The rain was abundant on the first day of the Perfect Game WWBA 17-U tournament, but so was the talent on the teams that were able to get a game played.

2014 RHP Luis Ortiz was dominant in his outing for the San Diego Show, sitting 90-92 mph with his fastball, topping 93 multiple times. He backed up the pitch with his dominant slider that baseball people have come to know over the last few weeks.

Austin Bernard of the Show hit a solo home run in his last at-bat, a shot over the left field fence off a curveball.

Top ranked 2014 prospect Alex Jackson was able to show off his talents, lining a ball back up the middle for a single, registering 105 mph off the bat, coming around to later score in the inning. Playing right field, the coach of Gallagher Team Mizuno wisely held up a runner at third on a hard ground ball out to Jackson, who came up throwing and delivered a strike to home plate, showing off his powerful arm.

Christopher Talbott and Mike Salvatore, both of Gallagher Team Mizuno, both picked up two base hits and an RBI each, helping to lead the team's offense.

Starting for Houston Heat Silver was 2014 RHP Tyler Kolek with a large gathering of scouts behind home plate to get a glimpse top ranked right handed pitcher. He didn’t disappoint in his two innings of work (rain delay), running his fastball up to 95 mph and throwing both a changeup and a slider for strikes. With his three pitches, Kolek was able to strike out five of the six batters he faced.

Another big 2014 arm was on the mound yesterday, about an hour away from Kolek in Peachtree City. LHP Daniel Gooden also threw in front of a large onlooking crowd of scouts, touching 91 mph once with his fastball and a few 90s (he sat 88-89), and carved up hitters thanks to his ability to spot his fastball on both sides of the plate. Gooden struck out 10 batters, showing feel for both his changeup and curveball, helping him to keep opposing batters off balance.

ABA Elite 17U won 4-1 yesterday morning, thanks in part to the bat Sam Finnerty, who was 3-for-4 in the box and came around to score three times. Finnerty picked up a double and two singles to go along with a stolen base.

Known for his pitching and the ability to throw 97 mph on the bump, 2014 RHP Dylan Cease showed that he could swing the bat as well yesterday, hitting both a double and home run in Team Elite Prime’s victory.

On the mound for Team Elite Prime was Spencer Adams, a tall, projectable 2014 right handed pitcher who sat 86-88 mph on his fastball, topping out at 91 while striking out seven batters.

Left-handed 2014 prospect Brady Adam had a solid performance in his two innings of work, running his fastball up to 88 mph, throwing from a lower three-quarters arm slot and pounding the lower half of the strike zone. To complement his FB, Adam threw a tight, late-breaking slider in the mid-70s that peaked at 77 mph, and threw both pitches for strikes, striking out the side in both innings he was on the mound.

Handsome Monica showed the same up tempo playing style that he has throughout the past year, hustling around the bases and hitting the ball hard. Last night Monica picked up two base hits, leading Marucci Elite offensively in their 3-1 win over the Long Island Prospects.

Marucci Elite also got a very strong pitching performance from 2014 RHP Joe Cavallaro, who struck out 13 batters and didn't allow a hit in his six innings of work. Cavallaro didn’t light up the radar guns, sitting 82-84 mph with his fastball, but he didn’t have to as he showed very good command, spotting his pitches in-and-out and up-and-down in the zone, getting some hard sink and run on his fastball. He also threw a sharp breaking ball in which he would add and subtract velocity from, getting different types of break on the pitch.

Any time a pitcher strikes out 13 batters, their pitch count is usually high, and that was the case for Cavallaro, who despite the no-hitter, was pulled after six innings. Relieving him was 2014 RHP Mitch Hart, a recent USC commit, who closed out the game. Sitting 88-89 mph with his fastball, Hart threw two pitches at 90 mph; the first pitch of the inning and the last pitch of the inning, which was located on the outer black for a called third strike. Hart also showed a sharp curveball in the mid-70s and has a very good, late fading changeup which he didn’t feature last night.

Opposing Marucci Elite on the mound for Long Island Prospects was 2013 RHP Jason Foley who ran his fastball up to 89 mph in the first inning and still touched 88 mph late in the game. In his five innings of work, Foley struck out seven batters, throwing a changeup in the upper-70s (topping out at 80 mph) and a curveball in the low-70s. In addition to having good feel for three pitches, Foley has a large, projectable frame and should see his velocity increase as he fills out a little bit more.