MARIETTA, Ga. – The East Coast Sox Elite are on the brink of winning their pool and advancing to bracket play in the 14u WWBA National Championship. After defeating Team Elite West 3-0 on Tuesday afternoon, the Sox have advanced to 6-0 in the tournament. Tanner Watts delivered a strong outing on the mound for the Sox as he tossed a complete game shutout and struck out three. Watts credited his performance to good use of his curveball in conjunction with his two-seam fastball that tails away from lefthanded hitters.

Offensively, the Sox were shut down by Team Elite’s starter Mason McCormack for most of the day. McCormack struck out nine over six innings and allowed only one hit to the Sox. They scored a run in the third inning after a wild pitch and the game stayed 1-0 until the seventh.

Clay Ivy knocked in a two-run double in the top of the seventh and gave the Sox a more comfortable 3-0 lead to work with. Watts came back out and was able to shut the door and seal the victory for the Sox.

“Can’t say enough about Tanner (Watts) and the way he threw the baseball today,” said manager Adam Smith. “He competed on the mound and at the plate. Their guy (Mason McCormack) threw great, have to give credit to him. He’s probably the best arm we’ve seen and they’re (Team Elite) one of the best teams that we have seen thus far.”

The East Coast Sox program took home the championship crown at the 2015 14u WWBA National Championship and this year’s team looks the part of championship contender.

“It would be great to bring the title back to Mississippi,” said Smith. “There’s some friendly competiveness between me and Chris Snopek, who coached that team (last year’s East Coast Sox 14u champion) and whose son is on our team. It would be great for our organization and for these kids and families. We would like to take it back to Mississippi but we’ve got a long way to go. If we take care of business tomorrow then we’ll have a pretty good chance.”

Smith has been with this team for four years and has seen improvement each year. He is proud of his team’s efforts and the culmination of four years of work has certainly paid off for the Sox.

“This is my fourth year with these guys and they’re very resilient,” added Smith. “We have not been playing well early (in games) and they seem to find a way every time. This team has a little something different, it’s a big family in the dugout. What I like the most about this team is the team chemistry. They play hard, they play for one another; it’s been fun with this group, they’re a really really good group.”

The Sox program has been providing developmental training in Mississippi for years now and have cemented themselves as a top program at Perfect Game events. Winning is an attractive goal in any scenario, but Smith and the Sox’ ultimate goal is ensuring the future of their players.

“As an organization we’ve been around since 2009,” said Smith. “Chris Snopek is the founder of our program on this side of the East Coast Sox. This group I started with them when they were 11 years old. We try to develop players, wins and losses in tournaments are good, but my goal is to better their future. I want them to have the best chance they can to play baseball in the future; whether it be high school, junior college, or four-year colleges. They’re a good group of families and kids.”

Smith credits the success of his team to their familiarity with each other and team chemistry. He likens the team to a family in that the players all support each other and help each other achieve their goals.

“Our approach has been a little different,” said Smith. “Our MO (Modus Operandi or method of operation) is that we’ve played well in the first few games of a tournament and then we cruise through the rest of the tournament and that’s hurt us. They’ve shown up this tournament and tried to get their work done they have shown up with a business-like mentality when they get to the field. It’s shown the way they’ve competed and I couldn’t be more proud of our guys.”

The Sox have fallen behind early in games during pool play and have mounted comebacks to stay undefeated. The players know that they have to start off better, but they also know that if they play the game the way that they know how then they’ll be able to win the whole tournament.

“Even when we don’t start off hitting well, we always find it later in the game,” said Jack Perry. “We all come together as a group to get a win.”

The Sox take on the Windward Braves for a chance to clinch their pool on Wednesdsay as part of the path to defend their 14u title.