2016 and committed to Louisiana Tech, were both named to the 18u WWBA National Championship All-Tournament team at last year’s event as well. Griffen admitted that he still carries last year’s loss with him.
“Losing last year was tough because it was a walkoff walk,” said Griffen. “We’re coming out this looking to win it all.”
The returning players serve as leaders of the team, but avenging last year’s loss isn’t a primary objective for this team. Every team wants to win the tournament, but with so many new faces on this team they want to establish a name for themselves.
“There’s so many new guys,” said Pemberton. “What’s special about this group is we started playing two weeks ago and they came together quicker than I have ever seen. They enjoy each other, they have each other’s backs, they have fun, and when it’s time to get serious someone steps up.
“Kyle’s been a great leader for us, he’s a veteran on this team and his presence on the mound today was unbelievable. These guys want to win and I think it’s important that we have guys that come from programs that are used to winning in Louisiana. It’s one thing to have good players, and it’s another thing to have good guys from great programs. Jeremy Picard, the head guy from Team Louisiana, has put together a great squad.”
Team Louisiana is currently 3-1 after their win over Georgia Jackets National on Monday. Kyle Griffen had an outstanding start on the mound as he twirled a complete game shutout while striking out seven and surrendering only two hits. Griffen credited the success of his curveball for his outing today.
“Curveball, I didn’t even need my changeup today,” said Griffen. “(My) fastball was electric with tail and the curveball depth was good, everything was working today.”
Offensively, Team Louisiana had seven hits and pushed two runs across. Blake Way, the No. 2 third baseman in the state of Louisiana for the class of 2016 and committed to Southeastern Louisiana, had two hits and an RBI.
Going forward, Team Louisiana is tied for second in their pool but have only allowed a measly three runs in four games. They are in good position to make bracket play and Pemberton wants his team to continue their excellent play and exhibit all of the talent that the state of Louisiana is overflowing with.
“The mindset is to stick with the plan and do what we’ve been doing,” said Pemberton. “Our pitchers have done a good job of establishing the zone, defensively the left side of the infield has been very good. We had one bad inning yesterday and it was a tough loss, we were in a similar situation today with a two-run lead in the seventh and we got it done today.
“Overall we want to throw strikes on the mound, play good defense, and at the plate to try to score one an inning.”