FORT MYERS, Fla. – Finding a team at the underclass level that is capable of playing nearly textbook baseball during a title game at a major Perfect Game national championship tournament can be a difficult discovery indeed.
But here it was: Textbook pitching. Textbook timely hitting. Textbook defense. Textbook execution. In short, textbook Canes Baseball.
The Canes National 17u did a little bit of everything pretty darn well on Monday, breaking open a tight ballgame against the South Charlotte Panthers 2023 with a four-run fourth inning and settling in for a 6-1 victory in the title game at the Perfect Game WWBA Underclass World Championship.
Playing in near perfect conditions at JetBlue Park (Fenway South as the locals call it), the No. 5-seeded National 17u (9-0-0) proved to be just a tick better than the No. 2 Panthers (8-1-0) on this afternoon while claiming the Canes National 17u’s second WWBA Under World title in the last three years.
“When you’re playing against an incredible organization like the South Charlotte Panthers you know they’re not going to give you anything so you’ve got to earn everything you get,” Canes National 17u head coach Brian Hucks told PG postgame.
“For a championship game, the ninth game that you’re playing in four days, I thought both teams had pitchers that were throwing strikes; I thought the defense was outstanding on both teams.”
2023 right-hander Jonah Conradt may have been the real difference-maker for the Canes, getting the start and working five three-hit, five strikeout innings, while allowing just the one run. He gave way to fellow ’23 righty Aidan Teel in the sixth, who continued the shutdown by tossing two no-hit scoreless innings to bring the game to a close.
“Everybody’s pitching is on fumes at this point right now,” Hucks said. “To have a chance to get some length out of your starter is so important, and we were able to get five innings out of our guy (Conradt). We had some position players that are good arms but haven’t thrown a whole lot...so by him going out and giving us a five-inning quality start was the key to our win today.”
South Charlotte Panthers starter Morgan Padgett, also a ’23 right-hander, was pretty good himself early on but the Canes were finally able to get to him in the top of the third. Macon Winslow got it started with a one-out infield single and came racing across home plate with the game’s first run when Kevin McGonigle smashed a two-out, line drive RBI double to center.
The Canes National built a bit of a comfort zone between themselves and South Charlotte in the fourth. Ryan Jaros led-off with a ground ball single to left and Zach Wadas followed with a line-drive single to center to put runners on first and second with no one out; Trent Caraway then laid-down a bunt single to load the bases with one out.
Cole Eaton chased Jaros home with a sac fly – Wados and Caraway also moved up a base – and Colby Wallace hit a groundball single into left that scored both baserunners; Wallace eventually scored on a wild pitch to give the Canes a 5-0 lead.
The Canes added another run in the fifth when McGonigle reached on a lead-off infield single, stole second and came around to score on a wild pitch. He doubled and singled in the game with an RBI and a run scored and was the only Cane with multiple hits.
Hucks felt like in the early innings his hitters were experiencing some tired legs, at least the first time through the order, anyway. They gave some at-bats away, he said, by chasing pitches out of the zone but as the game progressed, the decision-making improved.
“I feel like everyone picked each other up,” McGonigle said. “When one guys strikes out, one guy grounds out the next guy is going to get on base and help the team out. We got a little rally started; it was good for the team. It was a team win – this is a great team here – and I couldn’t be more proud.”
The Panthers tallied their only score in the bottom of the fifth when Kyle Dobos received a two-out walk and raced home on a line-drive single off the bat of Aidan Paradine.
McGonigle, a ’23 middle infielder and an Auburn commit from Pennsylvania ranked No. 33 overall nationally, finished the tournament 11-for-25 (.440) with three doubles, a triple, eight RBI, seven runs scored and five stolen bases; he was named the MV-Player.
“I joined (the Canes) three tournaments ago so I’m new to this team and when I joined I knew it was the right spot for me,” McGonigle said. “It’s like a family and we know how to win ballgames so it’s a great experience with this team.”
The South Charlotte Panthers 2023 right-hander Chance Mako, an N.C. State commit ranked No. 49 nationally out of North Carolina, was named the MV-Pitcher. In one appearance, Mako threw a six-inning no-hitter, striking out 16 without a walk.
This was a particularly dominating championship run for the Canes National 17u once all the final numbers were tabulated: They outscored their nine quality opponents by a dizzying 59-5 final count.
And sometimes it is the little things that matter most when push comes to shove in the championship game at a major PG national championship tournament and sometimes it comes down to playing as close to textbook baseball as young players’ skills will allow.
“We were able to get that one big inning and that kind of gave us some separation,” Hucks said. “I felt like that we did a good a job of throwing strikes and making the routine plays and making them earn everything they got. Just an incredible run by this group of young men, and like I said (winning) nine games in four days is just amazing. …
“These kids are really, truly happy for others’ success and they want to be part of this program. I couldn’t be any prouder as a coach to coach these quality young me.”
THE CANES NATIONAL 17U turned the tables on what had been the shutout machine East Cobb Astros, blanking the Astros, 3-0 in a much-anticipated semifinal pairing Monday morning. Canes’ 2023 right-handers Dennis McCarron and Cade Cosper combined on an 11-strikeout three-hitter to stymie the top-seeded Astros (7-1-0), who won six of their previous seven games by shutout.
The Panthers rolled past the No. 27 Power Baseball 2023 Platinum (7-1-0) by a 9-4 count in Monday’s other semifinal. Evan Macintyre came through with a two-run single in the bottom of the second and a sac fly in the fourth, and Walker Jenkins hit a line-drive solo home run to leadoff fifth and a line-drive two run single in the sixth to pace the Panthers’ 10-hit attack.