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Tournaments  | Story | 6/13/2021

Close Calls For 5 Star Nothing to Sweat

Photo: Kenny Manresa (Perfect Game)
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- For over a decade, the 5 Star Outlaws have been a stalwart in the South Florida baseball scene. In the summer of 2021, nothing has changed for the Miami Lakes-based organization. Remaining one of the more successful programs in the region, the Outlaws pride themselves on winning close baseball games, and the 5 Star Outlaws 2023 showcased that at CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers on Saturday.
 
On the first day of the 2021 16u Perfect Game Florida Select Championship, the Outlaws secured two victories that both went down to the wire. In their first matchup, first baseman Justin Breitenstein shot a single into shallow right field that scored Christopher Carroll and Noah Alburquerque in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Outlaws a walk-off win over Prospects Showcase Team 2023. In their second, Devin Catoni came on in the sixth to shut down Knights Knation Florida 2023 for two innings as the Outlaws took home another one-run victory. Outlaws Head Coach Alex Catoni said that gritty wins are now second nature for the 2023 squad.
 
“The team never quits,” Alex said. “That’s always been our motto. We don’t give up until the last out.”
 
The Outlaw perseverance has paid dividends for the team so far in 2020-2021, accumulating a 15-4 Perfect Game record since September and beginning this summer season 5-1. While the Outlaws’ roster features some of the top talents in South Florida, Catoni believes that camaraderie is a driving force in the team’s success.
 
“What leads to success is the chemistry of this team,” Catoni said. “They gel together, they glue, and that helps them fight to the end.”
 
While the Outlaws are no stranger to adversity, the team faced a more formidable challenge than usual on Saturday. David Davila (Florida State commit), Gian De Castro, Antonio Jimenez and Keanu Rodriguez (Miami commits) were just some of the Outlaw standouts missing from the roster on Saturday, as many of them are participating in the 2021 Perfect Game Jr. National Showcase. However, the Outlaws rose to the challenge and didn’t back down, which Catoni believes speaks significantly to his team’s character.
 
“It’s a struggle when you don’t have those big guys here,” Catoni said. “But we have guys that can pick up the pieces and keep battling. When these guys are not there, we have guys that can step up and take those roles.”
 
Throughout the day, many Outlaw players filled those roles when they needed it most. In their first matchup, the Outlaws quickly fell behind after Prospects Showcase Team 2023 plated three runs in the top of the first. From there, the Outlaw bats began to chip away. In the bottom of the first, the Outlaws got on the board with a Damian Hernandez RBI double.  Andy Hernandez then evened the game in the second with a bases-loaded two-RBI single, scoring Catoni and Jeymel Estrada. Prospects retook the lead in the third on another RBI single, and then both offenses went stagnant.
 
As time was running out for the game, the umpires announced that the fifth inning would be the last, giving the Outlaws a shortened opportunity to overcome the deficit. However, the Outlaw bats did not waste their last chance. Andy Hernandez led off the inning with a walk, but the Outlaws quickly found themselves on their final out after a fielder’s choice and a failed steal attempt. Carroll and Alburquerque then gave the Outlaws life as they hit back-to-back singles. After a passed ball, Breitenstein found himself a chance to win the game with runners on second and third. He didn’t squander the opportunity, lining a single to right field to score both runners and secure a 5-4 victory for the Outlaws. Despite the implications, Breitenstein said he didn’t let the moment get too big for him and kept his approach simple. 
 
“I saw a big gap between first and second and knew that’s where I wanted to put the ball,” Breitenstein said. “I didn’t try to do too much with it, and it worked out in the end.”
 
The Outlaws then carried their high emotions into their second bout, using them to create an offensive outburst in the bottom of the first. After two hit-by-pitches and an Andres Cruz single, Manuel Henriquez drove home two runs with a fielder’s choice. Andy Hernandez then drew a walk and scored from first on a Catoni two-RBI double, giving the Outlaws a 4-0 lead. The Outlaws bats quieted in the second, but Damien Hernandez was able to make the lead five as he drove home Alburquerque with another RBI double. 
 
Kenny Manresa was dominant on the mound for the Outlaws, tossing 2 2/3 innings of shutout ball while striking out four. However, the Knights’ bats woke up in the fourth, plating four runs of their own in the inning. Catoni then snuffed out the Knight’s hope, striking out two over two innings and not allowing a single baserunner, securing the win for the Outlaws. Breitenstein believes that the team’s attitude was a significant factor in pulling out the close victories on Saturday.
 
“We’re just fighters,” Breitenstein said. “We stay in the game. Even if we get down at some points, we’re able to keep ourselves in it and push to keep working hard.”
 
After delivering two tight victories on their first day, the Outlaws will look to continue their success throughout Championship pool and bracket play. While the game may be over, Catoni believes Breitenstein’s clutch performance will remain a factor throughout the tournament.
 
“That walk-off probably sets the tone for the rest of the tournament,” Catoni said. “That’s a big comeback right there. Coming up with that big hit, that’s something special that sets a tone and hopefully puts us deep into the playoffs.”

Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap

Perfect Game Staff
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‘28 OF Jakob Groeschel (OH) continues to impress with the bat on the circuit, picked up 2 2Bs in the first game today. Really athletic, went 4.4 on turn; easy to dream on all the traits. #MLKEast @PG_OhioValley pic.twitter.com/wOIwnGKnkg — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) January 17, 2026 2028 OF Jakob Groeschel (Springfield, Ohio) broke out at this event last year hitting a casual .909, and although he didn’t turn in quite the same performance, he hit a strong .462 with 4 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 5 bags and only struck out once. He’s a pretty dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things well, but the bat is the calling card as he just lives on the barrel and has no problem handling all kinds of pitching. It’s a simple swing, but he’s got fast hands and he can really impact the ball without being overly physical yet.  2030 RHP Michael Vazquez...
College | Story | 2/3/2026

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Anthony Gambardella
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Army West Point 25 25 14 11 Bucknell 18 27 10 15 Holy Cross 31 27 17 8 Lafayette 14 35 9 16 Lehigh 24 26 11 14 Navy 26 25 14 11 Preseason All Conference Team Pos.  Name  School  Stats/Notes  C  Ty Deperno  Navy  Named PL Rookie of the Year & to 2nd Team All-PL in ‘25; batted .307 w/ 33 runs & 32 RBI  IF  Thomas Schreck  Army West Point  Named to 1st Team All-PL in ‘25; batted .335 w/ 40...
General | Blog | 2/3/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62

Ron Wolforth
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Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62, Part 1 Demystifying the Curveball, Pitch Counts, and Weighted Balls - Part 2  Now, on to Part 2 of our three-part series on baseball's most misunderstood topics. We tackled the curveball. Next up: pitch counts. And in Part 3, we'll address weighted balls, another subject where fear has outpaced reason.   Why these three? Because they share something in common: each has been reduced to a simplistic, one-size-fits-all rule that ignores the complexity of human performance. And in each case, well-meaning people have latched onto these rules as if they're gospel, while the arm injury epidemic continues unabated.  It's time to think more clearly.   Part II: Demystifying Pitch Counts   Let me be clear from the start: I am not anti-pitch count.   Pitch counts are a valuable tool. We use them at...
High School | General | 2/2/2026

Monday Morning SoCal Notebook

Steve Fiorindo
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Three hitters and three pitchers that really impressed or improved their stock at the Area Code Select at Dodger Stadium.  Gotta start with James Clark as he stole the show offensively, and right out of the gate, with a pull side home run as just the second hitter of the game.  Added a triple to the pull side again, again on the barrel.  Added a single up the middle.  Really showed exceptional feel for the barrel.  Flew out to center field on two occasions, both barreled up pretty well, with one getting lost in the sun.  I’m old and salty, so didn’t give him the double for the cycle, but he was the most impressive bat (easily) on the day.   One of the other position players that impressed, I’ve been somewhat critical of, have spoken with his travel coach a little bit about him behind the plate, but Vista Murrieta catcher Taytum...
Softball | General | 2/2/2026

PG Softball Announce Leadership Hires

Perfect Game Staff
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    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME SOFTBALL ANNOUNCES KEY LEADERSHIP HIRES    Charlotte, North Carolina (Monday, February 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced the hiring of two industry-leading softball directors to lead and expand its footprint in the Charlotte, North Carolina market. The additions underscore Perfect Game Softball’s long-term commitment to North Carolina and its mission to elevate tournament standards, scouting opportunities, and player development across the region. Both were...
High School | Rankings | 2/3/2026

Top High School Team by State

Tyler Russo
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As we continue to roll out our Preseason High School content, we look at what teams come into 2026 as the “team to beat” in each state, whether through prior success or talented rosters. Many of these teams will win titles in their respective states, but most are closely followed by other talented teams in their state that will look to take over the label as the “top team in the state” when we update this after the 2026 high school season. State School Alabama Hoover Alaska Service Arizona Casteel Arkansas Valley View California St. John Bsco Colorado Regis Jesuit Connecticut Fairfield Prep Delaware Sussex Central District of Columbia St. Johns Florida Stoneman Douglas Georgia Etowah Hawaii Kamehameha Kapalama Idaho Eagle Illinois Brother Rice Indiana Center Grove Iowa Waukee Kansas St. Thomas Aquinas Kentucky Trinity Louisiana Barbe Maine Fryeburg Maryland...
High School | General | 2/2/2026

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Cam McElwaney
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High School Preview Index | High School Top 50 As we have finished unveiling the National High School Top 50, we now look at the abundance of high-level prospects that make up those rosters, building 3 teams at the Class of 2026 level and an underclass team, all made ONLY from players on the teams across the Top 50. Upperclass 1st Team Pos Name High School State Team Rank C Jorvorskie Lane Jr. Grapevine TX 7 1B Will Adams Hoover AL 43 INF Tyler Spangler De La Salle CA 12 INF Cole Prosek Magnolia Heights MS 16 INF James Clark St. John Bosco CA 1 OF Brady Harris Trinity Christian Academy FL 6 OF Malachi Washington Parkview GA 34 OF Trevor Condon Etowah GA 5 UT Matt Ponatoski Archbishop Moeller OH 35 2W Coleman Borthwick South Walton FL 8 P Gio Rojas Stoneman Douglas FL 2 P Kaden Waechter Tampa Jesuit FL 4 P Bo Holloway Nolensville TN 36 P Joseph Contreras Blessed Trinity GA 9 P Savion Sims...
College | Story | 2/2/2026

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Joey Cohen
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Teams W L W L Air Force 12 18 20 34 Fresno State 18 12 31 29 GCU 13 11 31 27 Nevada 19 11 34 23 New Mexico 17 13 30 23 SDSU 14 16 20 39 San Jose State 13 17 29 30 UNLV 16  14 31 23 Washington State 11 19 18 36 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Walker Zapp Air Force  .330/.420/.579 with 7 HRs, athletic catcher with strong catch/throw ability.  1B  Jayce Dobie Nevada .339/.413/.526 with 7 HRs. Physical presence. On base skills...
College | Recruiting | 2/2/2026

Northeast Recruiting Notebook

Ryan Miller
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Jack Nicholls (‘27, NJ) working the 85-88 T89 mph range on the FB w/ some angle & life. Shorter & compact AA thru it. Mid-70s CB w/ good bite & depth to it. Mostly FB attack early on. @PGMidAtlantic @PG_Uncommitted @Oilers_BPC #WWBAWorlds pic.twitter.com/7WYz7ExUPE — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) October 3, 2025 Jack Nicholls, RHP, Class of 2027 Commitment: Tennessee Josh Elander and the Vols’ staff venture into the Northeast to snag an up-arrow right-hander out of New Jersey. Nicholls works from a medium frame with athleticism and present lower half strength. He starts at the belt exclusively from the stretch, transitioning into a high and compact leg lift. Nicholls fires down the mound via a whippy and quick arm action and high three-quarters slot. The South Jersey product works a lively fastball into the low-to-mid 90s, mixing in a sharp two-plane...
College | Story | 2/2/2026

Conference Preview: Coastal

Ryan Miller
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2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  School W L W L Campbell 25 31 15 12 College of Charleston 37 22 15 12 Elon 25 32 13 14 Hofstra 18 36 8 19 Monmouth 24 30 10 17 NC A&T 15 37 9 18 Northeastern 49 11 25 2 Stony Brook 25 27 11 16 Towson 21 35 11 16 UNC-Wilmington 34 24 19 8 William & Mary 21 35 14 13 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Tyler Smith North Carolina A&T Switch-hitting backstop who slashed .323/.414/.542 in ’25 and earned a Team USA training camp invite....
High School | General | 1/31/2026

Preseason HS Top 50

Tyler Russo
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The start of another high school season is right around the corner in a handful of states and with that, as always, comes our Preseason High School Top-50. A whopping twenty states are represented in the initial Top-50, a number that is staggering when you look at the amount of depth some of these rosters have across the nation. Leading the group is St. John Bosco (CA), a team that brought home a CIF Southern D1 title in 2025 and bring back a strong group of seniors to look to repeat. Stoneman Douglas (FL) is a name most people should know by now in the high school ranks and comes in as our preseason #2 team, looking to win their sixth straight state championship in Florida. Orange Lutheran (CA) had a good case for preseason #1 but come it an No. 3, bringing a roster with seven seniors ranked inside the top-200 in the country to the table. Four other Florida schools are represented...
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