DALLAS, Ga. — The South Charlotte Panthers are back for another run at the 17u WWBA National Championship in Emerson, Georgia. The Panthers came up short last year of taking it all in the championship game, as FTB Tucci won the honors. Although the team has some different pieces, the desire is still there to make it all the way to the end this year.

Starter Rohan Handa got the Panthers a game closer of that goal Saturday, against the New Jersey Marlins in a 12-0 win.

“For me, it’s up-tempo, I like to work fast and mess around with hitters, that’s my thing,” said Handa. “I use my off-speed, come back with fastballs, and locate. Some times my stuff might not be there, but once I start hitting my spots I can be effective. I am kind of more of a contact guy.”

Although his three pitch mix of a fastball, curve and change tend to induce weak contact, he racked up eight strikeouts in a three-hit, one-walk, complete-game shutout. This is the second shutout of the tournament so far for the South Charlotte club, winning 15-0 in the opener against Cross Hit 17u.

“For our team this is the biggest tournament,” said Handa. “We always have a high mindset in winning, and when we come down here to play, that is our mindset.”

The offense continued to come out strong, with 10 hits on the day. Second baseman Carson Lowder led the way, having a 2-for-3 day at the plate, with a triple and a single, three RBIs and two runs scored. Catcher, Jeremiah Boyd, and extra hitter, Jonathan Jagielski, also swung hot bats, going an identical 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs scored. Jagielski capped off the sixth inning with a three-run home run to seal a 12-0 run-rule victory.

But one of the most patient players at the plate was outfielder Cameran Brantley, who went 1-for-1 with two walks and two runs scored.

“Patience and having an approach [was what was working for me,]” said Brantley, who smacked a hard-hit infield single in the second. “[I was] looking away and knew he was throwing a lot of curveballs, so just watch it and go for the fastball.”

The No. 132 nationally ranked outfielder is committed to the University of North Carolina.

“[I am looking forward to] winning, finally winning a national title in the College World Series for the Tar Heels.”

The Panthers are based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Owner Don Hutchins founded the program in 1998 in Pineville, North Carolina and continues to place players at top Division I programs around the country.

“It starts with the boss man, Don Hutchins,” said assistant coach Empsy Thompson. “He puts his eyes on a lot of guys throughout the year, and then we just kind of assemble a group that we think is going to give us an opportunity to be competitive in these situations.”

The organization celebrated seven alumni drafted in the 2017 MLB First Year Player Draft, and signed a handful of players to programs such as, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson and Yale.

Handa is just one example of the development within the Panther organization.

“This team has changed my life,” said Handa who is in his second year with the team. “This got me more into looking at colleges, and coach Don helped me get into the college of my choice. It’s been an honor [to play for] all these coaches.”

Handa is ranked in the top 500 and the No. 106 left-hander in the nation, according to Perfect Game, and is committed to Yale.

“It’s the Ivy League grind, it’s going to be a lot of fun, but it also puts a lot of pressure on you academically,” said Handa. “I want to make an impact my first year, and hopefully I’ll do that once I get to school.”

Both Handa and Brantley are two veterans the team can rely on for this year’s run. They both participated in the in the event last summer, with Brantley earning All-Tournament Team honors.

“It was pretty cool especially being one of the younger guys,” said Brantley. “But to be honest I wasn’t even expecting it because our whole team played great, so I was just trying to keep up with the team.”

Handa started the championship game, keeping the Panthers competitive for three innings against FTB Tucci.

“It was a lot of fun, in the championship game, I got the opportunity to start that game, so it was a cool experience,” said Handa. “Being there with the 17u I learned a lot. I learned [through] the experience how much you have to work to get to the playoffs. It’s going to be a grind and some pressure, but I feel like we can take that pressure.”

The program has seen continued success from both the 16u and 17u team. The 2017 team completed the 2016 season ranked as the fourth best 2017 travel program by Perfect Game, and surpassed the highest winning percentage in program history at .843.

This current 17u team finished 2016 with a 47-10-5 record, breaking a program record with 19 consecutive wins. They topped off their season with a championship at the North Carolina Perfect Game Super25.

“[These tournaments] help tremendously,” said Thompson. “They are getting great competition and get to play at nice venues, and in front of a lot of scouts, both college and professional. It’s a great opportunity to showcase themselves as well as the opportunity to play the game that they love.”

For Handa and Brantley, this is a chance to come back as leaders rather than rookies.

“It’s kind of like a confidence booster since I have already done it before,” said Brantley. “I guess I am considered one of the leaders on the team, so my main thing is that it’s summer ball, and to just play loose. We have the talent to beat anybody any given day. So [we need to] just keep it loose and make sure everybody is having fun and nobody is down.”

Although the ultimate goal is to win it all this year, the Panthers aren’t getting ahead of themselves during this six-game stretch to reach the playoffs.

“We try not to look ahead and try to take it one day at a time, and that’s the thing, building up to this tournament, we talk about the things we want to be doing, and it is playing our best baseball by the time we get here,” said Thompson. “Which means we have to get better every weekend and better during the week leading up to this. So we try not to worry about the finals, we play game by game and pitch by pitch.”