FORT
MYERS, Fla. – With a race to beat the upcoming storms, Elite Squad
Prime 17u and the Jacksonville Warriors gathered at Jet Blue Park to
determine who would walk away with the 18u WWBA East Memorial Day
Classic Championship.
The
teams sat in the dugouts and came up with creative games to pass the
time of the delays. After an hour delay, the game was called and both
teams were named co-champions, the second straight year for Elite
Squad Prime.
Elite
Squad came into the Championship game undefeated and with a roster
loaded with 17 Division I commits. Despite the low stress nature of
a rained out championship game, Elite Squad played an eight inning
game that ended with a walk-off grand slam against North East
Baseball in the quarterfinals.
“It
was a crazy game” said head coach Alan Kunkel. “It was an
electric experience and then (Ronald) Washington came up and hit the
grand slam.”
MV-Pitcher
Anthony Masiello, a Miami commit, threw six innings earning a win and
a save and struck out 10 batters over his two outings. FAU commit
Dylan O’Connell also pitched well for Elite Squad tossing five
innings allowing only one hit and recording seven strikeouts. Those
two highlighted a group that pitched to a sterling 0.55 ERA.
For
the Jacksonville Warriors, they too came into the Championship game
without a loss and outscored opponents 27-7 thanks to strong
pitching.
“Players
grinding all weekend with the inclement weather really played great,”
said Jacksonville Warriors coach Scott Marabell about his Warriors
club.
MVP
honors were awarded to John Cassala who hit .429 with one homer, two
doubles, four RBI and five runs scored. Blake Marabell helped ignite
the Warriors offense all tournament hitting .400 with one double,
four RBI, three runs and five stolen bases.
18u
WWBA East Memorial Day Classic co-champions: Jacksonville Warriors
18u
WWBA East Memorial Day Classic MVP: John Cassala, Jacksonville
Warriors
Elite
Squad Prime 16u and Florida Burn Pennant 2017 share 16u title
Outside
of baseball tournaments, the one thing South West Florida may be
known most for is rain and lightning. Meeting for the second straight
year, the Elite Squad Prime 16u and Florida Burn Pennant 2017 were
looking to repeat the highly intense game from last year that saw
Burn walk away with a win.
Teams
were quickly put into a delay after the first shot of lightning in
the distance, and after a lengthy delay the teams met and agreed to
become co-champions. The players, however, were still fueling for
some competitive action and decided a race to center field would
decide which team would be credited with the symbolic win. The Burn
won that one.
The
Florida Burn Pennant 2017 entered the game undefeated and outscored
opponents 55-12 over the course of the weekend. They batted an
astounding .391 as a team and pitched to a pristine 1.55 ERA over the
course of the tournament. The Burn’s closest game came in the first
round of the playoffs against the Miami Suns 17u team where they won
9-5.
“We
were able to rebound and play our game,” said Head Coach Mark
Guthrie on how his team benefitted from the rain delay due to their
cold start.
MVP
recipient Jordan Butler led the way for the Burn offense, batting
.529 with three doubles, 10 RBI and five runs scored.
“It
seemed like I was seeing a lot of off-speed pitches, I would just put
them the other way,” Going opposite field and not trying to pull
the ball,” said Butler of his approach, who was also quick to
credit his team’s rituals in the outfield pre-game that help him
relax.
As
for Elite Squad Prime, they similarly cruised through pool play and
outscored opponents 47-13 and defeated the GCBA Black Sox in the
Semifinals. And for a team that has not been with each other long,
they have quickly adjusted.
“As
a coaching staff we’re kind feeling everybody out and not trying to
extend pitchers,” said Elite Squad head coach Scott Morrison.
Daniel
Federman earned MV-Pitcher honors for Elite Squad earning two wins on
the mound over the course of seven innings allowing five hits and
striking out 13 batters.
“I
felt good out there, my arm felt fresh,” said Federman when asked
about how he felt during both of his starts. “It was a good way to
start off the summer, it makes it real easy when you have such a
talented defense behind you.”
16u
WWBA East Memorial Day Classic co-champions: Elite Squad Prime 16u,
Florida Burn Pennant 2017
16u
WWBA East Memorial Day Classic MV-Pitcher: Daniel Federman, Elite
Squad Prime 16u
Team
MVP rallies against Florida Burn Pennant for 14u Championship
The
Florida Burn Pennant 2019 and Team MVP dodged weather and lightning
for the entire tournament, but on Monday there were blue skies just
long enough for the two teams to play for the 14u WWBA East Memorial
Day Classic. Team MVP ultimately prevailed to take the crown, and the
trophy.
The
game started off quickly with the Florida Burn Pennant 2019 posting
three runs in the first inning, including a towering two-run home run
from shortstop Steven Parker Farris. Josh Rivera added in another run
with an RBI double to quickly give the Burn a three-run advantage.
That first inning was already three times as many runs as Team MVP
had allowed throughout the entire tournament up until that point.
The
Florida Burn did not stop there as they added another run on an error
in the top of the second and Kevin Dubrule added an RBI single to
give them a 5-0 lead to start the game, but Team MVP rallied.
“Keeping
our composure and being patient was the key to having such a
successful run in the tournament,” said Team MVP head coach Mike
Sagaro.
Stay
composed they did, as Team MVP came around to score seven runs in the
bottom of the third.
Colton
Olasin came up with the bases loaded and no outs and delivered with a
big two-run single to get Team MVP on the board. Jonathan Vega and
Luis Diaz each added an RBI single of their own to help cut the
deficit. Diaz posted an impressive tournament at the plate hitting
.750 with two doubles, three RBI and four walks.
Tournament
MVP Michael Machin smacked an RBI double to tie the game, then came
around to score the seventh run of the inning. Hitting a scalding
.636 for the tournament with three doubles, five RBI, five runs
scored and two stolen bases, Machin credited his team’s resiliency
and ability to fight back as the key to the win.
Parker
Foss came in out of the bullpen for Team MVP to close the door and
earn the save tossing two perfect innings and striking out one
batter.
Pitching
was not only on the side of Team MVP. Alex Ballard earned MV-Pitcher
honors for the Florida Burn Pennant 2019 after tossing a dominating
six innings allowing only one hit and recording 12 strikeouts.
Ballard was quick to deflect the credit to his teammates, but did say
he was feeling his changeup in his Saturday start and thought he had
good control over his curveball.
14u
WWBA East Memorial Day Classic champions: Team MVP
14u
WWBA East Memorial Day Classic MVP: Michael Machin, Team MVP
