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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/27/2021

Rubber Arm Announces Presence at SE WS

Matthew Welsh     
Photo: Perfect Game
MARIETTA, Ga. -- The Rubber Arm Rockies have opened their Perfect Game Georgia run with three commanding wins in the 16u Southeast World Series. After their final pool play game, an 8-0 run-rule victory against Showcase Braves, the Rockies find themselves atop their pool, steamrolling into weekend bracket play. 
 
Their other two wins have been just as convincing - one a 6-1 final and the other 11-0 in favor of the Amherst, Va.-based team. And as the team’s only event inside the state of Georgia, the men in purple and gold do not want to go quietly. 
 
“We are out here to give 100 percent, play hard and use our talents,” said shortstop Tyshon Patty. “Both in the box and on the basepaths, that’s what we want to do.”
 
That effort, to this point, has earned them a 12-1 overall record in Perfect Game events this year, and a roll that seems to be peaking heading into the final stretch of summer contests. 
 
“We just come out here to shove and give it to them,” said pitcher/outfielder and East Carolina commit Colby Umbarger. “We don’t goof around, we stay serious throughout the whole entire game, and just come here to shove.”
 
The Rockies’ Saturday starter, Cole Johnson, lived up to that killer instinct, lasting all five innings of the game, and allowed only one hit on his line. Johnson’s 76 mph fastball, although not initially overpowering, was expertly located, and proved more than effective in retiring hitters.
 
And the Rockies’ offense on the day also carried its own weight. Eight runs on eight hits proved more than enough firepower to lift the Rockies to their most recent win. Patty and Umbarger were each responsible for one RBI, and right-fielder Christian Harris put the game out of reach in the fourth with a three-run home run that bounded over the left field wall.
 
“Definitely our pitching staff and our bats are really aggressive,” Umbarger said. “Our bats always but the barrel to the ball, and we never really have a dull game. We work hard out here.”
 
Evidenced by today and their other recent wins, the Rubber Arm Rockies possess a roster with potent, albeit uncommitted talents. Rest assured, as 2023 graduates currently performing at this level, that trend won’t last long. 
 
The Rockies have six players ranked in the class’ top-500 players, a group which includes both Patty and Umbarger. Preston Crowl is the team’s highest-rated prospect, checking in as the nation’s No. 234 overall player and Virginia’s second-best third baseman.
 
Even with a promising pool of players, winning at this level and under these conditions doesn’t come easy, a fact that everyone on the team is aware of and actively embraces.
 
“We’ve all been training all fall, and working to get better or the team,” said Patty. “It’s really just using the little things to get better. Our pitching staff is really good, and we like to help them out with the bats too.”
 
Make no mistake, the Rockies are aware of their abilities and beyond wanting to win every game, have their ambitions set on some of the season’s most coveted crowns. Following what they hope to be a prolific ending to the Southeast World Series, the team will travel alongside other top-tier teams to Hoover, Ala. to participate in the WWBA East Championship.
 
The end goal is to deliver on those aspirations.
 
"We want to do to go down to Alabama and win that thing,” Umbarger said.
 
The Rockies’ next game is set for Sunday at 12:30 PM at Perfect Game’s TOP Chops East Cobb Complex in the first round of the tournament playoffs. 
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