14U
FORT MYERS, FL. -- When the 14u World Series began, Canes American 14U made their presence known as they put up nineteen runs over four innings during their first game. They continued to dominate as the tournament progressed scoring an average of 11 runs over their opponents. Pool play was no different as they won 9-1 in the semis to secure the opportunity to face off against Select MVP for the championship. Select MVP began pool play with a 2-1 record but a 16-2 win in the quarterfinals erased any doubts anyone had of them making it into the championship.
The 14u World Series championship game rolled through four innings without seeing a run from either Canes American or Select MVP. Leading Select MVP on the mound for the first four innings was Fidel Alviar who allowed only one hit and sent five batters back to the dugout.
When the top of the fifth began, an error at short off a single from Charlee Soto allowed him to reach first and Select MVP started gaining momentum. Shortly after, Erick Soto came to the plate and errors in the infield allowed Jason Bello and Charlee Soto to reach home and put the first two runs of the game on the board.
Now down 2-0, Canes American brought the energy they needed to the plate in the bottom of the fifth. After Fidel Alviar walked two batters, Fernando Ferrer came in to relieve him and worked to keep his team's lead.
Coy James of Canes American hit a grounder to short off Ferrer’s third pitch and just like Select MVP, errors in the infield allowed Ryan Jones to score. Just two batters later, Canes American capitalized on another error in the infield when Coy Allman hit a grounder to short which allowed Michael Schiavone enough time to sprint home from third and tie up the game 2-2.
The intensity on the field was high as the game went into the seventh inning after pitchers Fernando Ferrer and Owen Paino allowed no runs in the sixth.
For Canes American, Owen Paino was pitching his seventh inning but his focus on the mound never waivered. Paino struck out two batters and threw one out at first to hold Select MVP at two runs. Throughout the championship, Paino powered through seven innings throwing ninety-five pitches and giving up only a single hit while striking out six batters.
First at the plate in the bottom of the seventh for Canes American was Jackson Inman. Inman showed patience at the plate as he waited for his pitch and eventually sent a fly deep into right off a 72 mph fastball.
Canes American being able to wait on their pitch proved to be one of the keys to their success as Coach Brad Scott told PG his team “wanted to see pitchers, wanted to wear pitchers down” and they knew if they did that “[they] would be in a position to make things happen”.
Inman quickly got into scoring position when Coy James bunted to third and reached first on an error.
As the winning run stood ready at third with no outs on the board, Select MVP brought in pitcher Jason Bello to try and salvage the inning. Bello’s first pitch hit batter Brian Scott which loaded the bases.
Coy Allman then stepped up to the plate and watched as the count grew to 3-0. Bello was eventually able to locate his fastball to bring the count to 3-1 and Allman helped him out with a foul ball, bringing it to a full count.
Bello then threw a 77mph fastball outside the strike zone and Canes American walked in their winning run.
Canes American took home the 14u World Series title with a late seventh inning 3-2 victory.
Despite the loss, pitcher Fidel Alviar IV of Select MVP had a great outing in the championship which earned him the 14u World Series Most Valuable Pitcher award.
Most Valuable Player went to Koy Swanson of Canes American who was the top performer of the 14u World Series with eight hits, three runs, and eleven RBI.
16U
FORT MYERS, FL.-- The road to the 16u World Series championship game did not look the same for finalists Ostingers Baseball Academy 2023 and the FTB Rockets 2023. Entering pool play with a losing record of 0-3, the FTB Rockets became the underdogs. The FTB Rockets showed they were not to be underestimated as they edged out their competition in the quarterfinals and semis, winning by one run in both games. With an opposite winning record of 3-0, Ostingers Baseball entered pool play as the team to beat. Scoring seventeen runs alone during the quarterfinals and semi, Ostingers cruised into the championship ready to face the tournament underdogs.
Going into the championship game, Coach Shane Olive of the FTB Rockets told his team “to play hard” and he knew “the other team was tired” after their previous game so they would have to use that to their advantage.
The FTB Rockets were the first to put a run on the board in the top of the second after both teams went scoreless through the first inning. After Caden Kok gave up a walk followed by a line drive to left by Kevin Smith, Oscar Fernandez was brought to the mound. A sac fly hit by Nate Stafford was enough to bring in a run and put them in the lead.
Despite going scoreless through the second inning, Ostingers Baseball brought power to the plate in the bottom of the third. A walk and sac bunt was all it took to put Paul Osting in scoring position on third and a sac fly off the bat of Adrian Arroyo brought him home.
FTB Rockets went run for run with Ostingers Baseball in the fourth, proving they had come too far to let Ostingers take the title. A long at-bat for Kevin Smith coupled with a wild pitch was enough to bring Nick Robert all the way home from first. Ostingers took their opportunity at the plate in the bottom of the fourth to put up a run thanks to an RBI single smashed to left by Ryan Fry.
Ostingers Baseball kept their bats hot through the bottom of the fifth as Ethan Petry turned around a 69 mph fastball for a double and Adrian Arroyo cruised home to push Ostingers Baseball back into the lead.
Ostingers Baseball pitcher Brody Donay however couldn’t hold on to his team’s lead and after putting up two outs, the FTB Rockets began to take the game back. Rocco Gaeta sent a 72 mph fastball deep to right for an RBI. Next up in the lineup was Kevin Smith who followed suit with Gaeta and delivered a line drive to center bringing Gaeta back home.
With a 4-3 lead, pitcher Rocco Gaeta came to the mound for the FTB Rockets and after seeing four batters, closed out the inning forcing Ostingers to leave their tying run on third. As the FTB Rockets came back to the plate in the top of the seventh, it was three up three down and they went back on the field to defend their lead.
Rocco Gaeta threw just ten pitches to three batters before he secured FTB’s championship title with a score of 4-3.
Adrian Arroyo of Ostingers Baseball Academy was named the Most Valuable Player of the 16u World Series with a tournament record of nine runs, five hits, and three RBI.
The Most Valuable Pitcher was awarded to Broc Bronson of the FTB Rockets after he had eighteen outs and four strikeouts over six innings pitched.
17U
FORT MYERS, FL.-- For teams participating in the 17U World Series, it’s more than common to have at least two commits on the roster. Throughout the tournament, players battled it out against their future teammates in order to claim their very own championship title. As pool play ended, it came down to Ostingers Baseball Academy 2021 and the Panama Mutiny. Based on past performances, it appeared the Panama Mutiny was a stronger team as they held a 3-0 record before pool play and dominated in the semis with a 5-0 win. However, Ostingers Baseball academy didn’t want their 2-1 record and average low scoring games to be a determining factor in their success and they brought everything they had to their final game.
Ostingers Baseball came to the plate in the top of the first and got their bats going right away. In the two slot, Gabe Garrett singled into right and when Nicolas Rodriguez came up next, Garrett made it to second off a passed ball. A line drive deep into right off the bat of Rodriquez then allowed Garrett to come all the way around and score the teams first run.
Once pitcher Ricardo Collado of the Panama Mutiny finally shut down Ostingers Baseball's lineup in the first, he would continue to pitch through six innings. Collado allowed just five hits, two walks, and struck out four batters. Ostingers Baseball saw fastballs in the 85-87mph range and Collado shook things up with a 74 mph curveball.
Keeping the score 1-0 through seven innings was a joint effort from starting pitcher Bryan Boully and relief pitcher Sean Hermann from Ostingers Baseball. Boully threw for five innings staying consistent in the 86-88mph range resulting in only four hits, one walk, and eight strikeouts. Coming in to finish the game during the sixth, Hermann allowed no hits, only one walk, and struckout one batter while sitting in the 87-89mph range.
Despite being allowed no runs, the Panama Mutiny was led by power hitter Ephraim Bravo who, with a .500 batting average, went two for two during the championship. Danny Diaz and Eladio Alonso also had some action at the plate each going one for two but it wouldn't be enough to bring in a run.
Ostingers Baseball Academy walked away from the 17U World Series with a 1-0 victory and the Most Valuable player award going to their very own Nicolas Rodriguez. Throughout the tournament Rodriguez had seven hits resulting in two RBIs and two runs.
The Most Valuable Pitcher award went to Alex Canney, also of Ostingers Baseball, who pitched for seven innings and struck out ten batters.