MARIETTA,
Ga. – Victories have come easy for D-Bat Mustangs Gallegos 16u who
have been on fire at the plate this week, racking up 42 runs in just
five games at the 2013 WWBA 16u National Championship.
The
D-Bat Mustangs are 4-1 so far and are barely trailing behind Chet
Lemon’s Juice for first place in the pool. The Mustangs have a
chance to proceed to the playoff rounds if they are able to pull out
a win against Chet Lemon’s Juice on Tuesday.
The
D-Bat Mustangs have done well in their four victories scoring at
least nine runs each game. Collectively as a team, they are averaging
.409 at the plate.
The
D-Bat Mustangs scored 14 runs against Ninth Inning Royals on Monday
beating them in just four innings. Head coach Roberto Gallegos said
Noah Hill and Braden Williams were the MVPs in this game. Hill went
2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI. Williams went 2-for-2 with
two singles and two RBI. He is averaging .533 overall this tournament
and is leading his team in RBI with seven.
“We
came out today and swung the bats pretty good,” added Gallegos.
“We’ve been swinging the bats pretty good all week. All around it
was some good hitting out here with our group today. They came out
here and were focused and were ready to go.”
The
D-Bat Mustangs have been hot on the mound as well. Colton Moore
pitched a four inning no hitter against the Royals on Monday. Beau
Burrows started off the tournament pitching three innings with no
hits, one walk and six strikeouts on Friday against the Staten Island
Orioles 2016.
“Well
I came out there and was trying to throw strikes, but I couldn’t
find the strike zone for the first half,” explained Burrows. “Then
I started to find it and I got a few strikeouts. I was doing pretty
well hitting my spots.”
“He’s
got a power arm and a big league career if he can just take care of
himself, (and) take care of his body,” said Gallegos.
The
6-foot-1, 180-pound right-hander from Weatherford, Texas, is ranked
No. 9 on Perfect Game’s High School Class of 2015 National
Rankings. Burrows, being a humble kid, was surprised of his high rank
and said he “(didn’t) even know what to say.”
“He’s
a great kid,” added Gallegos. “He’s just a country boy. He’s
always happy and always wants to be part of the team doing whatever
he can to help or make the team better. He’s very talented but also
humble.”
Burrows
is going into his junior year at Weatherford High School, and was
named sophomore of the year this past year for his district.
“We
went like 29-6 and finished second in our district,” said Burrows
about his high school team. “Our offense kind of went downhill
after our big hitter broke his thumb. I guess I was the sophomore who
performed the best in our district but there were some pretty good
sophomores in our district. Josh Watson on (this) team was in our
district. He’s a ball player; he’s really good.”
Burrows
just recently made a verbal commitment to play ball at Texas A&M
after he graduates.
“I
went down there a month ago and they offered me a really good
scholarship,” explained Burrows. “I really liked A&M so I
figured that was the place for me to go. I’ve always liked A&M
since I was a little kid so that’s where I want to spend my college
(years).”
Burrows
played in the 2012 WWBA 15u National Championship last year with
D-Bat Mustangs Phillips, who came in fifth out of 180 teams. Burrows
says he hopes to go even further this year.
The
D-Bat (Dallas Baseball Academy of Texas) Mustangs program started in
1998, and have grown to house more than 50 youth teams ages 8-18.
“The
last 10-12 years have been really good for (D-Bat,)” added
Gallegos.
According
to the website, the D-Bat program has had more than 100 players
drafted by MLB, more than 300 playing in college, and 16 state,
regional, or national championships since 2009.