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Tournaments  | Championship | 7/15/2026

East Cobb Go Undefeated, Takes 14U BCS

Alyssa Golden
East Cobb Goes Undefeated, Takes 14U BCS

Twenty years after winning the inaugural 14U BCS National Championship in 2006, the East Cobb Astros once again stood atop the tournament, defeating the Original Florida Pokers 7-4 at JetBlue Park.



A hot, sunny afternoon set the stage for a tightly contested match between the Original Florida Pokers 2030 and East Cobb Astros 14U Orange. Although the Pokers had a two-run lead with just three innings to go, East Cobb showed their team had no quit as they pulled away with a 7-4 victory.

The teams battled through a highly contested tournament field of over sixty teams from across the country, with the Pokers coming in 8-1 and East Cobb entering 8-0 in tournament play.

Cohen Carter started on the mound for East Cobb, allowing seven hits and no walks while striking out three batters over four innings. His fastball sat 71-75 mph.

Silas Anstett opened the game with a single to center field, however, Carter also came ready to play as he struck out the following batter. A fly out to right field ended the inning scoreless.

Brayden Basso pitched the first four innings for the Pokers, striking out five batters. The right-hander showed his power with his fastball topping at 80 mph. He struck out his first batter and two more outs quickly followed, showing the matchup to be a defensive battle from the start.

Impressive pitching led the way on both teams as Carter struck out two more batters in the second, facing the minimum three batters in the inning.

The back-and-forth defensive battle continued as Basso struck out two additional batters of his own to enter the third inning with both teams still scoreless.

With the intensity that a championship game brings, the energy on the field and in the stands was high. Cheering, clapping and chanting filled the air as the tight bond between the players on both teams was on full display.

The first run of the game was finally scored in the bottom of the third. Connor McCloud singled to open the inning and quickly advanced to second after a wild pitch. He scored on an error to give his team the first lead of the afternoon. Yet another strikeout from Basso ended the inning.

The Pokers came alive in the fourth inning. Anstett singled and later scored to tie the game 1-1. The Pokers’ support for one another was undeniable as they erupted in celebration when Anstett crossed home plate, surrounding him as though they had just won the game.

Basso reached first on an error and MJ Chen doubled to drive him in.

The Pokers kept the pressure on offensively as Tyler O’Dell then hit an RBI single, allowing Chen to score and bringing the lead to 3-1. Jake Quintana doubled, but a ground out to shortstop ended the inning.

Basso recorded his fifth strikeout in the bottom of the fourth and a diving catch from Quintana in the outfield ended the inning.

Landon Ford entered in relief for East Cobb to start the fifth inning. He allowed three hits and no walks while striking out three batters in three innings. His fastball sat 77-81 mph.

In the bottom of the fifth, East Cobb began their comeback starting with Ben Saez, who went 2-for-3 with three RBIs, one double and one run scored. He hit an RBI single to score Easton Newsom. Saez earned tournament MVP honors, hitting .556 through nine games.

McCloud reached first base on error and scored after Landon Pierce singled to tie the game 3-3, sending the already electric atmosphere to another level.

“We’ve been hitting well all week,” East Cobb head coach Rock Rucker said. “I just kept telling them to stay in the moment, stay in the game. I’ve been preaching that all week.”

Chase Vega entered in relief for the Pokers and pitched the rest of the game, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out one batter over two innings.

Saez then scored on an error to regain the lead for his team, 4-3.

Back-to-back strikeouts from Ford quickly ended the top of the sixth as East Cobb’s offensive momentum made its way to the mound.

“I think it was definitely keeping a positive energy in the dugout,” Saez said. “When things didn’t go as planned, we picked each other up.”

In the bottom of the sixth, East Cobb loaded the bases with no outs. Charlie Welch scored on a walk, bringing the lead to 5-3.

Saez delivered again, hitting a two-RBI double extend East Cobb’s lead to 7-3.

“The pitcher wasn’t throwing as much velo as some of the other kids we’ve seen, so I knew if I got a pitch I could hit, I was going to swing as hard as I can,” Saez said.

A strikeout from Vega ended the inning.

With one more chance to mount a comeback, the Pokers came to the plate in the top of the seventh. Quintana tripled and scored after Blake Evans singled to cut the deficit to three runs. However, a strikeout from Ford followed by a pop out to right field secured a 7-4 victory for East Cobb.

“Honestly, it means everything,” Rucker said. “We had a great start to the year. After that we kind of hit a bump in the road, but for the past three weeks we’ve come back together as a team, and we were very successful this week."
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