EMERSON, Ga. - It was a battle of two pitchers at Perfect Game Park South at
LakePoint on Monday. The DSB Diablos Gold 14u Major and the All American
Prospects were only able to score one run each, ending the game in
a 1-1 tie after seven innings. Fortunately for the Diablos, they were able
to maintain their undefeated status in the WWBA 14u National
Championship.
“We just had two pitchers out here dominating. Both
sides had guys throwing strikes. They were pumping the strike zone and
neither team could scratch more than one run out,” said Diablos coach
Eric Love.
Austin Hunter was on the mound throughout all seven
innings for the Diablos. He struck out one, walked two and allowed two
hits. At the plate, George Bielan went 2-for-2 with two singles. Jack
Hardin and Collin Price both had a single as well. Justin Reid was the
only one able to push a runner across home plate with a clutch RBI
single in the top of the third inning.
“Justin Reid and Jack
Hardin played solid defense all day and then they were the ones that got
key hits when it counted so they were the reason that we played so well
today.”
After winning their first four pool games and racking up
29 runs, this tie has brought them to the No. 2 spot in their pool,
just behind Home Plate Dyal, who they will face on Wednesday.
“We played well in our previous games and were able to scratch some runs across,” said Love about their previous wins.
As
a whole, the Diablos have done well at the plate. Tyler Odak is leading
the team in RBI with six. Reid is 6-for-14 with four RBI.
On
top of playing well offensively, the Diablos pitching has been solid as
well. Zach Morochnik allowed no runs in his seven innings of work
against Lamorinda 14u on Friday. Later that afternoon, Mitchell Werntz
struck out six batters in his five innings on the mound against Team
Easton 14u.
According to Love, the top players on the team are
Hardin, Reid, Werntz and Josh Hudgins. He said they “really anchor the
team and really hold it down offensively and defensively and are great
kids.”
The DSB Diablos is an organization based out of Dunwoody,
Ga. They have two 13-year-old teams, two 14-year-old teams, and one
15-year-old team. The 13's and 14’s are divided into a maroon team and a
gold team.
“The gold teams have all went to World Series this
year and played pretty well. The 15u team just got back from a World
Series in Charleston and they did pretty well, and 13u just finished up
in Panama City,” explained Love.
The Diablos organization has
been around for three years. They run a three-year program that prepares
the kids for high school baseball. They strive to provide top notch
coaching and give the kids the opportunity to play at highly competitive
levels. They are flexible in allowing players to try out new positions
as they understand at this age, their positions will change throughout
the next years.
The Diablos play in some of the top tournaments
with high levels of competition to help prepare the kids for their
future baseball careers. Love said they really enjoy playing in Perfect
Game events.
“Perfect Game is great competition,” said Love. “I
like the fact that they use wooden bats and I like the fact that the
competition is stiff every weekend so the kids get better when playing
in Perfect Game tournaments.
“[Our goal] is to make our players
better every day and help them get seen so they can play for a solid
high school program or a solid college program somewhere.”
The
Diablos program is part of the Dunwoody Senior Baseball program. Their
website explains that the DSB program is an organization that “has been
providing players from 13 to 18 years of age and opportunity to play
recreational and travel baseball for 35 years out of Dunwoody Park on
Roberts Drive in the City of Dunwoody. The Diablos are an important part
of that mission. DSB is unique in that it offers a baseball option for
every player. Whether they prefer recreational play or a more
competitive travel level of experience, DSB offers an option.”
“It’s a good program,” said Love. “If kids want to learn and get some good playing time, Diablos is a good place to be.”