Welcome to Perfect Game’s Baseball Championship Series at the
Hubert H Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Four teams from four very different parts of the country have battled their way to Minneapolis, Minnesota and the Hubert Humphrey Metrodome for the inaugural Baseball Championship Series August 15-16. The four teams; East Cobb Baseball, Explosion Baseball, Orange County Angels and Puerto Rico Raiders will play a double elimination tournament on the Minnesota Twins home field to determine the BCS 18U champion.
The Baseball Championship Series events, unlike other Perfect Game and World Wood Bat Association events, use metal bats instead of wood bats. Perfect Game USA provided sponsorship money to pay the team’s expenses to fly to Minneapolis and be housed near the Metrodome.
“It’s great to have this type of variety and this type of talent in the BCS Championship,” says Perfect Game’s Andy Ford. “It’s exactly what we envisioned happening. There was a ton of excitement generated at all four Regionals about the chance of playing in a Major League Park for the winning team. We expect this event to just explode in size and popularity next year and beyond.”
Perfect Game USA has plans for directors to be hand picked in each one of the 11 regions throughout the United States. “The Baseball Championship Series was established to give teams a chance to advance through regional play, using metal bats, to an end of the year “Championship.” We realize that we cannot do this alone and are well on our way to securing top notch people that have been recommended to us by influential baseball people from all over the country, to help create something that will be second to none.”
The 18 under will grow to 6 regional events, adding a Florida and Midwest regional, and be played in the week following the 18 Under World Wood Bat Association event at the East Cobb complex in Marietta, Georgia each July. “We have been approached for the last few years by many teams/organizations, as well as, many college programs throughout the country, to do something with metal bats. This was what came about and we are excited about the future of this organization.”
From ages 12 to 17, teams will be invited to regional play, with a chance to be part of a 24 team Baseball Championship in their respective age groups. Most of the regions throughout the country will have two distinct qualifiers, giving teams double the chance of advancing to the prestigious Baseball Championship series at the end of each summer.
The Road to the Dome: How did this year’s teams get to the Dome?
East Cobb defeated the Georgia Stars June 15 to win the East BCS Regional at the East Cobb Complex in Marietta, Georgia. The East Cobb team, managed by Guerry Baldwin, have been title contenders at WWBA events for years and will have an experienced roster full of talented players for the Metrodome.
The most unexpected team to earn a trip to the BCS Championship was the Puerto Rico Raiders, who ventured all the way to Baseball Heaven on Long Island, New York to win the talent filled BCS East Regional on June 27. The Raiders defeated the #1 seeded Team New York Cardinals in a thrilling final game 8-7. What the Raiders, coached by Luis Rosa, lack in name luster they make up for in enthusiasm and talent and their style of play often proves disconcerting to many teams.
The Orange County Angels, coached by Josh Belovsky and Klint Williams, entered the West BCS Regional playoffs as only the 8th seed but cruised through the playoffs to win the event. They defeated the #1 seeded Southern California Bombers 4-3 in the semi-finals and outslugged national powerhouse Nor Cal 12-10 in the finals on August 1.
The final BCS Championship slot was nailed down on August 5 when Explosion Baseball, coached by Chris Fackler, edged the underdog Texas Drillers 4-3 at the beautiful Baseball USA complex in Houston, TX. The Explosion, based out of Lake Charles, Louisiana and featuring many players from the East Texas coast, will surely have one of the most powerful offensive teams in Minneapolis and even the Big League fences shouldn’t limit their attack.
Good luck to the four teams in this year’s prestigious event!