One of the final bids to Jupiter has been clinched after Chain 18u held on to down East Cobb Baseball 5-4 in the championship game. After six games and three days of action the final game was a mix of patience, timely hitting, and a dramatic finish.
Chain started the scoring off early as Josh Hatcher, the no. 5 outfielder in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017 and a Mississippi State commit, doubled to led off the second inning. Following a couple of wild pitches Hatcher came around to score and give Chain the early lead.
East Cobb would bounce back and snatch the lead thanks to two runs in the bottom off of the frame. After an error, a single, and a walk East Cobb had the bases loaded with no outs and a chance to break the game open. The two runs would come across to score after another error and a fielder’s choice. Heading into the third the score was 2-1 in favor of East Cobb.
The top of the third is where Chain would grab the lead back and extend the lead to five. East Cobb starting pitcher Oscar Serratos, the no. 3 shortstop in the class of 2017 and committed to Georgia tech, began to lose command of the strike zone and Chain had bases loaded with no outs after a single and two walks. Cole Brannen, the no. 21 overall player in the class of 2017 and a Georgia Southern commit, would force another walk to bring in a run and tie the game at two apiece.
Serratos’ afternoon was done after the final walk and he finished the afternoon allowing four earned runs in two innings pitched while striking out three and walking three as well. Serratos pitched earlier in the day as he closed out East Cobb’s semifinal win over Team Elite 18s Prime.
Chain would score three more runs in the inning thanks to a RBI fielder’s choice, a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single off the bat of Hatcher to extend the lead to 5-2.
Cameron Gray, the no. 4 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Florida for the class of 2018, turned in a quality performance and held East Cobb’s offense in check for most of the afternoon. Gray finished with three innings pitched allowing two unearned runs, surrendering only one hit, and striking out one and walking one.
East Cobb would get a run back in the bottom of the fifth inning with an RBI groundout off the bat of Serratos. They would head into the bottom of the seventh inning down two runs and would try to rally back.
The inning would start off with a walk and that was a sign to come for Chain righthander Chase Wilkerson, the no. 2 righthanded pitcher in the state of Alabama for the class of 2018 and a Florida State commit. That run would come around to score on an RBI single from Jarrett Ford, the no. 75 overall player in the class of 2018 and committed to Tennessee. Wilkerson would then issue consecutive walks to load the bases.
After a meeting on the mound with the infield and coaches, Wilkerson had the confidence to escape the jam. On the very next pitch Wilkerson induced a 5-2-3 double play to end the game and clinch the championship.
Manager Andy Burress was emotional after having a tough personal week and was glad that his team played to the best of their abilities. Baseball is a sport of brotherhood and family and Chain showed that this entire tournament.
“We’ve been in a lot of close ball games, this group have, and they won a lot of ball games,” said Burress. “They won the 16u BCS, competed in the WWBAs, and they now what it means to compete. It’s been a tough week for me with my stepdad passing and I think a lot of them played a little bit extra. It’s been a long week and I knew they would come out and play. These guys are my boys. This whole group is a bunch of close knit guys. They supported me throughout this whole thing and I had a feeling that if we came in and did what we were supposed to do we would go far.”
“All of us in that dugout are all brothers,” said Brannen. “We’ve all known each other for several years and down there at the end we know we have each other’s backs. That’s what it’s all about.”
Jupiter, site of the WWBA World Championship, is only a few weeks away and the team will have to prepare and play to the best of their abilities to take home that tournament crown. Burress knows that his team is up to the challenge and they will show up just as they have their entire, young baseball careers.
“A lot of these boys, probably over half of them, are going to be in Fort Myers next week,” said Burress. “We have a little event after that and then we’ll get ready to go to Jupiter. We’re excited this is really our first year going as a group so we want to go down there and compete and let the guys that need to be seen, be seen.”
The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Cody Greenhill, the no. 3 righthanded pitcher in the state of Alabama for the class of 2017 and an Auburn commit, for East Cobb. Greenhill had a dominant start in the semifinal round and finished with 5.2 innings of one-hit baseball while striking out eight. The MVP of the tournament was Cole Brannen of Chain. Brannen hit very well over the tournament finishing with team highs in hits (13/.722 batting average), singles (10), homeruns (1), runs scored (9) while also contributing five RBI.
2016 WWBA National Qualifier runner-up: East Cobb Baseball
2016 WWBA National Qualifier MVP: Cole Brannen
2016 WWBA National Qualifier MV-Pitcher: Cody Greenhill
