EMERSON, Ga. – The Georgia Bombers beat the Michigan Bluejays
Dishman 4-0 on Sunday afternoon at LakePoint to defend their title as 16u PG Summer
Showdown champions after winning the 15u event in 2016.
The game was tightly contested through the first two
innings, with neither team pushing a run across in that span. The Bombers were
led by a great start on the mound by Drew Beiger, who went five innings, giving
up three hits and two walks, striking out one. The righty was opposed David
Kreske who surrendered three runs over 4 1/3 innings of work. Although the Bluejays
had base runners on throughout the game, they were unable to string together hits
against the Bombers staff.
“We always talk about pounding the zone and playing good
defense behind and ironically, we probably had the worst defensive tournament
we had all summer, but in the championship game, we made every play pretty
much, so that was great, the pitching was outstanding, we threw a lot of
strikes and in a metal bat event, to not give up too many runs is pretty
impressive,” said Bombers head coach Wes Rynders.
With bases loaded in the third, the Bombers struck first and
scored a run on a four-pitch walk by two-hole hitter Justin Kirby. Two more
runs crossed the plate in the third thanks to a double by Bret Madren, giving
the Bombers a 3-0 lead. Carter Mullikin added to the run scoring after he hit
into a double play with runners on first and third.
The offense scored 53 runs in pool play and tallied 22 more
in the playoffs to dominate their opponents all week long. Eight Bombers
collected five or more RBIs, including Jake Smith and Nadir Lewis, who had 11
and 10 respectively. Even with the gaudy run scoring numbers, Rynders said that
the offense was able to push across runs in a variety of ways.
“Well, it was kind of different every game,” Rynders said. “We
had to play small ball in some games, we pounded the ball in some games, so it
always something different and it seemed like a different kid stepped up all
the time and that’s how you win a tournament is having everybody contribute, so
I was very proud of them for that.”
Their path to the championship game was not an easy one, as
they came in as the No. 6 seed and had to play an extra playoff game. In the
first round, the Bombers faced the OTC Ballers Red, who despite going 3-1-1 in
their pool, earned a playoff berth. Rynders gave the ball to righty Blake Renner,
who turned in a complete game performance, giving up three hits, one run and
two walks, striking out five. It was just the start the team needed, as they
would win 2-1.
“He pitched backwards,” Rynders said. “He went away from
what he normally does, which is hard fastballs in and then breaking balls late,
and he started breaking balls because they’re a fastball hitting team and they’re
a very good fastball hitting team, so he made an adjustment after the first
inning and he really commanded that curveball well and that’s what created it.
For him, he’s given up two earned runs the entire summer, which is amazing, and
all we do is play Perfect Game events, so just hugely impressed with him and
his performance for sure.”
Renner would be named MV-Pitcher of the tournament for his
playoff heroics. The Alpharetta, Ga. native finished the tournament throwing 10
innings, while striking out nine and giving up no earned runs.
“I was really doing well with my curveball. I was able to
backwards pitch the team very well. I was able to get it over early in the
count and throw my fastball in curveball counts and throw my curveball in
fastball counts,” Renner said. “It just came down to, I took my time and I
thought, ‘This is for the summer, it’s my last game with the boys and see what
we can do.’”
The Bluejays carried a 7-0 record into the championship game
and were no slouch of an opponent. They captured the No. 4 seed after a strong
pool play showing, and would beat Traveler Select 3-2 in the quarterfinals. A
matchup with the East Cobb Colt .45s awaited them in the semifinals, and the
Bluejays sent them packing with a 1-0 win. Cameron Tullar started in that one
for the Bluejays and threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight.
Although the lefty shined on the mound in that game, it would be his efforts at
the plate over the course of the tournament that would earn him MVP Honors.
Tullar collected six extra-base hits, including three home runs and two triples,
while driving in 13 runs to lead his team offensively.
Rynders’ team would ultimately be victorious after playing
three games on Sunday and fighting towards the finish line. The trophy would be
the third that they would collect this summer, previously winning the 16u WWBA
Memorial Day at LakePoint in May and the PG Super25 17u Georgia Super Qualifier
at LakePoint. With those in mind and a repeat of their organizational success
in this event, Rynders reflected on all they accomplished with this group.
“It’s everything we hoped we could do,” Rynders said. “That’s
three PG events we’ve won this summer, started off our first tournament winning
that Memorial Day and then finished winning one at the end, so I couldn’t be
more proud of this group and where the Georgia Bombers program is going
forward.”
2017 16u PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form champions: Georgia
Bombers
2017 16u PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form runner-up:
Michigan Bluejays Dishman
2017 16u PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form MVP: Cameron
Tullar
2017 16u PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form MV-Pitcher: Blake
Renner
Rawlings Southeast 17u National finished their season on a
high note as they defeated the East Cobb Athletics 4-0 to win the 18u PG Summer
Showdown Protected by G-Form at LakePoint.
In pool play, Rawlings Southeast 17u National tallied 36
runs offensively, surrendering eight, while winning four of their five games. The
No. 2-seeded team also paved their path straight to the semifinals and beat
PPA/Shockwave Upper 2-0 in a pitcher’s duel on Sunday morning. Zack Hunsicker
struck out eight batters over seven innings, giving up three hits, no runs and
one walk for Rawlings, besting the 6 1/3 inning, one-hit effort by Ryan Lutz,
who was hurt by eight walks.
“Everything was really working. My fastball command was
really good, my curveball was working really well to get them out,” Hunsicker
said. “I was just trying to give the best effort for my team to get us to
advance to the championship game. That’s all I could control.”
The Missouri native sat in the high-80s with his fastball,
while also featuring a curveball and changeup. The uncommitted righty’s effort
was certainly noted, garnering him MV-Pitcher honors for the tournament,
leading them to the championship game. Rawlings Southeast head coach Jordan
Robinson said that he has seen this all year from the righty.
“He’s been the best teammate that you can possibly, possibly
imagine,” Robinson said. “We call him the team PO, he’s always picking guys up
and when it’s his turn to pitch he does what he does, throws a lot of strikes,
and gives us a chance to win these big games. He’s been our best pitcher all
year and looking forward to big things in his future.”
The East Cobb Athletics played their way to a 6-0 record in
the tournament coming into the championship game. In pool play, the Athletics
outscored opponents 35-11, earning them the top spot heading into bracket play
and a direct route to the semifinals. In the playoffs, they defeated Astros
TECB 17u Zilleox 6-1 behind Michigan commit Walker Cleveland, who gave up four
hits, one earned run and a walk, while fanning six hitters over seven strong
innings. Zack Smith backed his battery mate, going 2-for-3 with three RBIs out
of the No. 8 spot in the lineup. Zach Perdue also added to the cause, driving
in a run out of the three-hole. The 5-foot-10, Georgia Southern commit would be
named the MVP of the tournament after he tallied 10 hits, including four
doubles and a triple, while driving in six runs.
The championship game blew by, finishing well before the
two-hour mark. Besides a leadoff by Connor Kirley of Rawlings who came around
to score in the first, both offenses were held in check, with no runs being
cored in innings two through five. In that span, both teams combined for only
four hits, speaking to the dominance of both starters. Jack White took the ball
for Rawlings and turned in four innings, giving up two hits and one walk,
striking out five. Cooper Davidson threw two innings in relief of White, giving
up just two hits and no runs. The pitching of Rawlings Southeast would
surrender only four hits in the championship game, quieting a hot Athletics
lineup.
“Strikes, they got their off-speed over for a strike in the
counts they needed to and once again, those guys just competed on the mound and
fielded their position and gave us a chance to score some runs late and win it,”
Robinson said.
Rawlings padded their lead in the top of the sixth inning,
scoring two in the inning, one on a bunt by Kentucky commit Trevon Flowers and
the other on a single to center field by Chattanooga State Technical CC commit
Sean Cheely. They would score one more on a sac-fly by Zach Burns in the top of
the seventh, giving them a comfortable lead.
“I just saw a lot of competitive at-bats,” Robinson said. “Regardless
of the count, regardless of the situation, they just competed, kept putting the
ball in play when we needed to manufacture a run, and we got a couple big hits
late that kind of busted it open.”
A beautiful Derek Jeter-like jump throw by Flowers helped
Jarrett Embry close the game in the seventh. Embry needed only nine pitches to
seal the win for Rawlings Southeast, solidifying their great tournament run.
“Pitching, defense and some timely hitting late in games and
it’s just a real group effort,” Robinson said. “They were in a position to
succeed and we got it done right when we needed to.”
While winning a tournament is something special, winning the
final tournament of a season is even more so, and Rawlings Southeast was able
to do that with a nucleus of players that they have built around over the
years.
“It feels great man,” Robinson said. “We’ve had a lot of
these guys for three years, so I’ve seen them grow as players and as young men
and to win the last tournament I ever get to coach them is a really special
thing.”
2017 18u PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form champions: Rawlings
Southeast 17u National
2017 18u PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form runner-up: East
Cobb Athletics 17u
2017 18u PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form MVP: Zach
Perdue
2017 18u PG Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form MV-Pitcher: Zack
Hunsicker
