Parkview scores early and often in Freshman title win

Parkview Team Rawlings claimed the third and final Labor Day Classic championship at LakePoint as they defeated the Hurricanes 10-4 in the final game of the Freshman division. A high-octane offense coupled with a strong outing from starting pitcher Miles Garrett helped secure the victory for Parkview.

The offense was the backbone of Parkview’s efforts today and it certainly showed up early. Parkview put up six runs within the first two innings and was able to put the Hurricanes in a big hole early on. In the first inning they scored two runs thanks to an RBI groundout from Gabriel Howard and an RBI single from Jordan Walker.

In the second inning, the Parkview offense put up four runs and really worked the pitching staff of the Hurricanes. In an inning that saw eight batters come to the plate, Parkview had two sacrifice flies and two RBI singles to try to put the game out of reach early.

The Hurricanes would not roll over so easily and put forth a valiant comeback attempt. In the top of the third inning, the Hurricanes scored three runs, highlighted by a two-run double off the bat of Bryce Knox, and were suddenly right back in the game. With the momentum on their side and the lead trimmed, Parkview would have to keep the pressure on in order to win the game.

“I let them know that we knew those guys were going to score, so I told them to stay in the game and keep up with the same intensity,” said manager Tim Fletcher of the mood in the dugout following the three-run rally from the Hurricanes. “I didn’t want to see any heads hanging, they had a three-run lead so let’s look at it like a 3-0 ball game and start over.”

Parkview would respond in impressive fashion as they piled on four runs over the final four innings of the ballgame to secure the 10-4 victory. Starting pitcher Miles Garrett was very impressive for Parkview. He finished with a line of three earned runs and six strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings pitched. Garrett showed good command of his fastball that was up to 82 mph.

Parkview has come close in previous Perfect Game events and they were able to go all the way this time. After falling short in the PG EvoShield Classic in late July, this team was motivated and hungry for a win.

“We came in knowing that we had the talent to win,” said Fletcher. “We knew we fell short in the EvoShield Classic and we’ve been thinking about it ever since. These boys have been playing with each other since they were eight or nine years old and I think our chemistry was great. We’ve beat out teams that were better than us on paper based off of our chemistry and the love that they have for each other. We came out and did what we had to do today, they finished the drill.

“Without the camaraderie and chemistry that we’ve built up over the years I don’t think that’s possible. With that said, we take winning very seriously and they work hard. Hats off to them for working hard and to be able to get through this last day in the heat. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Fletcher stressed the importance of offense and hitting during their off time. He is very confident in their pitching and defense and this tournament showed Fletcher that the offense can be a strength of this team.

“We’ve been working on our approach at the plate,” said Fletcher. “We’ve always been a defensive team, we rely on our pitching and defense almost to a fault. We’ve really been hitting the cages hard with our hitting and two-strike approach. Cage work has made all the difference in the world. Rather than constantly having to pull out 1-0 wins, it’s nice when the bats work and the pitchers have a little breathing room to get through the game.”

Fletcher has instilled a business like mentality into his team and it no doubt paid off. Of course Parkview will have time to celebrate their victory, but Fletcher was very succinct when asked what was next for his team.

“We’re going to put the trophy up and get back out here and start working on winning the next one.”

The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Gabriel Howard of Parkview. Howard finished the tournament allowing only one run in seven innings while striking out four batters.

“It feels amazing. It’s something surreal,” said Howard. “I just went into the game knowing that I had one job to do. I just want to thank my team for having my back and doing their job while I do mine.”

Howard’s father, an assistant coach, was extremely proud of his son. He was very impressed with his son’s tournament showing and was overcome with emotion when his son was honored with the MV-Pitcher award.

“Honored. Speechless,” said Howard’s father. “To be able to watch your child go out on the field and perform in the manner that he did, it’s amazing. I’m very proud.”

The MVP of the tournament was Jordan Walker of Parkview. Walker finished the tournament with 11 hits (.579 batting average), eight RBI, five runs scored and three triples.

“I just tried to keep my eye on the ball,” said Walker. “I want to thank my teammates for having my back every time I went up to the plate.”


2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Freshman) champions: Parkview Team Rawlings



2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Freshman) runner-up: Hurricanes



2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Freshman) MVP: Jordan Walker



2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Freshman) MV-Pitcher: Gabriel Howard

 



Pitching and defense leads the way for USA Showcase

EMERSON, Ga. – In the Underclass division of the 2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint USA Showcase used a huge offensive fifth inning to take down Team DeMarini Georgia 8-3. A combination of strong starting pitching and a very patient rally helped USA defeat DeMarini and secure the championship.

Daniel Batcher started on the mound for USA and he provided quality innings for his team today. His final line was 4 2/3 innings pitched while only allowing two runs to score and striking out three batters. Joey Parliament of Team DeMarini was also pitching very effectively to start the game. Parliament finished his day after four innings but only allowed two runs and struck out three batters.

USA got the scoring started early by grabbing the early 1-0 lead in the first inning. Sevon Battle ripped an RBI single to center field to drive in the runner from second to give USA the early advantage. The score would remain the same until the bottom of the fourth inning when USA put up another score to increase their lead to 2-0.

Team DeMarini would manage to tie the game in the top of the fifth inning so the score was tied at two apiece heading into the bottom of the frame. This was the inning where the USA offense exploded for six runs.

The first run came across in the inning on a wild pitch from Team DeMarini to give USA the 3-2 lead. Following an RBI single to increase the lead to 4-2, USA used a remarkably patient approach to drive in more runs. The next three runs during the inning scored thanks to grinded out at-bats and RBI walks. The inning was capped off with an RBI fielder’s choice and USA had an 8-2 lead which they would not squander.

“A lot of walks, we wanted to see the pitches and make the pitchers work,” said Bryce Lawrence. “If you see six balls in a row, you take them. Make sure you find your spot and you hit it.”

Team DeMarini tried to make a comeback, but they ultimately fell short when they could only surmise one more run the rest of the way. USA had a thorough attack offensively and on the mound and it culminated with an 8-3 clinching championship game.

“We focus on defense and pitching,” said manager Jerry Batcher. “The last game going into the winners’ bracket we threw a no-hitter. In the semifinals we threw a one-hitter. In the championship game we had another strong outing by our starting pitcher. Our defense was excellent. We probably only struck out four or five guys and our defense made outstanding plays the entire tournament. It was a real strong defensive effort and that’s what we stress.”

USA Showcase is a fairly new program, formed out of the old West Cobb A’s organization, and this was their first event competing as a team. Batcher was proud that all of their hard work and preparation had paid off with a Labor Day Classic championship.

“Well this is a new team with a few new players,” said Batcher. “We’ve been working very hard over the past few weeks. We used to be the West Cobb A’s so this is our first year with USA Showcase. With that change we started to have a better practice regimen. We have a lot of ex-college players and pro players who have been helping us out. We got a real strong start to the fall.”

With a tournament championship under their belts, USA can continue to move forward. This is certainly an achievement, however the fall season is just beginning for most teams and USA is no exception. They will use this championship as motivation and hopefully as a momentum boost for the rest of the fall tournaments.

“We prepare for every situation and we challenge ourselves to play the best in order to be the best,” said Batcher. “We’re going to be playing not only in this age group but in age groups higher up. Two out of the next three Perfect Game tournaments and one of the underclass. We’re going to challenge ourselves by playing better teams. We want to play the best in order to be the best.”

“Keep the momentum going,” said Bryce Lawrence, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. “This is a big win for us, we want to keep it going and keep getting better. Keep working.”

The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Cooper Davidson, the No. 119 overall player in the state of Florida for the class of 2018, of Team DeMarini. Davidson finished the tournament with five no-hit innings pitched and managed to rack up 10 strikeouts during his time. The MVP, Lawrence of USA Showcase, was his team’s top hitter all tournament long and finished with eight hits (.615 batting average), one triple, four runs scored and three RBI. 


2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Underclass) champions: USA Showcase



2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Underclass) runner-up: Team DeMarini Georgia



2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Underclass) MVP: Bryce Lawrence

 



Triton Rays take Upperclass title with walkoff win

EMERSON, Ga. – The Triton Rays capped off their impressive 2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic tournament run with a 3-2 walkoff victory over Sox Baseball Dickinson to wrap up the Upperclass division. Isaac Alexander came through in the bottom of the seventh inning with an RBI single to give the Rays the lead and the tournament championship.

Both teams utilized impressive pitching performances to keep the title game close. Zack Bruce was very impressive for Sox Baseball as he finished the day with six innings while only allowing two runs and striking out six batters. The two runs he allowed were unearned as they scored thanks to a two-out error.

Austin Elliot struggled with some command issues for the Rays, but he was able to keep the Sox Baseball lineup at bay for most of the day. He was up to 90 mph with his fastball and finished his performance after 3 2/3 innings of one-run baseball.

Sox Baseball’s offense got it going early on with scoring a run in the first inning. John Austin Sutton knocked in a run with a single to left to give the Sox the early 1-0 lead. Bruce would be on cruise control from that point on until things got a little hairy in the bottom of the fourth.

After recording the first two outs of the frame, it appeared as if Bruce would continue to cruise through the inning. With two away and a runner on first base Paul McIntosh skied a fly ball to deep center field. The ball looked to be caught until it wasn’t and the runner on first base hustled around to score. The next play saw the third baseman throw away a routine ground ball and all of a sudden the Rays held a 2-1 lead.

Sox Baseball would come back to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. With runners on first and second with one out the Rays sacrificed the runner scoring to get a ground ball out. Heading to the seventh inning of the championship game, the score was tied at two apiece.

The Rays would retire Sox Baseball in order to end the top of the seventh with little tension. With one out, the Rays loaded the bases and the stage was set for Alexander to come through. With a line drive single to left field Alexander sent the Rays home champions of LakePoint by a 3-2 final score.

Manager Tyler Courson was proud of his team’s competitive fire. He made sure that no matter the situation that the team would never give up and continue to fight.

“Keep competing. Pass the stick down to the next guy.” Said Courson. “They compete. They always compete. They love each other and that’s the biggest thing we’ve got going for us.”

Defense and athleticism were strengths of this team and they showed it all weekend. When you have a lot of talented and fast athletes, they cover a lot of ground and can turn hits into outs. Those small advantages can have a big impact on games and Courson cited that as a big strength of the team.

“Defense was really good this weekend,” said Courson. “We have a lot of good 6.4 or 6.5 runners and they caught a lot of balls in the gap and that was the difference.”

Capturing the Labor Day Classic title is a great way for this team to kick off the fall season. They will take a short time to celebrate, however, as they are right back at it again next weekend as they will be participating in another Perfect Game tournament; the WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1.

“We are back next weekend for the qualifier,” said Courson. “We want to build on this and keep coming out and getting these guys exposure. That’s what it’s all about.”

The MV-Pitcher for the tournament was Cody Rodgers, the No. 61 righthanded pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017, of Sox Baseball. Rodgers finished the tournament with a 1-0 record in 9 2/3 innings pitched and struck out 10 batters while only allowing one run. The MVP of the tournament was John Marc Mullins, the No. 16 shortstop in the state of Alabama for the class of 2017 and a College of Charleston commit, for the Rays. Mullins finished the tournament with eight hits (.571 batting average) and was a sparkplug of a leadoff man, finishing with nine runs scored.

“Everybody wants to get that game-winning hit and everybody wants to be a star, but you win the game in the dugout with your boys,” said Mullins. “We wanted to be aggressive early, try to hit fastballs early in the count, and when guys get on we want to knock them in and not leave them on the bases.”


2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Upperclass) champions: Triton Rays



2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Upperclass) runner-up: Sox Baseball Richardson



2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Upperclass) MVP: John Marc Mullins



2016 WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint (Upperclass) MV-Pitcher: Cody Rodgers