Baum Bat NW rallies past NEB National in Upper finale
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Baum Bat NW, with its base of operations in Portland, Ore., and a roster filled with prospects from Oregon and Washington, pushed across three runs in the top of the fifth and another in the top of the sixth to break a 2-2 tie, and held on to beat the No. 3 NEB National, 6-3, in the championship game at the Upperclass East MLK Championship.
They traveled a long way to collect this particular piece of hardware, but in the end the players and coaches from Baum Bat NW could attest that the pleasure they experienced at the end of the day Monday was worth any pain that may have resulted from traveling during a pandemic.
No. 4-seeded Baum Bat NW finished the four-day event at 6-0-0 while No. 3 NEB National out of Hudson, Mass., ended at 5-1-0.
The Bat NW jumped to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when No. 2 hitter Ian Umlandt stroked an RBI triple after lead-off hitter Josh Schleichardt was plunked with a pitch; Umlandt then scored on a fielder's choice groundout off the bat of Wilson Weber.
The Nationals tied it up with two of their own in the bottom of the third thanks to RBI singles from Chase Valentine and Jaden Rudd. It stayed that way until the top of the fifth when Cole Hubka, Jordan Hockett and Camden Christenson all delivered two-out singles with those from Hockett and Christenson driving in runs.
Baum Bat NW’s Tommy Brandenburg added an RBI single of his own in the top of the sixth, his second hit of the day; NEB’s Titan Kamaha singled in a run in the bottom of the seventh but it wasn’t quite enough.
2021 right-hander Sawyer Parkin, ‘22 left-hander Noah Imboden and ’22 righty Jackson Jaha combined on a three-strikeout seven-hitter for the Bat NW, walking six. NEB 2021 righties Jonathan Bautista and Jake Smith combined on a five-strikeout, three-walk six-hitter but did allow the six earned runs.
Tommy Brandenburg, Baum Bat’s 2021 right-hander/infielder and an Oregon signee, was named the MVP, mostly for his work on the mound. He was 2-for-3 with the RBI and run scored in the championship game and was lights-out in two pitching appearances, throwing 8 2/3 innings of two-hit, shutout ball while striking out 15 and walking one.
2022 left-hander Dakota Stone from NEB National, a Jacksonville commit ranked No. 119 nationally, was named the MV-Pitcher; he threw six shutout innings in two appearances, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out 10.
CPCA Navy, LHB share Underclass championship
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida entrants Central Pointe Christian Academy Navy out of Kissimmee and Miami’s Livan Hernandez Baseball (LHB) were declared co-champions at the Underclass East MLK Championship on Monday when their championship game was tied at 3 after 6½ innings.
No. 6-seeded CPCA Navy (4-1-1) took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth but LHB took control by putting up a three-spot in the frame. The Navy tied the game at 3 with two runs of their own in the top of the seventh, and the game ended with a final score of 3-3.
Eddie Tolentino led Central Pointe’s six-hit attack with a double and an RBI; Fernando Hernandez singled and drove in a run. 2022 right-hander Adrien Selles threw 5 1/3 innings of six-hit, shutout ball, striking out two and walking one.
Jan Rosado singled and drove in two runs to pace LHB, while Julian Hernandez singled with an RBI and Luis Rondo and Jose Alfonso both singled twice; Kevin Chavez, a 2022 righty, tossed six innings of four-hit, one-run, four strikeout ball.
TT Roos American 2023 on top at Sophomore East
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Maintaining a head of steam they built during a terrific run through a pair of PG WWBA World Championships in the fall of 2020, the Top Tier Roos American 2023 cruised to the championship at the Sophomore East MLK on Monday.
The Roos American ’23, with its base of operations in the Tampa Bay area, collected nine hits and nine walks and poured it on late to rout the Memphis-based Wow Factor Grey 16u, 12-3 in five innings in the championship game.
Relegated to the No. 6 seed after settling for a tie in one of its pool-play games, the American 2023s finished the event with a 5-0-1 mark; Wow Factor finished 5-1.
Many of the usual suspects led Top Tier in the title game, with Kade Kurland – a 2023 middle infielder and Florida commit ranked No. 18 nationally – contributing a pair of singles, three RBI and a run scored; a right-hander, Kurland also pitched two innings of hitless, scoreless relief, striking out two.
Cristofer Walley doubled and singled twice, driving in a run and scoring two, and Colton Wombles tripled, singled, drove in three runs and scored another; Fletcher Hislop singled with a pair of RBI and a run and leadoff hitter Steven Milam singled and scored three times.
Amari Allen doubled and drove in a couple of runs and Jack Brown singled and had an RBI to pace Wow Factor Grey 16u.
The Top Tier Roos American 2023 won the championship at the 2020 PG WWBA Sophomore World Championship in late September and reached the final-four at the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship the first week of October.
Canes FL 2024 frolic past GC Monarchs 15u for Freshman title
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Boca Raton-based Canes FL 2024 used a four-run third inning to build a comfortable lead and then buried the hometown Gulf Coast Monarchs 15u with a nine-run fourth en route to a 14-0, four-inning romp in the championship game of the Freshman East MLK Championship.
The No. 3-seeded Canes FL (6-0-0) totaled seven hits in the victory while also taking advantage of 13 walks and two hit batters from the No. 1 Monarchs 15u (5-1-0) pitchers.
The first five batters who came to the plate for the Canes in the top of the fourth walked before Niko Benestad. Gian De Castro and Anthony Espinosa delivered RBI singles; Jason Bello and EJ Burns drove in runs with sacrifice flies and Mateo Gray contributed an RBI fielders choice groundout in the frame.
Benestad finished with a single, a double, two RBI and two runs scored. De Castro singled twice, drove in a run and scored three others, Gray singled with two RBI and two runs and Burns drove in two runs despite not getting a base hit. Canes left-hander Matthew Pagan threw a four-inning, three-hit shutout, striking out two and walking one.
Canes FL 2024’s Niko Benestad and the Gulf Coast Monarchs 15u’s Timothy Lawson shared the MV Player Award. Benestad went 8-for-16 (.500) with a double, eight RBI and six runs scored while Lawson finished 7-for-18 (.389) with three doubles, 10 RBI and seven runs. Canes FL 2024 righty Mateo Gray threw nine shutout innings over two appearances, allowing five hits while striking out 10 and walking seven and was named the MV-Pitcher.
14u East championship goes to Carolina Elite 14u National
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Carolina Elite 14u National spotted itself an early lead with a three-run bottom of the first and never lost that lead on the way to a 7-3 victory over the Top Tier Americans 2025 in Monday’s championship game at the PG 14u East MLK Championship.
Both teams rapped out 10 hits in the finale with Clarkton, N.C.-based and No. 4-seeded Carolina Elite 14u (6-0-0) adding two runs in the bottom of the fourth and single runs in each of the fifth and sixth after plating three in the first; the Anaheim, Calif.-based and No. 7 Top Tier Americans 2025 (5-1-0) tallied single runs in each of the third, fourth and seventh innings.
Myles Mayse led the Carolina Elite 14u with three singles and three RBI. Donavan Jeffrey singled twice, drove in a run and scored another; Boston Kellner singled and drove in two.
2026 right-hander Joseph Mittiga and ’24 righty Alex Mezzetti combined on the 10-strikeout 10-hitter, with Mezzetti allowing one earned run on four hits with six strikeouts and a walk in four innings of relief.
Nine players accounted for the American 2025’s 10 hits with Jake Nobles collecting a pair and scoring a run. Trevor Goldenetz and Lukas Alvarado each singled and drove in a run and Cesar Gonzalez doubled, accounting for the game’s only extra-base hit.
Top Tier’s Camden Clewett and Carolina Elite’s Boston Kellner were named co-MV Players. Clewett finished 7-for-13 (.538) with a triple, three RBI and six runs scored; Kellner went 5-for-14 (.357) with three doubles, a triple, three RBI and five runs.
2025 right-hander Kaden Hart from Carolina Elite received MV Pitcher accolades after pitching 5 1/3 innings over three appearances while not allowing a hit or a run and striking out 10 (1 walk).
I Am United 13u races to 13u championship
FORT MYERS, Fla. – A couple of teams who both call Miami home squared off in the 13u East MLK championship game on Monday and I Am United 13u left little doubt about who owned neighborhood bragging rights, at least on this day.
No. 1-seeded I Am United 13u (6-0-0) put up eight runs in the bottom of the first and never took its foot off the gas while smothering No. 6 Team Miami (4-2-0), 15-3 in four innings, in the title tilt. The United 13u totaled eight hits in the romp and benefitted greatly from the 15 walks issued by a half-dozen Team Miami pitchers.
There were offensive highlights, however, with leadoff hitter Aquiles Arzeno leading the way with two doubles, a single, three RBI and two runs scored in six trips during the four inning game. Nicholas Bradley singled, drove in four runs and scored another, Eddie Rosado singled, drove in two and scored one and Connor Hernandez singled with an RBI and two runs.
2025 right-hander Jorge Gonzalez threw all four innings for the United 13u, allowing the three runs on five hits. Jonathan Paniagua had a pair of singles and scored a run for Team Miami.
I Am United 13u 2026 first baseman Kevin Leon was named the MVP after hitting 8-for-15 (.533) with a double, home run, nine RBI and nine runs scored. Team Miami 2025 right-hander earned MV Pitcher honors after working five two-hit, 11-strikeout (8 walks) shutout innings in two appearances.
PG 12u East MLK Championship
PG 11u East MLK Championship