2,065 MLB PLAYERS | 14,476 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story  | 6/23/2018

SBO FL 14u takes 15u SEC title

Jeff Dahn     
Photo: SBO Florida 14u

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Five walks, five stolen bases, one lone single and one passed ball. That’s what the SBO Florida 14u lineup produced while batting around and scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning during the Perfect Game 15u Southeast Championships championship game against SWFL Nation.

And the opportunistic SBO Florida 14u’s weren’t finished. In the bottom of the second, they used three walks in front of a two-run single off the bat of Josean Sanchez and ended up scoring three more runs to take a 7-0 lead into the third. Time to kick back, relax and cruise to a run-rule win? Not when the players from SWFL Nation are occupying the other dugout.

Still leading 8-2 after three, SBO Florida 14u (5-0-0) had to re-tighten its grip when SWFL Nation (3-2-0) moved to within three at 9-6 after 5½ innings but then hit the gas once more and ultimately prevailed, 11-6, in a 3-hour title game played at Terry Park Stadium.

“We were watching (SWFL) play before and we knew that team played hard right from the beginning,” SBO Florida 14u head coach Jose Rodriguez said, getting help with the translation from Spanish to English by one of his assistant coaches. “Our focus was to play hard from the beginning (of the game), too, and it worked.”

This was at times a laborious affair as the two pitching staffs combined to issue 20 walks, 14 from the SWFL Nation side. SBO Florida 14u combined eight hits with those 14 walks to push across its 11 runs, while SWFL Nation used nine hits and six walks to plate its eight runs.

SBO Florida’s Lucas Torres stroked a pair of doubles, walked twice, drove in a run and scored two; Jorge J Cartagena contributed two singles, was walked three times, had an RBI and scored four times; Ebizail Medina singled twice, walked, drove in a run and scored one and Sanchez walked twice in addition to his big two-run single.

“These are 13- and 14-year-old kids and we’re trying to elevate their games,” Rodriguez said of this roster, made up almost exclusively of players from the graduating classes of 2021 and 2022. “They came here and they proved they (deserved) the title.”

Cape Coral-based SWFL Nation was led at the plate by Andrew Sundean, who doubled twice and drove in three runs. Sawyer Hawks singled, doubled and scored a run and Blake Barquin and Derek Ortiz both singled and doubled.

Sundean, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound catcher/utility from Lakeland, Fla., went 8-for-13 (.615) with three doubles, nine RBI and three stolen bases and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

The SBO Florida organization is based in Caguas, P.R., but the majority of the players on the roster attend Florida high schools and academies and list Florida cities as their hometowns. Two of its top 2021 prospects are the No. 65-ranked 2021 outfielder/right-handed pitcher Torres, an Alabama State commit from Cayey, P.R., and No. 173 shortstop Xavier Cintron, a Florida International commit from Orlando.

“We were the first ones to bring Carlos Correa and Edwin Diaz to Perfect Game (tournaments) at that age, and we have a lot of players here that we believe can get to that level,” Rodriguez said.

SBO Florida 14u reached the championship game by getting past Tallahassee-based Next Level Baseball 15u (2-1-1) by a 4-1 count in one of Saturday morning’s semifinals at Terry Park, and SWFL Nation rallied to dump Winter Garden-based FTB Select 2022 (3-1-0), 14-7, in the other semifinal. SWFL Nation, which losta pool-play game and gained entry into the semifinals as a wild card, used a seven-run seventh to break a 7-7 tie and rolled to the win.

Torres, a 5-10, 155-pound right-hander, pitched 3 1/3 hitless, scoreless innings for SBO Florida 14u in that semifinal victory over Next Level, striking out seven and walking two; he was named the Most Valuable Pitcher.


2018 PG 14u Southeast Championship runner-up: SWFL National



2018 PG 14u Southeast Championship MVP: Andrew Sundean



2018 PG 14u Southeast Championship MV-Pitcher: Lucas Torres
PG Special Events
Travel, Lodging, Entertainment
PG Partners
Recommended
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2024 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.