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Tournaments  | Story | 7/10/2019

Ostingers refuse to lose

Photo: Zach Ehrhard (Perfect Game)
ACWORTH, Ga. – Every great team has an identity. The 2004 Red Sox team was the “Idiots,” and they embraced that mantra on their way to winning the World Series and ending the Curse of the Bambino. The 1992 U.S. Olympic basketball team was the “Dream Team,” and they steamrolled their way to a gold medal.

At the WWBA 16u National Championship, Ostingers 2021 Reed has their own ethos that have fueled them to a perfect 7-0 record and a spot in bracket play.

“In our program we teach winning, but we also teach hating to lose,” coach Jimmy Osting said. “Everybody wants to win. I think that’s a no brainer. But who hates to lose? We could have let that game slip away, but our guys refused to lose and made the plays to make it happen. That’s our motto.”

The Ostingers entered their game against Canes Showcase 16u with a run differential of 51-3. They have been as dominant as it gets. And they looked like they’d cruise on Wednesday against the Canes, as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the first. But things got interesting by the sixth, as the Canes clawed their way back to make the score 7-6.

The Canes had all the momentum. The Ostingers were on their heels until one player stood up and refused to lose. That player was Zach Ehrhard.

Coming on to pitch in the sixth, Ehrhard struck out six of the seven hitters he faced. Filling the zone with 70 percent strikes, Ehrhard poured in sinking fastballs from his low arm slot. He also whipped out a devastating slider that froze every righthanded hitter that stepped in the box. On Wednesday, he was the stopper that preserved the 8-6 victory and a spot in the playoff rounds on Thursday.

“I just try to focus on the mitt and pound it,” said Ehrhard. “We take pride in doing all the fundamentals right.”

The Ostingers play fundamental baseball. They will bunt. They will run. Their outfielders hit the cut off man, and each player dons a pair of stirrups. Around draft time you will hear a lot of scouts describe a prospect by saying, “That kid is a baseball player.” That’s just what Ostingers coach and founder Jimmy Osting is trying to create.

“Every guy wears the same style pants. Every guys wears stirrups,” Osting said. “We pride ourselves on doing things correctly. Hopefully, that opens the eyes of college coaches and they know that when they get a kid from Ostingers they are getting a baseball player.”

Osting pitched at Clemson before being drafted in the fourth round of the 1995 MLB Draft. He made his big league debut in 2001 with the San Diego Padres, and spent time with the Phillies, Rockies and Brewers. Always a student of the game, he now passes on his knowledge to the aspiring ballplayers in central Florida.

“The program is 10 years old, and we’ve been coming to Perfect Game events since the beginning,” Osting said. “We’re a smaller program, but we keep it small on purpose. We try to minimize it to just one 17u team, a couple 16u teams and a 15u team. Every kid that is on my team is within a 20 mile radius.”

“We’re a local team that plays on a national scale,” he continued. “Last week, our 17s finished in the top four of the 17u WWBA. This 16u team is moving on, and next week our 15u team coming in is a very talented group as well. So maybe we’re not the big name, but I know we can play.”

They don’t have the sheer size of a Team Elite or East Cobb roster, but they have certainly had a lot of success. Osting says 95 percent of his players have gone on to play college baseball, including Jonah Scolaro and Conor Grady (Florida State), Tyler Ward (Air Force), and Austin Taylor (West Point). Osting has also built quite a pipeline to the Division II powerhouse, University of Tampa.

“We had Zach Ehrhard’s brother, Drew, a couple years ago,” Osting said. “He just won a national championship at Tampa, and now he’s here with us coaching. We had guys at Florida State playing in the College World Series. I know that when colleges come to watch us, they are watching a group of kids that know how to play baseball.”

Sean Hermann (South Florida) is the only committed player on the Ostingers 16u team. That is sure to change sooner rather than later, as the likes of Ehrhard, Alex Mussenden, and Chance Trinklein have made the sun soaked fields of Georgia their playground. As a team, they are hitting .321 and have a collective 1.79 ERA.

A smaller program. Fewer college commits. It’s all used as ammunition for this group. And that should be scary because this is a talented bunch that is eager to punch you in the mouth every time they step between those white lines.

“That definitely drives us, especially in that Louisiana Knights game,” Ehrhard said. “We came in so ready to get after it, and that’s exactly what we did.”

Osting is confident as bracket play begins on Thursday. His team has most likely earned the four seed, good enough for a first round bye. So they will sit back and watch to see whom they will battle at LakePoint. Whoever they meet will encounter a program that knows their identity.

“Our guys know they can play,” Osting said. “The team that is in the other dugout is just another opponent that they want to go beat.”




Tournaments | Story | 6/13/2026

UBC South Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
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Quintin Blackwell (2030, Hercules, California) has, literally, been unstoppable this weekend for Premier Banditos Deleon. In six plate appearances, he has a walk and five hits. Doing it all with a double and two triples, while stealing three bags. Plenty of coil on the front side. Hands work through zone and the barrel stays on plane for a long time. High upside bat that makes an already deep Banditos lineup even deeper. Kenson Buth (2027, Trophy Club, Texas) has been an absolute weapon on both ends for Stix 2027 Scout. At the plate, he’s 6-9 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. Linear approach with a ton of bat speed. Plenty of impact at the bottom of the zone and showing some ability to do serious damage in the middle of the field. On the mound, he went four quality innings, punching out three. The fastball lived 86-90 with carry. Good feel for the slider in the mid 70s....
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This weekend, eight teams will head to Goodyear Ballpark for the 2026 PG Arizona All-State tournament, setting the stage for what should be an exciting few days of baseball. With teams traveling from across the city, the field will be packed with talent and plenty of championship contenders. Among the teams competing in 16U are AZ Select, Marucci Athletics 2028 Grannis, Overfly 2028, Phoenix Phillies, Team Dinger 2028, T-Rex East Valley, USA Scout Team AZ 16U, and West Coast Ghost AZ 16U. Each team enters the weekend with its own strengths and goals, creating several intriguing storylines to follow throughout pool play and bracket action. One of the biggest teams to watch this weekend will be 10-10, T-Rex East Valley. Whether it's dominant pitching, high-powered offenses, or strong defensive play, T-Rex East Valley has already shown they can compete at a high level this season. A few...
College | Story | 6/11/2026

Collegiate Freshman All-Americans

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Collegiate Postseason Awards | Collegiate All Americans First Team Hitters Pos. Name School Class AVG OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB C Alonzo Alvarez Miami FR 0.341 0.439 0.551 40 57 13 2 6 32 3 1B Ethin Bingaman Auburn FR 0.330 0.415 0.581 60 71 9 0 15 50 4 2B Ethan Ball Virginia Tech FR 0.310 0.420 0.660 43 63 18 1 17 52 3 3B Nico Partida Texas A&M FR 0.306 0.408 0.550 45 55 8 0 12 43 4 SS Jett Kenady California FR 0.320 0.350 0.573 36 66 17 1 11 34 1 IF Linkin Garcia Texas Tech FR 0.338 0.387 0.489 53 78 21 1 4 59 1 OF Angel Laya Oregon FR 0.296 0.396 0.538 49 66 10 1 14 47 5 OF Anthony Pack Jr. Texas FR 0.359 0.485 0.597 58 74 16 0 11 52 20 OF Jacob Parker* Mississippi State FR 0.339 0.449 0.732 51 57 10 1 18 62 7 OF Teddy Tokheim Stanford FR 0.352 0.414 0.704 40 70 19 0 17 47 0 UT Drew Grego Nebraska FR 0.326 0.417 0.531 33 57 13 1 7 44 5 DH Enzo Infelise Cincinnati FR 0.374...
Tournaments | Story | 6/11/2026

PG East WWBA to Get Underway

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One of the summer’s premier events returns to the Hoover area this week as the 2026 Perfect Game East WWBA Championship gets underway. Now in its seventh year, the event has become a staple on the summer travel baseball calendar, bringing together some of the top organizations and prospects from across the country. A total of 132 teams will compete across three age divisions, including 38 teams in the 15U division, 48 teams in the 16U division, and 46 teams in the 17U division. Past champions include organizations such as Top Gun Team Alabama, EBC, USA Prime Alabama, and defending champion USA Prime Southeast 15U. As always, the tournament field features some of the nation’s top-ranked players. In the 15U division, all eyes will be on Alabama right-hander Tristan Blalock, the No. 23 ranked player nationally in the 2029 class and the top ranked player in Alabama. Blalock...
Tournaments | Championship | 6/11/2026

Team Elite Takes Another PG Elite

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After capturing last year’s championship, Team Elite Scout 14U returned to Hoover looking to prove their success was no fluke. Four days later, they accomplished exactly that. Behind strong pitching, timely hitting, and the confidence that has defined the team throughout the tournament, Team Elite Scout 14U defeated SBA Bolts National 14U to claim the 2026 PG 14U National Elite Championship and secure back-to-back titles. “It’s awesome,” Team Elite Coach Blankenship said. “This is our first event of the year, so it’s good to get it to start with them, and they won it last year, so I know they are excited to do that back-to-back, so it’s pretty awesome.” The championship game showcased many of the same qualities that carried Team Elite through the tournament. Ryan Johnson delivered 4.1 scoreless innings on the mound, allowing just two hits...
Tournaments | Story | 6/11/2026

Lonestar Finds Success with the Beast

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Following an exciting weekend filled with standout performances at the 17u Beast of the East Invitational, Lonestar Baseball Club National capped off its impressive run by earning co-champion honors after the championship game was cut short due to inclement weather with a 6-4 score in their favor. Lonestar's strong start to the summer was fueled by dominant pitching performances and an explosive offensive attack throughout the lineup.  “It was definitely fun to see our boys compete the way they did against solid competition and have the success they did,” Lonestar National head coach Brad Dydalewicz said. “It was a great team effort to start the summer season. This team is a special group of ball players and spectacular young men that play hard and compete their tails off. They enjoy playing together and have a ton of fun on the field. It makes it fun to coach for...
Tournaments | Story | 6/11/2026

SE Summer Showdown Preview

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East Cobb will host some of the top teams from near and far as over 100 different teams spanning the 13-18u age divisions will compete for a championship at the PG Southeast Summer Showdown to help their summer start strong. The highly anticipated premier Perfect Game event will commence with pool play on Thursday, June 11th while champions will be crowned on Monday, July 15th. The 13u Major division will be the youngest age group competing this weekend, but the talent will still be on full display. Doc Baseball American headlines the 11-team tournament, entering the weekend as the top ranked team in the Southeast Region, and the No. 7 team nationally. 14u will play as another major tournament and will feature three nationally ranked teams, including the No. 8 ranked 13u squad, East Cobb Astros 13u, who will compete in an older division for the second time this year. The No. 27 and No....
Tournaments | Story | 6/11/2026

Midwest Elite Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
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Adan Rojas (2027, Streamwood, Ill.) turned in one of the more dominant pitching performances of the weekend, striking out 10 over 5 innings while consistently dictating at-bats. The fastball worked 77–80 mph, topping at 82, and he showed the ability to elevate and miss bats when needed. His slider at 67–70 mph played as a real separator pitch, generating uncomfortable swings and late decisions. Showed strong tempo on the mound and never allowed hitters to settle in rhythm. What stood out most was his ability to maintain attack mode while still showing feel for sequencing.   Cruz Jaramillo (2030, Mount Pleasant, Wisc.) brought consistent energy to the lineup all weekend and was a tough out from start to finish. Finished with 8 hits over the tournament. The swing is compact with a strong intent to impact, and he does a nice job staying on time with his stride. When he...
Tournaments | Story | 6/10/2026

Top Prospects Set to Shine at Florida WS

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The Florida World Series returns to Fort Myers this weekend, bringing together teams from across the state for one of Florida’s premier summer events. The four-day tournament will feature competition in the 14U through 18U age divisions as teams battle for a World Series championship. From June 11-14, some of Florida’s top prospects will take the field looking to lead their teams to a title. The 18U division features some of the tournament’s top talent, including five players ranked among the top 500 prospects nationally, three of whom play for Swamp Baseball. Outfielders Nicholas Raber and Austin Schoolcraft along with right-hand pitcher Tyler Reeder will play for Swamp Baseball. Raber is a Fort Myers native and is committed to John Melvin Christian College. He has been one of Swamp’s top offensive contributors this season. The outfielder owns a .873 OPS with...
Tournaments | Story | 6/11/2026

Organizational Champ. Scout Notes

Quinton Hall
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Ernesto “AJ” Juarez (‘30 | AZ) Smooth LHH - Handles the bottom part of the zone, grabbing 2 doubles & 2RBI for Desert Ghost National ⚡️#OrgChamp pic.twitter.com/EF1qEET7yH — Perfect Game Four Corners (@PG_FourCorners) June 5, 2026 Ernesto "AJ" Juarez (2030 | Chandler, AZ) The 6-foot-2, 185-pound left-handed hitter and pitcher put together a strong all-around weekend for Desert Ghost National, consistently producing at the plate while also showing value on the mound. He finished 7-for-13 with four RBI, six runs scored, and multiple extra-base hits, including three doubles, while maintaining steady contact throughout the event. Juarez showed a balanced offensive profile with gap-to-gap production and the ability to drive the baseball in key situations. On the mound, he also contributed innings with a solid left-handed look, attacking hitters and competing with...
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