EMERSON, Ga. – Christopher Willis was one of 50 players to hear
their name called on Tuesday as participants in the 2017 Perfect Game
All-American Classic, with the announcement coming right in the middle of the
16u WWBA National Championships at LakePoint. The Louisiana native attended PG
National in June, having an opportunity to be amongst the best in that event
and is excited for another chance at that atmosphere in August’s event.
“It was an awesome feeling,” said Willis. “I’m grateful that
I got the opportunity to go and compete with the best players, and I’m also grateful
that I was selected to play in the All-American game. That’s an honor. They
only pick 50, so it was a blessing to be picked in the top 50.”
Willis is ranked at the No. 38 overall player in the class
of 2018 and is young for his class, just recently turning 17 years old. Even
then, he continues to impress on the big stage, showing no signs of being
behind the curve. He has been named to an All-Tournament Team four times in his
PG experience, including an Most Valuable Player award in the 2015 14u WWBA
National Championship. Being around the best has only made him better, learning
from each player he has been around so that he can continue to grow in this
game.
“Everyone there’s humble,” said Willis about his teammates
at PG National. “They know they’re good, but they’re still humble. They’re not
cocky. They remain calm, they never stress out over if like they could’ve had a
better at bat. They shake it off and move on and it’s a blessing to be around
the humble people.”
In addition to playing amongst many of the top players in
San Diego, Willis said that he is also looking forward to the off the field
activities. One of those opportunities is the visit to the children at Rady
Children’s Hospital. Each year, Perfect Game teams up with Rady to not only
visit the hospital, but to conduct a fundraiser for the children there, and to
this day, $950,000 has been raised by Perfect Game.
“Just meeting all those kids and getting to spend time with
them,” Willis said. “I know it’s an awesome feeling to spend time with those
kids and just be around them. I know they touch peoples’ heart when you hang
around them, and I just want to be around them and help them get better.”
The 6-foot-4, 185-pound catcher is among the best because of
his bat, being able to hit for both average and power. Even though Willis
thought he struggled with the bat, he drew rave reviews from scouts for his
hitting ability at PG National. The left-handed hitting Willis has cemented his
All-American status in the 16u WWBA National Championship, hitting .467
(7-for-15) with a triple, three home runs and five RBIs for the East Coast Sox
Select.
“He’s just a game changer with one swing,” said Sox head
coach Chris Snopek. “He hits the ball hard in the gaps, can go deep anytime,
works the count really well, really protects the hitters in front and behind
him, and so it just gives us really aggressive offense with him in the lineup
and gives us a chance to have extra bases.”
The Sox have moved on the second round of the playoffs
behind Willis’ bat. They defeated the Carolina Rockies 5-3 at 8 a.m. in the
round of 64, and look to follow in the shoes of last year’s 16-year-old team who
won the event in 2016. Willis would triple out of the No. 2 spot to get the
lineup going in the first, scoring on a Jordan Beck single to left field. Brody
Moore would later single home two runs to push the early lead to 3-0.
“I just want to try to stay towards the middle, hit the ball
hard, not worry about trying to hit the ball far, just hitting it hard,” Moore
said.
Kaleb Hill started on the mound for the Sox, and was solid
through three innings before hitting a bump in the fourth. Three of the first
four hitters in the inning would reach against the Mississippi commit before
Nick Leonard would hit an RBI single with the bases loaded to knock Hill out of
the game. Fellow Mississippi commit Harrison Dorsett would be thrown into the
fire, surrendering two runs before escaping the jam with a 4-3 lead. With the
playoffs being comprised of five inning games, there is a lot more pressure on
the players and coaches alike because of the smaller margin for error.
“I think the difference is you got to be a little more aggressive
the bases early, just because you have five innings,” Snopek said. “I think
offensively, you’ve got to execute more bunts, kind of more small ball.
Obviously, pitchers you have to be real careful with it just cause in the five
inning format, if they throw over 20 pitches, they’re toast, so there’s a lot
of things you have to manage differently, the pitching, the hitting, the short
game and also baserunning.”
Although focused on the short game, the long game would pad
the lead for the Sox, who were aided by a long solo-home-run by Hayden Dunhurst
in the bottom of the fourth. Dorsett would shut the door from there, preserving
the two-run lead to move his team on to the next round.
The No. 26-seeded team has played to a 6-0-1 record, showing
flashes of brilliance on both sides of the ball. They have outscored opponents
34-11. Pitching wise, Ryan Hawks turned in a dominant performance against Team
Elite South 16u Goodwin, throwing seven one-hit innings, striking out nine.
At the plate, Moore, Willie Joe Garry Jr., and Logan Letney
have been major contributors at the plate, all hitting behind Willis. Moore is 6-for-12
with three RBIs, Garry Jr. is 8-for-15 with three RBIs and Letney is 6-for-12
with six RBI’s. Behind that success are teammates who feed off each other and
want to help the team succeed.
“This is like a brotherhood. When one man gets down we pick
him up. When one man struggles, the next man picks him up,” Willis said. “So,
it’s like a brotherhood, and we’re a family. We all love each other and we all
have a good time playing the game.”
Led by their newly named All-American, the East Coast Sox
Select are back on the field at 3 p.m. to play the winner of the game between
the No. 58-seeded Canes North 16u and the No. 7-seeded OTC Ballers Red. Although
they have four games to go to reach the championship game, Snopek just needed
to see what he has seen out of his team this tournament and needs them to continue
the focus they brought in their first playoff game.
“They’re resilient. A lot of those guys have been here and
so they’re patient. I think that they’re starting to learn how to adjust to the
pitcher and to the umpire, so that’s what I’m seeing is that they’re just
resilient, they don’t give up, so that’s what we need,” Snopek said. “There are
four games today, that’s what you need.”