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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/27/2019

Team Elite finds way into semis

Cory Van Dyke     
Photo: Walker Zapp (Perfect Game)

MARIETTA, Ga. – There’s no doubt the dog days of summer are alive and well in Georgia, but that didn’t stop another competitive day of baseball at the 2019 PG 16u Summer Showdown Protected by G-Form.

Among the chief competitors and one of the final four teams still alive is Team Elite 15u Prime. 
After surviving pool play with a 3-0 record, Team Elite entered bracket play as the No. 9 seed and faced a stiff task in the East Cobb Astros 16u in the opening round.

However, Team Elite began Saturday’s action with a mild upset, defeating the Astros 2-1. Walker Zapp had the big knock in the game with a two-RBI double in the third inning. Will Plowden picked up the win on the mound allowing just one run over five innings. Miles Dodd shut the door with two scoreless innings for the save.

“Plowden started the first game for us and threw real well,” Team Elite coach Daniel Szathmary said. “Gave us a chance and brought in Miles Dodd after that. He’s been a great arm for us all summer.”

Escaping with a one-run win, Team Elite enjoyed a wider margin of victory in the quarterfinals against Home Plate Chilidogs 15U Thompson. Home Plate entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed having run roughshod through the pool by outscoring opponents 38-0.

It was a different story on Saturday afternoon as Team Elite exploded for seven runs in the top of the second to take a 7-1 lead. They never looked back from that point and eventually won by run rule, 12-4 after five innings to advance to the semifinals.

“100 percent it’s a family effort,” Szathmary said. “In our second pool play game we got down 8-0 in the second inning and scored 11 runs. We ended up battling. If you can hear the dugout during the game, you can hear how much these kids love and want to be out here for each other. It’s a total team and family effort that’s got us here.”

In the triumph over Home Plate, Zapp led the way with three RBIs. Kaleb Heatherly, Jackson Gaspard, and Aeden Cates each added two RBIs of their own while Andrew Goodwin collected two hits.

“I’ve just been able to relax and find pitches that I can drive, and I’ve been doing that,” Zapp said. “We’re playing with a chip on our shoulder and we know we’re the underdogs. We like that, so we’re just playing to compete.”

It’s been Zapp from the No. 3 spot and Heatherly batting cleanup that has powered Team Elite’s offense the entire week. Zapp is batting .462 with two home runs and 11 RBIs while Heatherly is hitting an otherworldly .727 with two home runs and nine RBIs.

“They bring some quality at-bats to the game and they’ve both grinded this summer as far as getting better offensively,” Szathmary said. “It’s cool to watch it now toward the end of the year. They’re all putting it together, so it’s exciting.”

In the quarterfinals, Chandler Shope pitched all five innings for Team Elite, striking out six while surrendering those four runs in the win. The righthander competed on the mound throughout and saved Szathmary from using any other arms in the process.

“I think just throwing strikes mostly,” said Shope on what worked best for him in the game. “I got messed up in the third inning because I kept walking people. Once I calmed down and settled down I mostly got out of it.”

Team Elite has now outlasted a bevy of teams as a 15u squad in a 16u tournament. They’ve done it in a multitude of ways, but mainly it’s the confidence that has carried Team Elite into the semifinals.

“We’re not really scared of any 16u team,” Shope said. “We have a lot of good players. We’re big, we have a lot of power, so we’ve been hitting really well.”

“We’re a huge developmental program,” Szathmary added. “We train hard, we practice hard. We’re always looking to get better, so playing up and making a run at 16u tournament is exactly what we expected to do and I’m glad we’re doing it.”

Now, though, Team Elite will play another 15u team, just like Home Plate, in the quarterfinals with 643 DP Cougars 15U Montgomery waiting in the wings at the semifinals on Sunday. On the other side of the bracket, Ozone Warriors 16u will face off against 643 DP Cougars 16U Sterling.

It took two wins from Team Elite on Saturday to stay alive, and now it will take two more on Sunday to be crowned champions.

“We just have to grind,” Szathmary said. “It’s toward the end of the summer. A lot of kids have played 30 or 40 games by now, so it’s just can you grind out 14 innings and two more to get a chance to dogpile at the end.”
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