Righthander Jonathan Meyer (San Diego) tossed the second complete-game, no-hitter of the day (and tournament) as California’s ABD Bulldogs defeated the Central Florida Renegades 2-0 Saturday afternoon.
Meyer (not to be confused with Jonathan Meyer of Simi Valley, Calif., who is playing in the tournament for the Ohio Warhawks) wasn’t overpowering, walking three and striking out four with a two-pitch mix that included an 81-83 mph fastball and a 74-75 mph slurve.
The win was the first of the tournament for ABD (1-0-1), a pre-tournament favorite to win Pool H.
The Bulldogs then turned around and beat the South Charlotte Panthers 2-1, getting a big-league quality, game-saving defensive play by third baseman Matt Davidson (Yucaipa, Calif.), a potential 2009 first-rounder, on a high hopper to third with the tying run on third base on the last play of the game. The game was pivotal for ABD as it would have been eliminated from playoff consideration with a loss.
Righthanders Chad Thompson (Trabuco Canyon, Calif.) and Gabriel Encinas (Whittier, Calif.) stopped South Charlotte (2-1) on four hits. The 6-foot-8 Thompson, another ABD possible ’09 first-rounder, allowed no hits in three innings, walking two and striking out five. He topped out at 91 mph.
Earlier in the day, Chet Lemon’s Juice got a route-going, no-hitter from righthander Robert Benincasa (Riverview, Fla.) as the Juice beat South Florida PG Navy 6-0. Benincasa was much more dominating than Meyer in his gem as he walked none and struck out 16.
The Juice’s win temporarily put it in the driver’s seat in Pool I with a 2-0 record, but it gave it all right back one game later in a key 1-0 loss to the Texas Scout Team Yankees. Both teams are now 2-1 entering Sunday’s action, but the Yankees hold the tie-breaker if both teams should finish pool play at 3-1.
The Texas Scout Team, expected to contend for the tournament championship, got a combined two-hitter from junior righthander Jameson Taillon (The Woodlands, Texas) and senior righthander Brady Rodgers (Richmond, Texas). Between them, they struck out six. Taillon, a potential 2010 first-rounder, ran his fastball up to 93 mph while the Arizona State-bound Rogers was in the more pedestrian 85-88 mph range, but was the more effective of the two pitchers.
Catcher Luke Bailey (LaGrange, Ga.), a potential 2009 first-rounder, doubled to lead off the second inning and came around to score the only run of the game for the Texas Scout Team on a single by Cody Robinson (Sugar Land, Texas).
--AS
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