EMERSON, Ga. - Team Alabama came out ready to compete at the 17u/18u PG/EvoShield Classic
this weekend at Perfect Game Park South at LakePoint. Their roster, full
of 15 and 16-year-olds, is not only competing, but beating 17 and
18-year-old teams.
“These are a bunch of hard working 15 and
16-year-old kids,” said head coach Angelo Nicolosi. “Playing in 18u
tournaments like this, I feel these kids are really putting themselves
in good situations to succeed. I honestly can tell you I don’t believe
we played in any of our own level tournaments this year. The kids knew
that going in it wasn’t going to be an easy road but I’m very proud of
how they’ve played.”
Their first game of the tournament was a
fairly easy victory, but on Saturday, it wasn’t as easy, as they scored
two runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game.
“I don’t
know if things could have gone any worse. We hit into a bunch of double
plays, but the kids kept battling and late in the game we executed a
couple of bunts and did what we needed to do at the right time and put
us in the victory column,” recalled Nicolosi.
Team Alabama took
home their third victory in another back-and-fourth game against GBSA
Blue Rays on Sunday. Austin Kitterman spent all seven innings on the
mound, giving up only three runs and striking out five.
“I just
try to go out and work fast and throw strikes and let my defense work
and every once in a while I get lucky and strike someone out,” said
Kitterman. “My weakest pitch today was my curveball. It didn’t fall
where I wanted it to, and it ended up a little high and they got a
couple hits off of it. But we got the win and that’s all that matters.”
Kitterman,
a right-handed pitcher, also plays center field and third base for Team
Alabama. He is a 2016 grad, but says he really enjoys playing the older
teams instead of teams his age.
“It’s something I’ve done since
8th grade,” said Kitterman about playing up. “I played varsity ball, so
I’ve always played the older guys, but I like it a lot. It’s great
because the scouts aren’t here to see the 15-year-old kids, they’re here
to see the older kids. So when they’re looking at the older kids they
end up seeing you too, so it’s really good if you show out and shine
when they’re here.”
Team Alabama also did well at the plate on
Sunday. Logan Brashier, John Marc Mullins and Alex Weeks all had RBI
singles. Sam Praytor went 1-for-3 with a single and racked up an RBI on a
sac-fly.
“I didn’t play the field today, I DH’d,” explained
Praytor. “I’m doing pretty well so far. I’ve been catching good I’m
batting around 300, but the tournament’s not over yet so I’m hoping to
do better these next few games.”
Team Alabama is now 3-0 and
holds the No. 1 spot in their pool. They have played in many tournaments
this summer including the 18u East Cobb Invitational, WWBA 18u and 17u
National Championships, and the 18u BCS Finals.
“We had a lot of
fun,” said Kitterman about playing in Perfect Game tournaments this
summer. “We didn’t finish where we wanted to, but we’re all 15 and 16,
so just being able to compete and be able to play has been a blessing. It’s such an honor to be able to play this great game and play a lot of great competition.”
“I
have played in them myself, and I think they’ve done a wonderful job
keeping up with this. I think this facility is outstanding, I think it’s
only going to get bigger and better and I feel that it gives kids more
and more opportunities,” explained Nicolosi. “Between the East Cobb
Complex, the LakePoint Complex, and all the surrounding high schools and
community, it really puts the kids on a national level. Kids will come
here and play and maybe not be as successful as they are in high school
but they’re raising the bar. The caliber of talent is the best in the
country and a lot better than what they usually play in high school.”
Team
Alabama is an organization that is focused on developing its players to
prepare them for the next level of baseball and life.
“Team
Alabama is not a team that is chasing trophies,” explained Nicolosi. “At
the end of the day we would all like to win, but we’re all about
developing the kids. As you guys can tell by looking at the ages and the
birth dates on the kids, it’s all about getting them better and getting
them to the next level.”
“It’s such a blessing having coaches
who actually care about us,” added Kitterman. “They could probably care
less if we won more tournaments, or what happens in the game, but they
care about how we turn out as men and how we turn out in college.”