FORT MYERS, Fla. – Orange and blue are colors that resonate to the Florida Gators, the newly minted national champions of college baseball. In Fort Myers at the 15u Super25 National Championship, another crew emblazoned in those familiar colors to Floridians made a statement in their opening day of play at JetBlue Park.
The Missouri Gators Baseball Club made short work of their opponents on Saturday by defeating the NCDB Rivercats 9-0 in five innings and the West Coast Braves White 11-2 to set themselves in good shape heading into the back half of pool play games.
The Gators, who make their home base just outside of St. Louis, are relative newcomers to the Perfect Game scene with a very limited number of appearances in major events.
Gators head coach Larry Kirchner and his squad made their mark in USSSA tournaments and last season were ranked second in 14u, but have played solely in Perfect Game events this summer. The Gators won the PG Super25 Central Qualifier to earn their spot into the championship and have made an early impression against a strong field.
“For a lot of these kids, they’re new to Perfect Game events,” Kirchner said. “They’ve had to adjust from the drop-five bats to the high school bats, and we’ve had to change what our team is. We were a power-hitting team, but now it’s about putting the ball in play, good situational hitting and taking the extra base in the running game when we can.”
Kirchner has a potent duo that sits at the top of his order in shortstop Trevor Austin (2020, Jefferson City, Mo.) and center fielder Briar Stinson (2020, Rushville, Ill.), who is ranked 197th in the 2020 class and each are receiving interest already from SEC schools including Kentucky, Ole Miss and Missouri.
“I think Trevor is one of the top 10 shortstops in his class. He does everything out there you want,” Kirchner said. “Briar has excellent speed, and with our other outfielders, nothing falls out there.”
In their opening game against the NCDB Rivercats, the Gators rode two big innings, scoring five runs in the second and four in the fourth in their 9-0 victory.
Zackary Ploch (2020, Westzville, Mo.) struck out six in 2 2/3 innings and Stinson went the rest of the way, striking out four in 2 1/3 innings. Stinson, Nicholas Hemken (2020, Glen Carbon, Ill.) and Coulton Doyle (2019, Columbia, Mo.) each drove in a pair of runs.
In the 11-2 defeat of the West Coast Braves White, Austin and Stinson collected five of the team’s 16 hits, with Stinson going 3-for-3 with a double, a triple and three RBIs.
Austin had a scary moment when he appeared to injure his left arm after attempting a tag on a steal attempt at second base in which his glove and the ball got knocked off after a collision. Austin would remain in the game after staying down for a few minutes.
The Gators will face a stiff test in their third pool play game Sunday morning, as they’ll take on the East Cobb Astros, who are ranked as the fourth best team in 15u.
As the Gators progress in pool play, Kirchner has arms in reserve in the hopes of making a charge to the championship.
“We’re going to try and save our better arms, and even if we get in as the eighth seed if we drop these next two games, I feel good about where we are,” Kirchner said. “We’ve played some of the top teams from all over with this bunch last year and have beaten a lot of them. We’re confident in what we’ve got.”