EMERSON, Ga. – The Louisiana Knights Black advanced to the next round of the 15u WWBA National Championship with a 5-0 win over Rawlings Southeast MAD Mavericks. The total team effort propels this Louisiana Knights team into a round of 16 game Thursday afternoon.
Samuel Dutton continued to dominate on the mound for the Knights, tossing a complete game shutout in Thursday morning’s win. Dutton struck out five Mavericks and allowed just four hits. However, what was most impressive was Dutton’s ability to command the zone, as he did not issue a walk.
Dutton, who is a younger player in the class 2021, was impressive at both the 14u and 16u WWBA National Championships leading up to this week. Ranked as the 34th-best righthanded pitcher in the class, the Alabama native worked in the mid-80s on Thursday with a great fastball.
“I just really try to locate my fastball well when I’m out there. My curveball was working when I threw it, but the main key was just locating that fastball,” said Dutton, who noted his teammates’ strong performance in the win. “It was a team win. I couldn't of done it without my teammates backing me up in the field and scoring the runs at the plate.”
Louisiana Knights Black head coach Chad Raley also noted the full team effort on Thursday. While the entire Knights program puts an emphasis on playing good team baseball, they felt very confident with a pitcher like Samuel Dutton on the mound.
“Every time I hand him the ball, he’s going to pound the zone and keep us in the game; if we can do the little things right as a team, we usually come ahead, said Raley.”
At the plate, this Knights group was lead by lefty Brant Smith on Thursday. Smith was 2-for-3 at the plate during the win, collecting a pair of RBI in the process. A native of Denham Springs, Louisiana, Smith believes his team has a great chance of continuing on in the tournament.
“If we keep hitting the ball, pitching the ball, and throwing strikes, we will have a great chance to win,” said Smith, who was very complimentary of Dutton’s presence on the mound. “With Sam pitching, I always feel comfortable at the plate knowing he’s going to shut them out. He’s one of our best pitchers, and we just have to score a few and he will shut the rest down.”
This Louisiana Knights win in just the next chapter of what has been a great run here at WWBA events this summer. With multiple teams in the playoffs at nearly every age group, this program is showing why they are one of the premier groups in the nation.
“Most of the time I am coaching the older age group, but this year I am coaching the 15’s and trying to get to those guys young and teach them how to play the game and go about it the right way,” said coach Raley. “It is satisfying as coach and administrator of the program when college coaches come up to us and say, ‘man your team plays really hard’. That is the stuff that we really like.”
Speaking of college coaches, this Louisiana Knights Black team has eight players that have already committed to playing college baseball at the Division I level. These players include: Baylor Cobb (Tulane), Hunter Elliott (Mississippi), Cason Henry (Miami), Gavin Schulz (Louisiana – Lafayette), Reese Smith (Louisiana – Lafayette), Joshua Stevenson (LSU), Benjamin Tate (Tulane) and Timothy Williams (Virginia Tech).
With this team on to the next round here at the 15u WWBA National Championship, their sights are set on getting through to Friday and eventually winning the whole thing.
“From top to bottom, we come out and try to play hard, and the 16’s had an impressive run. We saw what they did and know we have to answer the bell here this week because they have set the bar pretty high.”
Scouting the Next Opponent
The Louisiana Knights Black will take on the winner of Dulins Dodgers Prime (TX) 15u and BC Navy 15u in their round of 16 game this afternoon. The Dodgers come into the game at 6-2 after grabbing a win last night, and BC Navy stands at a perfect 7-0. That round of 16 game will be played at 2:45 on Field 12 at LakePoint.