EMERSON, Ga. – Roadrunners Baseball, winners of the 14u WWBA,
is back at LakePoint for the 15u WWBA National Championship, and are set to
make another run, having gone 7-0 in pool play. The 14u win provided the team
with an experience that they will never forget.
“We learned last year, it was every game we won, three games
by one run and then the championship by two, so they know it can go either way,
but it’s a good learning experience with most of our team back from last year,”
said head coach Todd Howard.
Last year’s WWBA saw the Roadrunners go 7-0 in pool play as
well, outscoring opponents 72-14 in pool play. Games were much tighter as the
team advanced into the playoffs. Their first matchup would be a 1-0 win over
Team Elite 14u prospects, and every game up until the championship was decided
by one run. In the championship game, the Roadrunners would edge the Banditos
Elite 4-2 to take the crown. Beating the Banditos, the 643 DP Cougars and the
Richmond Braves in the playoffs was a major feat, and something that Patrick
Holloman has taken with him into this tournament.
“It just helps us have a mindset of knowing what we have to
do and not take any team lightly, because we know that any team can get beat on
any given day,” Patrick Holloman said.
Holloman would take home MV-Pitcher honors in 2016's event, while teammate
Dalton Pearson would be awarded the MV-Player award. The two are back with this
team and are looking to duplicate the success that they had last year. Pearson said
that he really enjoyed last year’s run and has taken note of the things they
need to do this year.
“That was amazing. Best experience I’ve ever had in my life
pretty much in baseball. In high school it was a run, but [the 14u WWBA] was
probably the best,” Pearson said. “Just stay humble and keep fighting all the
way to the end, don’t give up.”
Both Holloman and Pearson are off to hot starts in the 15u
WWBA, contributing to a lineup that scored 65 runs in pool play. Holloman, a
two-time PG tournament MVP winner and a two-time MV-Pitcher winner, making him
no stranger to the big stage. The No. 78 player in the class of 2020 and a 14u
PG Select Festival participant in the fall has gone 6-for-14 with two doubles,
two triples and seven RBIs in this event thus far.
“It’s a blessing,” said Howard of having Holloman on his
team. “He works hard. I had one college scout tell me he pitches like an adult,
so that’s pretty cool out of a 15-year-old who just goes out there and gets the
job done. He hits, and he’s a good kid and he’s friends with all, he’s not a
pre-Madonna, he’s friends with all the kids. It’s a great pleasure to have him
on the team.”
Pearson, another PG Select Festival participant and No. 60
ranked player in the class of 2020, is also feeling comfortable at the plate,
having gone 7-for-18 with four RBIs and two stolen bases. The Suwanee, Ga.,-native
is fresh off a stellar 16u WWBA performance, batting .500 with four extra-base
hits and seven RBIs.
“He batted .360 as a freshman at North Gwinnett this year
and started on the team that was fifth in the nation at one point, so to watch
that kid, I told his dad that I was so proud of him to watch him grow from 12
to being starting varsity for one of the best teams in the country and then
bringing it over here to us,” Howard said.
Even with those two producing just as they did last year,
the x-factor in this year’s tournament has been Jacob Pierce, who is 6-for-17
with two doubles, a home run, nine RBIs and three stolen bases out of the No. 3
spot in the lineup. He said his success has come from keeping it simple at the
plate.
“Just trying to stay back, work all sides of the field
instead of just pulling it. Trying to stay back and drive the ball to
right-center,” Pierce said.
“He’s just a tremendous athlete and he just goes full-speed.
He’s an all-state wrestler, he’s starting defensive back on his football team
at Veterans varsity, and he goes full speed, sometimes you’ve got to slow him
down a little bit, but he brings a lot to the team, he’s the sparkplug,” said
Howard.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound catcher is making up for lost time,
not being able to play in last year’s event, and although he was with the team
for the run, not playing was very hard on him. He is excited to be back with
the team this year and is happy to be helping his team win.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. I didn’t get to play last year in
it because of an arm injury. I had to watch from the dugout, but playing with
it is just that much more special,” Pierce said.
Pierce said that the team’s success offensively has been the
unselfish nature of his teammates around him. Eight players on the team have
six or more hits this tournament, while six players have five or more RBIs. All
of this has been done with the players hitting in different parts of the lineup,
showcasing the depth that the Roadrunners possess.
“Just top to bottom our lineup is just everybody can hit and
that’s what’s big with them. We’ve got kids that are batting third, I mean Chaz
Salter (9-for-19, 10 RBIs) was leading off, he’s batting sixth now, and he had
a good tournament,” Howard said. “I can put those kids anywhere and they hit
and it’s just a credit to them, they don’t worry where they’re batting, they just
go up there and hit.”
While the offense has been racking up the runs, the pitching
has been keeping opponents off the board, giving up only three runs in pool
play. They have notched five shutouts and have allowed only 16 hits over the
seven games. Although one would think that the staff must be blowing it by
hitters, that is not the case, as no pitcher has more than five strikeouts to
their credit. Howard offered their approach, something that has worked for many
teams against wood bats.
“Just throw strikes. Throw strikes and they’ve got such a
good defense behind them, if they put it in play we’re going to make plays, but
the big thing is throwing strikes, and that’s key to allowing only three runs
in seven games and letting the defense go to work,” Howard said.
That approach was carried into Wednesday’s game, with the
team beating the Indiana Bulls Grey 10-0 in six innings. Caleb Maloof started
the game for the Roadrunners, surrendering just two hits over three innings,
while fanning two. The offense jumped out early, scoring five runs in the top
of the first inning to give Maloof a lot of breathing room. Pierce collected
two hits, an RBI and a run, while Salter went 2-for-3 with four RBIs. Pearson
and Holloman each added two runs a piece to continue their hot starts.
The team was ranked as the No. 5 seed last year and seem to
be in a position to be one of the top teams in this year’s bracket, which will
be released as more pools are finalized on Wednesday evening. Last year’s
experience has already paid dividends for them and they hopes that they can
continue their success in the playoffs.
“You’ve got to win three games tomorrow, we’re not looking
ahead, we’ll take the first game,” Howard said. “Just playing the same, working
hard, throwing strikes and just hitting the ball, because the pitching’s going
to get better and we just got to go into it one game at a time and play hard. I’m
proud of them no matter what happens.”