FORT MYERS, Fla. – A dominant all-around performance and a 17-run onslaught in Saturday’s semifinals have The Clubhouse Elite 2018s and Youse’s Orioles set for a heavyweight 17u PG Super25 National Championship which will pit the two most potent offenses of the tournament against each other.
The playoff bracket was turned upside down as the top seed Sharks Elite were taken down by the eighth-seeded Texas Fire 10-1 in a morning quarterfinal matchup.
Clubhouse Elite made easy work of the Lugnuts in their quarterfinal matchup, winning 12-1 behind three RBIs apiece from Will Lucas (2018, Fairfield, Conn.) and Ben Delaubell (2018, Cheshire, Conn.) and an outstanding pitching performance from Delaubell who allowed one hit and struck out eight.
The Orioles had a tough quarterfinal draw going up against the 17u Georgia Jackets, and found themselves tied 2-2 heading to the bottom of the fifth. However, they sforged ahead with runs in the fifth and sixth innings and got a fine pitching performance out of their bullpen as Cameron Kalandros (2018, Bel Air, Md.) fired three shutout frames to close out a 4-2 victory.
In their semifinal, Clubhouse Elite – which consists of a roster from Connecticut and a plethora of college commitments to schools in the Northeast – raced out to an early advantage over the Fire.
With two outs in the first, singles by Bobby Zmarziak (2019, Stamford, Conn.) and Robert Olah (2017, Trumbull, Conn.) set up starting pitcher Nick Larusso (2018, Monroe, Conn.) to try and help his own cause and did just that as he rifled a double to the right-center field gap to make it 2-0. Delaubell continued the two-out rally by driving a single up the middle to continue his fine showing on the day to make it a three-run first inning.
Zmarziak drove in another run in the second on an infield hit to make it 4-0, and in the third, Lorusso again showed his prowess with the bat by hammering another double up against the right field fence to lead off the frame. Will Reiner (2018, Madison, Conn.) singled to right to make it a 5-0 ballgame and it was all that Larusso needed on the mound.
The Villanova commit used a three-pitch mix to confound the Texas Fire lineup, as the righthander worked in the 85-88 mph range with his fastball and used a sharp curveball and a changeup that kept hitters off balance. Lorusso went the distance and struck out nine to send Clubhouse Elite to the championship game.
In the other semifinal, Youse’s Orioles found themselves against Scorpions South 2018 Purple and found themselves in an early hole early after the Scorpions scored three first inning runs.
In the home half of the inning, the Orioles mounted a two-out rally and got an RBI single from Steve Spencer (2018, Abingdon, Md.) and a throwing error on the same play allowed a second run to score making it 3-2.
In the second, the Orioles continued to keep the pressure on with four more runs with the big hit coming off the bat of Tyler Locklear (2019, Abingdon, Md.) who brought in two runs with a single to center, again coming with two outs.
The Orioles blew the game out of reach in the third with a monster inning as they would send 15 men to the plate with a two-run single from Corey Burton (2018, Nottingham, Md.) and a two-run double from Locklear the big blows as 10 runs came in to score to put the game well out of reach.
Jamison Covey (2019, Preston, Md.) struck out five in his four innings of work for the Orioles, leaving his team in good standing on the pitching from heading to Sunday’s title game.
Nick Brown (2018, Pasadena, Md.) heads into the final as the leading offensive performer of the tournament, boasting a .667 average with 12 hits in 18 at-bats for the Orioles. Orah is not too far behind as he has 11 hits in 21 at-bats, good for a .524 average.