EMERSON,
Ga. – The 2014 WWBA Freshman World Championship marks the second
year of the tournament and the first time the event was held at
LakePoint in Emerson, Ga. With a field of 32 teams participating, the
winners of all eight pools advanced to the playoffs Sunday morning,
beginning with the quarterfinal. As the day wore on, only two teams
were left standing; the Tri-State Arsenal Showcase 1 and Jacksonville
Warriors Easton.
Ultimately
Tri-State would prevail as they continued to swing hot bats and
received solid pitching, securing a 9-0 victory over Jacksonville.
The
routes taken by the Tri-State Arsenal and the Jacksonville Warriors
Easton were similar through pool play with both teams going 3-0.
After allowing four runs in their first game of the tournament, the
Warriors wouldn’t allow another run until their semifinal game. The
Arsenal’s pitching was equally as impressive with their three
starters throwing complete game shutouts through pool play and
another in their quarterfinal win.
Jacksonville’s
bats came out swinging on Championship Sunday, winning both of their
games by the run rule, outscoring their opponents 17-1. The Arsenal
however had their two closest games of the tournament, winning 3-0 in
their quarterfinal game and coming back in the bottom of the seventh
in their semifinal contest to win 5-4.
With
all that said, the championship game was sure to provide hits and did
just that as the team combined for 14 hits, five belonging to the
Warriors and nine to the Arsenal. Jacksonville came out the gates
swinging with two of their first three batters reaching base with
singles. The opening threat would be thwarted though as the Arsenal’s
starting pitcher, Charles Mack, was able to induce an inning ending
6-4-3 double play.
The
Arsenal, who received timely hitting in their thrilling semifinal
game, continued to pick up base hits and were able to plate the first
run of the game two batters in as Justin Meyer hit a loud triple to
center field to bring home the leadoff hitter. Mack followed Meyer
with a walk before event Most Valuable Player Brandon Neeck brought
home both baserunners with a line drive single back up the middle.
Henry
Davis and Raul Ortega hit back-to-back singles, and Davis would come
in to score on a sacrifice fly by Jack Ryan, plating the fourth
Tri-State run of the inning.
In
the second inning Rickey Hartless did what he has done all tournament
for the Warriors and collected a base hit, which was followed by a
Jared Cox single to give the Warriors two men on with only one out.
Just like he was able to do in the first inning though, Charles Mack
was able to get two outs with one pitch and stopped yet another
threat.
After
holding the Arsenal to a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second,
the Warriors mounted what would be their final offensive threat in
the top of the third. With the leadoff hitter getting hit, Kenny Gore
followed with a line drive single and Jacksonville was able to load
up the bases with a bunt single by Max Ferguson. Austin Knight
stepped up with no outs and got the barrel to the ball, creating hard
line drive contact right to the shortstop who flipped the ball to the
second baseman to double up the runner.
Again,
Mack was able to escape a big threat unscathed, inducing a ground
ball to the third baseman for the third out.
Tri-State’s
offense once again came alive, posting five more runs in the bottom
of the inning. As Mack and Neeck had done throughout the tournament,
each picked up a single to begin the inning with Ortega providing the
big hit, doubling down the left field line.
Mack
continued to deal on the mound for the Arsenal over the next two
innings, shutting down the Warriors offense to ensure a Tri-State
victory. He didn’t walk any batters, struck out two and didn't
allow any runs, a feat the Tri-State pitching staff was used to this
weekend. Of their six victories, five of them were complete game
shutouts, a fitting way for their final game to end.
During
the post game ceremonies, both the MVP and MV-Pitcher were named.
Neeck,
the MVP, hit a robust .643 throughout the tournament and went 3-for-3
in the championship game, driving in two of his seven RBI. He also
threw a complete game victory on the mound in the quarterfinals,
striking out six with only one walk.
Anthony
DiMartino, a lefthanded pitcher who threw a complete game shutout
with nine strikeouts while allowing only three hits in his start
during pool play, took home the Most Valuable Pitcher award. With his
team trailing after six innings in the semifinal game, DiMartino
threw a scoreless 1-2-3 seventh inning and picked up his second
victory of the tournament as the offense went on to score the tying
and winning runs in the bottom half of the inning.
2014 WWBA Freshman World Championship runner-up: Jacksonville Warriors Easton
2014 WWBA Freshman World Championship MVP: Brandon Neeck, Tri-State Arsenal 2018 Showcase 1
2014 WWBA Freshman World Championship MV-Pitcher: Anthony DiMartino, Tri-State Arsenal 2018 Showcase 1
