FORT MYERS, FL.-- To finish out the summer, it was only fitting that the last tournament in Fort Myers, Florida was across six age groups with teams solely from Florida. The inaugural Florida Elite Championship was for many, the last event they would play in their age group and the teams did not disappoint with their talent.
17u Florida Elite
After the 17u semi-finals, Siege 17u Scout Team was coming off an 8-0 win and going into the championship, Coach Guillermo Garcia told PG, “we carried that momentum into the finals” where they were set to face Florida Burn 2021 Horvath who has just made it in with a 4-3 semi final win.
As play began, Florida Burn took an early lead against Siege 17u Scout team. By the third inning, Florida Burn was up 4-1 and it looked like pitcher Clayton Boroski had the game under his control.
Boroski pitched through the first three innings in which he struck out four batters and gave up no hits. However, he did allow one run due to walking two batters and a fielder's choice out at first from Joel Perez’s grounder to short.
While Boroski got things handled on the mound, Dean Hotz of Florida Burn got the bats going with a grounder to third. Mac May then hit an RBI single to short while advancing a runner.
With runners on first and second, pitcher Steel Gately lost control of the ball and allowed Florida Burn to score their second run before a double play in the infield closed the inning out.
Florida Burn later put their base running on display in the bottom of the third when they brought in two more runs as a result of a passed ball and an RBI single off the bat of Ezra Mason.
Just as it seemed Florida Burn had the game locked down, Siege gained incredible momentum in the top of the fourth when Florida Burn made a pitching change to Cole Starck.
Siege's first two runs of the inning were the result of two walks coupled with a smashed triple to center from Thomas Digiorgio. Starck was clearly shaken up as he then threw a wild pitch allowing a third run to be scored.
In an attempt to get out of the inning, Florida Burn made a quick substitution and brought in Ryan Kelly for Starck. Kelly took care of two outs but he then walked two batters setting up Siege to keep running up the score.
With a 3-2 count, Jonathan Mora sent a line drive deep to right for a double and three RBI's to bring the score to 7-4.
Once Siege had their momentum there was no looking back and pitcher Steel Gatley shut out Florida Burn through the rest of the game so his team could continue to put up runs.
Moving into the top of the sixth, Ian Jensen was now pitching for Florida Burn and the inning was off to a rough start. Jensen hit a batter and later gave him the opportunity to score when he threw two wild pitches to put Siege at a 4 run lead.
By the seventh inning, bats were hot and Siege took advantage of every time they were walked to make the at-bats count. To bring in these runners, Angel Martinez and Luis Gonzalez both hit RBI singles to left and the eleventh run of the game occurred when Martinez scored after a wild pitch from Ian Jensen.
Siege 17u Scout team took the championship with a final score of 11-4 after their rally in the fourth put them back into the game.
The Most Valuable Player award was given to Siege’s Luis Gonzalez who had a tournament performance including ten RBI's, ten hits, and three runs.
Also for Seige, pitcher Austin Tonks was named the Most Valuable Pitcher after throwing eleven innings including thirty-three outs, three K's, and an 80 FB velo.
16u Florida Elite
The 16u Florida Elite Championship started out as a run for run matchup between Wily Mo Academy 16u and SWFL 2022 Nation.
Taking the mound first was SWFL Nation’s Nolan Shamoun who pitched through the first four innings of the championship. While on the mound, Shamoun stuck out six batters, gave up four hits, and allowed just two runs.
Of those two runs for Wily Mo, the first came from a ground out RBI to third off the bat of Damian Lantigua in the first. Wily Mo then didn’t score again until the third when Cameron Oliver was first walked, and then eventually was able to advance home and score when a wild pitch gave him an opening.
As for SWFL Nation, they first got on base in the bottom of the first when pitcher Mason McDougall walked Chase Buffington. Buffington wasn't on base for long, as he quickly made his way around the diamond and scored when McDougall threw a wild pitch. Later, in the bottom of the second CJ Bussell of SWFL Nation crushed a 77mph fastball to right for a triple resulting in an RBI.
Once the score was tied up at 2-2, both teams went scoreless through the fifth as both pitchers gained control.
However, Wily Mo made a pitching change to David Limbach in the bottom of the sixth and that's when SWFL Nation got their bats going again. Kevin RisCassi hit a single off of Limbach’s 79 mph fastball and he was then joined on base after Jake D’Altrui was walked. Next at the plate was Aj Finco who brought both runners in off a grounder to right putting SWFL in the lead at 4-2.
SWFL Nation also made a pitching change back in the fifth inning to Dylan Masters who went on to pitch through the sixth and most of the seventh. Masters dealt five K's, gave up one hit, and allowed Wily Mo to walk in a run in the top of the seventh.
Wily Mo then had bases loaded with a score of 4-3 when SWFL Nation made another pitching change bringing in Luke Pike. Pike did his job closing out the inning with a K and an infield out to secure their 4-3 championship win.
Coach Marc Trudel of SWFL Nation told PG that “the boys wanted to finish strong” and when things got close, “they just had to trust that it would happen” and in doing so, they brought in their last title of the summer.
The Most Valuable Player of the 16u Florida Elite Championship was given to Kevin RisCassi of SWFL Nation. RisCassi had seven hits, two runs, and five RBI's throughout the championship.
Most Valuable Pitcher went to Andres Camargo of Wily Mo Academy who threw for eight innings during the tournament with ten K's, twenty six outs, and topping out at an 85 FB velo.
13u Florida Elite
Over the course of the 13u Florida Elite Championship, one team stood out through pool play and playoffs as they put up an average of 16.75 runs per game over four games. This team was Kangaroo Court National and when it came to the championship, their line-up kept up their tournament reputation as they faced Scorpions Baseball.
Scorpions Baseball got the championship off to a solid start when they put up four runs in the top of the first. Responsible for these runs were RBI's from Jaden Keller with a ground out, Brandon Gonzales who hit a single to left, Kenny Tunick who crushed a double to right, and finally Brandon Dees who sent a grounder to third.
They then went scoreless until the fourth when they brought in two more runs as Marcelo Diaz advanced home on a throw to second followed by an RBI from Alvin Santiago.
Through those four innings, Xihn Nguyen pitched for Kangaroo Court and handed out two K's in the process.
Firing back in typical fashion, Kangaroo Court put up six runs in the first inning alone and then continued to rake through the fourth inning. Kangaroo Court was so successful at the plate, nearly every single batter in the lineup had at least one RBI with a couple reaching three RBI's.
Leading the way to their eighteen total runs was Jace Kohler and Austin Liss with three RBI's apiece, followed by Jackson Thomas, Teagan Davies, Hunter Maddox, and Richard Torres who each put up two.
The last four runs came from a combination of RBI's from Riley McDonald, Michael Cascino, Xihn Nguyen, and Peter Hourdas.
With such strong at bats, Kangaroo Court coach John Grant told PG that he instilled in his team “it's about putting the ball in play, it's about waiting for your pitch, and when it's there, don't miss it” which looked like the mindset that carried them through the championship.
After four innings, Kangaroo Court had run ruled the championship and claimed the 13u Florida Elite title with a final score of 18-6.
Most Valuable Player was awarded to Jace Kohler who was the top performer of the tournament. Kohler had nine hits, twelve RBI's, and eleven runs total.
Billy Bosser Jr. of Scorpions was the top pitcher of the 13u Florida Elite Championship which earned him the Most Valuable Pitcher award as he threw for six innings with eleven K's, nineteen outs, and topped out at an 81 FB velo.
12u Florida Elite
The road to the 12u Championship was not the easiest as after two pool play games, teams had to battle it out through three play off games to earn their spot in the championship. It came down to PPO Predators and West Pine Cobras to see who the dominant 12u team really was.
PPO Predators were first at the plate and came out swinging. Lead off hitter Jordan Rich took the second pitch he saw deep to right for a double and made his way to third off Alexander Smith’s sac bunt. Rich was then brought home from a line drive to center off the bat of Jorvorskie Lane.
For the Cobras, they quickly tied the game in the bottom of the first when Julius Rodriquez hit a bomb for a home run.
However, PPO wanted their lead back as they moved to the top of the second and Adrian Sosa delivered as he homered to bring the score up to 2-1.
When it came back to the Cobras, they weren't able to tie back up the game and PPO pitcher Alexander Smith kept them scoreless through the fourth. Smith struck out two batters and gave up only two hits.
While the Cobras couldn’t tie it back up, PPO used this opportunity to put up four runs in the top of the third to lock in their lead. It was back to lead off hitter Jordan Rich who came through and got things started with a grounder.
Power hitter Jorvorskie Lane was then back at the plate and with a double to center, Lane added on two more RBI's to the game. Then, wanting a home run of his own, Yodelkys Quevedo crushed his first pitch and brought in two more runs.
Once PPO was up to a six run lead with a score of 7-1, Justin Probst was brought in by the Cobras in the top of the fifth to slow them down. However, PPO was not done hitting home runs and when the order was back to Jordan Rich, he took a 64 mph fastball deep for a homer.
Probst was able to get control of the rest of the inning and through the sixth as he struck out four batters and gave up just one hit.
For the Cobras in the bottom of the fifth, they first got on base when Bryan Arrieta was hit by a pitch. Bryan Fernandez then advanced Arrieta into scoring position on third with his grounder right. Arrieta then was able to score off of Miguel Delgado’s grounder to short and the score became 7-2.
To finish out the championship, pitcher Daniel Fernandez of PPO was brought in and struck out three batters in the bottom of the sixth.
After a stack of home runs throughout the championship, PPO Predators came out on top and took home the championship title with a final score of 7-2.
The Most Valuable Player award was given to Jordan Rich of PPO Predators who went 3 for 3 in the championship with a double, a homerun, and three runs scored. Overall during the tournament, Rich had twelve hits, twelve runs, six RBI's, and two homeruns making him the top performer of the tournament.
Also from PPO, Spencer Krasner was named the Most Valuable Pitcher as he struck out eleven batters and had twenty one outs over seven innings pitched.
11u Florida Elite
During pool play for the 11u Florida Elite, CA Sharks put their skills at the plate on display as they raked in an 8-0 win followed by an incredible 12-3 game. CA Sharks slowed down in the playoffs only beating out Miami Madball by one run but it looked like they were just saving their energy for the championship. For the championship, CA Sharks would be competing against Havoc Elite 11u who played two shutout games and had previously beaten Miami Madball by a score of 11-1. With each team's record, there was no telling who would come out with the 11u championship title.
First to put up a run was Havoc Elite in the bottom of the first as they hit against pitcher Santiago Ponte. Lead off hitter Michael Cribeiro sent the first pitch he saw deep to left for a double to get the bats heating up.
Cribeiro wasn’t waiting for his team to bring him home and he quickly stole third. An error in the throw to tag him out allowed him to keep on moving home, making the score 1-0.
From that point on pitcher Santiago Ponte pitched a clean game through the fifth allowing Havoc only three hits, one walk, dealing 4 K's.
For CA Sharks, it was a slow start as Havoc pitcher Caden Coleman threw a three inning shutout. However, after a brief lightning delay in the third, CA Sharks came back into the game in the fourth ready to compete.
After Coleman walked the first two batters of the inning, Juan Diaz’s line drive to center got the momentum going and brought in their first run. Coleman then intentionally walked the next batter which loaded the bases with only one out on the board.
Next up at the plate was Karel Rodriguez who crushed a fastball sending it deep to right and bringing in all three of his teammates to send the score up to 4-1.
Havoc soon made a pitching change to Michael Cribeiro to salvage the inning where he gave up two hits but struck out the last batter to end it. Cribiero went on to pitch the remaining two innings in which he dealt two K's and allowed no hits.
For Havoc at the plate however, their last efforts to make a comeback against CA sharks in the bottom of the sixth came from pitcher Michael Cribeiro who smashed a homerun to bring the score to 4-2. However, it would not be enough and CA Sharks closed out the game with two outfield outs.
The Most Valuable Player award for the 11u Florida Elite Championship was given to Santiago Ponte who had a total of three homers, four RBI's, seven hits, and five runs.
Tyler Krasner of Havoc Elite was named the Most Valuable Pitcher after throwing for five innings with nine K's and fifteen outs.
10u Florida Elite
In the 10u age division for the Florida Elite championship, RAVIES PLATINUM cruised through pool play going undefeated and won their semifinal game 11-1. With a similar record and typical high scoring games, RAVIES was set to face Miami Phenoms for the championship. However, these teams previously met during pool play with RAVIES winning by just one run with a score of 13-12.
As the championship started, it became evident RAVIES was well prepared to defend their previous win and they planned on leaving with the 10u Florida Elite Title.
It only took RAVIES three innings before they had put up twelve runs against the Phenoms to end the game in a quick run rule. Getting to the twelve runs was a team effort as nearly every player had an RBI under their belt.
Leading RAVIES in RBI's was Rider Cochrane who went 2 for 2 with a double and two RBI's followed by Christian Arias and Cooper Brist who also brought in two RBI's each.
Also playing a big role in the championship were Nico Ayars, Liam Laughrey, Brody Root, and Eric Parker, each of whom had an RBI.
Not only did Rider Cochrane dominate offensively, but he threw three shutout innings in which he gave up just one hit, one walk, and struck out one batter.
For the Phenoms, pitcher Eejay Lopez went 1 for 1 at the plate and was hitting .500 over the course of the tournament. During his two innings on the mound, Lopez gave up seven hits and walked one.
RAVIES PLATINUM proved to be the dominant team as they successfully defended their win and were named the 11u Florida Elite Champions.
It was no surprise the Most Valuable Pitcher was awarded to Rider Cochrane after his championship performance and Most Valuable Player went to Romie Afanador of RAVIES PLATINUM with tournament stats including six hits, five runs, and six RBI's.