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Tournaments  | Story | 7/11/2021

UBC 16u rallies for BCS playoff spot

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Lathan Van Ausdall (Perfect Game)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A defining sequence of events occurred in the bottom of the first inning of UBC 16u-Tomkins do-or-die pool-play finale against the Coastal Premier Prospects 16u Saturday afternoon at Terry Park.

After his team had taken a 3-0 lead in the top of the first, UBC 16u 2023 left-hander Kyle Bade came out in the bottom half a little bit shaky, to say the least. He walked the first batter he faced and then surrendered back-to-back singles to load the bases. Still not quite settled in, Bade walked Coastal Premier’s cleanup hitter to force in a run, cutting UBC’s lead to 3-1, and leaving the bases loaded with still nobody out.



A short mound visit from head coach John Tompkins followed, and whatever was said resonated deeply. Bade, a 160-pound lefty, proceeded to get the next three Coastal batters to go down swinging and the UBC 16u’s held onto their two-run cushion.

And they stayed in control until the game's conclusion, working their way to a 6-1 victory that left them with an overall pool-play record of 5-1-0 at the Perfect Game BCS 16u National Championship. It also earned them a coveted spot in the event's playoffs, which are now scheduled to be played Sunday morning.

The game against the Coastal Premier Prospects became a must-win after UBC (United Baseball Club) 16u dropped a 5-3 decision to the KY Prospects 16u during pool-play Saturday morning. This ball club out of McKinney, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex had its back to the wall but faced the music and came out swinging.

“We didn’t play too well, but that’s the thing about us, we like to bounce back; we’ve already experienced this before,” talented 2023 middle infielder Lathan Van Ausdall said when asked about that early morning loss. “From [now on] we should be able to hit and we’ll be ready for what comes next.”

That trip to the playoffs is what came next and justifiably so. The UBC 16u’s outscored their opponents in the first three-game set pool-play by a combined 29-6 and outdid their next three opponents by a count of 17-6, despite the loss.

This is a team that traveled a fair distance just to be here and their efforts and energies were rewarded. It’s a roster that boasts many of the top hitters at a PG 16u National Championship tournament that uses BBCOR bats as opposed to wood bats, and the fireworks have been impressive.

Every player on the roster is from the class of 2023, and after six games their hit totals were sky-high. Andrew Mac Rose and Logan Myers had six hits apiece with Mac Rose contributing a double, a triple, seven RBI and six runs scored; Myers doubled, drove in four and scored four.

Ben Tryon had five hits, including a double, with four RBI and seven runs. Bade, who pitched 10 eight-hit, 18-strikeout innings in two appearances on the mound, had four hits himself, including a double, and drove in six runs while scoring three others.

“We can really hit the ball, for sure,” Tryon said. “We started out the beginning of the season with wood [bats] so once we got to pick some metal up it felt a little more [comfortable].”

Which brings the conversation full-circle to Van Ausdall, who has been nothing short of sensational. A 5-foot-9, 170-pound sparkplug who hits at the top of the order, Van Ausdall collected 11 hits in the four games, a number that includes three doubles and a triple; he drove in seven runs, scored seven others and also contributed with five stolen bases.

“This is a really good hitting team,” Van Ausdall said before adding with a grin, “I kind of feel bad for the pitchers [throwing] against us. One thing about us, I’d say, is that we kind of just stay up; we never get down. We really just hit the fastball and with any off-speed, we got it. With guys on base, that’s when we really lock-in.”

With all the talk about the hitting, it certainly is worth noting that the UBC 16u’s also got some fine pitching performances in addition to those turned in by Bade. Brady Millstid and Seaver Newby, a couple of ’23 right-handers, combined to allow just five hits while striking out 10 and walking one in their 10 innings on the bump.

Tomkins started coaching a core group of this roster when they were at the 13u level, and while there have been additions that occur with every program in an effort to stay competitive, there is that core. They come from all over the Dallas-Fort Worth area with hometowns like Plano, Frisco, Southlake, Colleyville and Allen, and proudly wear the words “United Texas” across the front of their jerseys.

There are a few 2023 top-500 prospects on the roster who have made already made D-I commitments, including the infielder Van Ausdall (Oklahoma), third baseman/outfielder Jett Johnston (Texas A&M) and outfielder/left-hander Bennett Fryman (A&M). The uncommitted infielder Myers is the highest-ranked ’23 on the roster at No. 444.

“We’ve got some really true competitors in this group that are next-level talent and still trying to learn a little bit about the game,” Tomkins said. “They’re getting ready so that when do step on campus they’ll be ready to perform at a high level.”

Like each one of the other 111 teams on hand for the BCS 16u this week, UBC 16u had to endure a roughly 36-hour rain delay earlier in the week but was able to make the best of it. That can’t be easy for 16 year old athletes who traveled halfway across the country to play important baseball games only to be told there would be no baseball today because the fields were unplayable.

“Obviously the schedule got kind of messed up but we got to spend some time with our teammates and have a good time during those delays,” Tryon said. “But then coming out here and playing has been a really fun time, being at these nice ballparks and playing against these good teams.”

UBC 16u is one of 11 teams from Texas competing at 16u BCS with the other 10 coming from the 5 Star Performance, Dallas Tigers, Offseason Baseball, PBA Stars, Stix Prospects, UB Texas and USA Prime programs. That’s pretty good representation at an event that features scores of teams from Florida alone, along with other states from across the Southeast.

“We’re in a real hotbed for baseball in the Metroplex – there’s a lot of good teams and a lot of good talent,” Tomkins said. “But it’s nice to get outside your comfort zone and see different teams that you really don’t know a whole lot about because kids have to show up and be ready to play.”

Added Van Ausdall: “Over in Texas, we have really good competition so this is kind of no biggie for us. These Florida teams are pretty good and it’s something different that we’re going against. We kind of like it and it builds us up...”

“It’s good competition and we can kind of ignore all the [different] surroundings over here and then we just play ball,” he continued. “We’re a real good team and we can adapt to the weather being different than Texas; we kind of just play our game.”

That’s a sentiment that Van Ausdall’s teammate Ben Tryon agrees with whole-heartedly. He, too, spoke about how this group has played together for so long now that they can easily acclimate themselves to new surroundings and environments.

These Texans might be having a few issues with the Florida rain and humidity, but don’t talk to them about the heat. They know all too much about high heat, especially during this scorching summer of 2021.

“It’s a little different but other than that, it’s just baseball,” Tryon said. “You really have to take it one game at a time. You can’t really focus on what’s ahead of you. You’ve just got to go out there and play each out, each pitch.”

There is a lot of Texas high school baseball coaching experience on the UBC 16u staff. Tomkins is the new head coach at Denton High School after serving as an assistant at the school previously (he held head coaching jobs at other schools), and his top assistant here is Barry Rose, the head coach at Rockwall High School.

They take the teaching aspect of being a coach very seriously, even during the travel ball season when they’re dealing with players from a dozen or more different high schools.

“Even though they’re very talented, sometimes their baseball IQ is not the best,” Tomkins said. “They’ve got the physical tools but they’re trying to learn the game so that they can be prepared and make an impact early in their career at the college level.”

The UBC 16u’s were able to shake off that early morning loss – their first of the tournament – and rebound in a big way thanks in no small part to a gutsy pitching performance from their talented lefty Kyle Bade.

Coach Tomkins was the first to admit his guys did not play well at all in the day’s opener with uncharacteristic breakdowns with their infield defense and spotty pitching. As he said, you won’t win too many ballgames when two of the three most important aspects of the game are off-kilter.

But he was far from discouraged. His guys have come ready to play every day, and that hasn’t been easy considering schedule adjustments resulted in three straight days with 8 a.m. starts. Try getting any 16-year-old to be on top of his game at 8 a.m. for three days in a row.

Baseball is a funny game, Tomkins opined, and it’s difficult to predict what’s going to happen on any given day. The best team doesn’t always win and that can be humbling, so you just keep running these youngsters out there while asking them to do their best and keep playing hard.

“We got a great group that are blue collar kids that will get after you; I think we swing the bat extremely well and we can pitch it well in spots,” Tomkins said. “They’re fun to be around, they like each other, and I think each week we’re finding out more about each other and who can do what.”
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