EMERSON, Ga. – Banditos Elite secured back-to-back titles in the WWBA Freshman Championship with a thrilling 4-3 victory over FTB Select. They continued their signature comeback by scoring four unanswered runs late in the game to be crowned champions.
FTB jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The middle of the lineup, who has been producing for FTB all tournament long, was at it again on Monday as the power bats came ready to play. Back-to-back RBI triples off the bats of Anthony Shaver and Connor Morgan, respectively, gave FTB an early 2-0 lead. An RBI groundout would score Morgan from third as FTB headed into the bottom of the frame up 3-0.
After the first, Banditos starting pitcher Angel Mediavilla settled into a groove. He would keep FTB scoreless over the next four innings and turned in a strong start in the championship game. His final line was three earned runs in five innings while striking out four.
The Banditos would chip their way back into the game in the middle innings. In the bottom of the third inning Carlos Perez launched a solo home run deep into the Lakepoint sky that traveled an estimated 353 feet with an exit velocity of 91 mph. The momentum in the game began to shift as the Banditos were beginning to mount a comeback.
“I was paying attention to my coaches and trying to hit the ball hard and put it in play,” said Perez.
They put another run on the board in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single and then in the fifth inning they pulled ahead. Perez came through again with a run-scoring triple to tie the game and they would later take the lead as Perez came home to score.
FTB would try to tie the game in the top of the seventh. With two outs in the inning, they worked a walk and a hit by pitch to put two runners on with two away. Saumel Infante, the No. 47 overall player for the class of 2020, came onto the mound and sealed the victory with a weak groundout to first.
Monday’s championship victory gave the Banditos back-to-back wins in this tournament and the team had to overcome many quality teams to come out on top. They had to fight from behind in a lot of games and manager Ray DeLeon credits this to his team’s strengths on the mound and defensively.
“We always kept the games close that was the key,” said DeLeon. "If our pitching and defense kept us in the game we knew that we had enough bats in our lineup to make some serious contact. That happened for us around three or four times in the tournament we were able to come back and win. It’s about staying close and it’s hard to hit with a wood bat, it’s an eliminator, and these kids kept battling and battling. We got some big hits at the end.”
The turning point in the championship game was Carlos Perez’ home run in the third. Perez adjusted after his first at-bat and was able to drive the baseball with authority. The home run allowed the Banditos to gain some momentum and give them a chance to mount a comeback.
“Early on, like the last three games, we were getting beat at the plate,” said DeLeon. “The guys were pulling off balls and trying to do too much. We adjusted and told them to take the ball up the middle. We knew we weren’t getting out-powered but we were getting ourselves out. They took the ball up the middle and went the other way as best as they could and the kids adjusted. Carlos (Perez) gave us a big dinger to get us on the board and give us a little momentum.”
DeLeon echoed a sentiment of focusing on championships. The organizational goal, in addition to development and exposure, places an emphasis on coming out on top and the Banditos have certainly done that consistently in this age group.
“We’ve been pretty dominant in this age group over the past three or four years. We’re just going to try to stay competitive and build our arms up. That was the key, we went through our rotation and had guys who stepped up. Going forward we’re trying to be as competitive as we can and give these a chance to go to college. Winning back-to-back National Championships is exciting. We’re excited we got a chance to come back here and it’s always fun to try to play for the rings. These kids play for the rings and that’s what we teach in our program. We ring chase.”
The MV-Pitcher for the tournament was Carlos Rodriguez of the Banditos. Rodriguez, a 2021 grad who isn’t even in high school yet, was consistently in the mid-80s, topped out at 88 mph, and dominated opposing hitters. He finished with 8 2/3 innings pitched, including a dominant outing in the semifinals, while allowing no earned runs and striking out fifteen batters.
“My off-speed was really good, I didn’t have my fastball but I was able to rely on my off-speed,” said Rodriguez. “I knew I had to keep the game close, throw strikes, and get outs.”
The MVP of the tournament was Carlos Perez of the Banditos. Perez consistently came through with big hits all tournament long including his clutch home run and game-tying RBI triple in the championship game. He finished the tournament with 19 hits (.476 batting average) with three doubles, one triple, one home run, four RBI and three runs scored.
This group is immensely talented and will be contenders in almost every tournament they play in going forward. DeLeon believes this is one of the more talented teams that he has coached and had some ridiculously high praise for this group. If DeLeon’s confidence is anything, a lot of people may be getting to know the names of these kids soon enough.
“You’re going to see a lot of future big leaguers out of this group, trust me.”
2016 WWBA Freshman World Championship runner-up: FTB Select
2016 WWBA Freshman World Championship MVP: Carlos Perez
2016 WWBA Freshman World Championship MV-Pitcher: Carlos Rodriguez
