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Tournaments  | Story | 6/21/2018

Championship matchup set

Nate Schweers
Photo: Landon Sims (Perfect Game)

EMERSON, Ga. – The championship matchup is set at the 18u WWBA National Championship as perennial contenders Team Elite 17u Prime and the East Cobb Astros will battle at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning. Both teams fought hard during Thursday’s playoff action and earned their spot to play for a national championship.

Team Elite Prime started the day with a 4-2 victory over the Upstate Mavericks ST. Starting pitcher Landon Sims turned in a great performance during their first game of the day, tossing six strong innings. Sims ran his fastball up to 93 on Thursday, and was able to minimize four hits while allowing just two runs.

“It was early, but I prepared myself and pretty well and I was ready to go,” said Sims. “My main goal was to go out there and throw strikes and throw the least amount of pitches as I could.”

Sims, who is a member of Mississippi State’s 2019 recruiting class, has found extra motivation to dominate this summer while seeing his future teammates do the same on the national stage.

“It's really exciting. It is crazy to think about how far they’ve made it after going down there and seeing them at the beginning of the year. It really speaks to how much grit that they showed, and it says a lot about the coaching staff and the culture they have built there.”

One standout performer on the offensive side of the ball in game one was Brennan Milone. Milone, who is committed to playing his college ball at South Carolina, was 2-for-3 with a double, and was able to come around and score both times he reached base.

Team Elite Prime jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the first inning after Milone scored on passed ball, and would go on to add two more in the bottom of the third. Tyler Williams (2019) was able to drive in Team Elite Prime’s second run of the game with a fielder’s choice, and Austin Turner (Auburn) extended the lead with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Riley Bishop (Kennesaw State) was able to shut the door out of the bullpen, striking out two in his one inning of work. The win set the stage for a semifinal pitcher’s duel against Team Louisiana.

In the second game of the day, Ryan Suppa and Mark McLaughlin combined to shut out Team Louisiana 2-0. Suppa dazzled in his 4 2/3 innings of work, allowing just one hit on 67 pitches. McLaughlin was equally as dominant in the semifinals, striking out two and allowing no hits in his 2 1/3 innings.

Sims was back in the lineup for game two, and he was able to come through with a big RBI for his team out of the fourth spot in the order.

After playing two complete games on Thursday, Team Elite Prime head coach Romas Hicks is excited for his guys to take the next step in their career with a big opportunity on Friday.

“We use every event over the summer to prepare and fine tune things not just for tomorrow and this summer, but for the guys’ future as well,” said Hicks. “We learn to how handle four games, then seven games, then 10 games.  You know, these guys are going to find when they’re playing 60 games at the next level and every one is live or die, this kind of environment helps them understand that.”

This group of players from Team Elite Prime will be going for their second championship of the month after winning the 17u Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational earlier in June.

On the other side of the bracket, the East Cobb Astros overcame extra innings in their first game of the day. The Astros were able to persevere over the Chi Town Cream by a score of 4-3 in eight innings.

After an appeal of third on a sacrifice fly kept an Astros run off the board in the top of the seventh, Caleb Clark (2019) was able to deliver a 2-out double in the top of the eighth to put the Astros ahead 4-2.

In Perfect Game tournaments, extra innings in the quarterfinal round are started with the bases loaded and one out. After Clark’s two-out double, the Chi Town Cream were given the same opportunity to try and scratch across two runs.

A long sacrifice fly would be all the Cream would get in the eighth as Florida commit Nathan Hickey was able to shut the door. Hickey, who is committed to Florida, also delivered one of the more impressive swings of the day. He was able to drive a pitch deep over the wall in right for a two-run home run in what were the Astros’ other two runs of the game.

“I tell you the kids fought hard, and every time you get into that situation where you’re in those extra innings tiebreaks anything can happen,” said head coach Kevin Baldwin. “We got a big hit by Caleb Clark and came out and Nathan Hickey was able to close it down. It was just a hard fought game all around against a really good team.”

In their semifinal matchup, the Astros were able to find their stroke at the plate to beat the East Cobb Yankees 6-1. The Astros were able to score a pair of runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings en route to victory.

On the mound, Wyatt Scotti (2020) came back off of two days rest and was able to toss six strong innings while minimizing six Yankees hits. Scotti, who is committed to Duke, was able to use a mid-80s fastball to keep hitters off a balance all day.

“I was just trying to throw strikes and get ahead in the count,” said Scotti, who didn't allow a walk all day. “Then when I’m up in the count I was trying to mix it up, hit my spots, and mix in some off-speed pitches where I needed to.”

Scotti was helped by excellent defense behind him, as well as some run support that came in the likes of Bryar Hawkins. Hawkins was 3-for-4 on Thursday, highlighted by a long home run in his second at-bat of the game. Hawkins is committed to Clemson, and is a member of the Tigers’ 11th-ranked recruiting class nationally.

“Well the first at-bat I noticed I was getting a lot of fastballs, so I know I needed to make an adjustment in my second at-bat. Luckily, I got a first pitch fastball and was able to put a good swing on it,” said Hawkins. “We are trying to go for that three peat this year, so we are ready to go tomorrow.”

Team Elite Prime and the East Cobb Astros will meet Friday morning to battle for the title of national champion. There is sure to be fireworks on Field 12 Friday morning, and these two dominant programs will add the next chapter in what has grown to become an exciting rivalry.
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