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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/4/2021

643 DP Pralgo Does Whatever It Takes

Matthew Welsh     
Photo: Brady Pendley (Perfect Game)
ATLANTA, Ga. -- There are few travel teams with a more convincing record than 643 DP Cougars 17u Pralgo’s 27-9-2 mark since September of 2020. Not only does that rank among the top teams in the state of Georgia, but is good enough to earn the Cougars the No. 17 rank in the country per Perfect Game’s overall rankings. 
 
But 643, unlike other prolific travel teams that rely on a plethora of inter-state pieces to compete at the top level, fields a Marietta, Ga.-based roster focused on doing the ‘little things’ right.
 
Self-described as scrappy and determined, 643 is known for their relentless pursuit to win games no matter the score, opposition or odds. For infielder Kai Cunningham, he believes that his team’s ability to work as a unit fundamentally increases their chances of winning.
 
“We’re playing for each other,” said Cunningham. “We don’t really focus on solo at-bats, we kind of just put together each good at-bat, and that just leads to runs. We play small ball. We’ll steal, hit-and-run, bunt, really just all the stuff we need to get one or two runs on the board.”
 
That willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team is not always abundant in a youth baseball environment where top players are constantly competing for eyes. Sure, the goal of many of Pralgo’s athletes is to reach the next level (five players have already committed to schools that include Emory and Alabama-Huntsville), but how they reach that goal is different at 643’s program.
 
You wont find an abundance of Division-I commits on 17u Pralgo, a characteristic so often present on nationally-ranked teams. Instead, 17u Pralgo’s highest rated players (four of them in fact) are among the nation’s top-500 players. His players say that disparity between their squad and some of the others they face is nothing more than a number. 
 
“We could be playing against the best players out here, and we just come out and play for each other,” said right-handed pitcher Reece Robertson. "If someone doesn’t do their job, someone will always have their back and make it happen.”
 
Robertson started 643’s second game of the Southeast Elite Championship this weekend, and carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning, ultimately finishing with zero earned runs and only one hit through five scoreless innings. The righty starter and and occasional infielder is himself ranked among the top-1000 in the 2022 class.
 
“I felt good warming up and everything, got out on the mound, and locked in honestly,” Robertson said. “I was just trying to hit my spots, and even though I missed a few in the beginning, I came back out in the third inning and felt like I had everything.”
 
Performances like those seen today are not uncommon for the Cougars. With a winning attitude and the ability to back that mentality with a crisp on-field product, the team’s bond seems to be as closely-knit as ever.
 
“We all live in a bubble where we’ll play each other in high school, talk crap to each other in the playoffs, and then come out here and it’s just like a family,” Robertson said. “It just builds us up, and it doesn’t really matter who we’re playing against.”
 
To this point in the summer season, 643 has reached the final four teams in their previous two tournaments, and with a third pool play victory on Saturday, will again enter bracket play this weekend. To say that Coach Pralgo gets the most out his players would be an understatement, as is the assumption that his players play for themselves. 
 
“It’s just family, that’s all it’s about. It doesn’t matter about yourself. We don’t come out here to be selfish, we come out here to have fun with your friends,” said Cunningham. “We have great coaches here, and they’re always going to have your back no matter what.”
 
Cunningham and Robertson are certainly not the only players with upside on the team, with other names to follow this summer being shortstop Patrick McCavitt, catcher Scott Mudler, right-handed pitcher Brady Pendley and outfielder Jake Streeter, just to name a few. With the team utilizing such a holistic, team approach, it’s almost certain that multiple players are poised to have breakout summers. 
 
And like every big club in the country, this team has the desire to perform on the biggest stages, the brightest lights. This summer’s 17u WWBA Championship provides just that opportunity. 
 
“The WWBA we are definitely looking at. Obviously, we want to win it, but we really want to finish in the top two or three,” Cunningham said. 
 
That goal is yet to be checked off, but so far, all indicators point to a monumental season for the 17u Cougars. 
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