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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/15/2016

Two advance to WWBA Nationals

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Perfect Game


East Cobb Colt .45s clinch 16u National Qualifier

EMERSON, Ga. – The East Cobb Colt .45s are Perfect Game champions again as they defeated the 643 DP Cougars Mang to take home the winning trophy for the 16u WWBA National Championship Qualifier. The Colt .45s used a combined team effort to take down the Cougars 6-2.

The Colt. 45s struck early as they put a run up in the top of the first inning. Noah Ledford, the No. 15 catcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2018, drove in the run on an RBI groundout. Ledford also supplied two more runs in the third and fifth innings with another RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly respectively.

The three runs were all the support that Luke Bartnicki, the No. 1 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2018, needed with the way he was pitching. Bartnicki fired five scoreless innings in the championship game including six strikeouts.

The Cougars tried to mount a comeback in the bottom of the sixth inning. After getting a couple of runners aboard they plated two runs in the inning thanks to an error by the shortstop and an RBI fielder’s choice.

Heading to the top of the seventh inning, with the championship on the line, the two ballclubs were separated by only a run. Ledford was able to add on some insurance runs in the top of the inning by knocking in two runs on an RBI single to left field. Nolan Tressler, the No. 14 outfielder in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017, also scored on a passed ball to make the lead a four-run cushion. Zach Fordham, the No. 11 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017, came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh and secure the victory.

Manager Matt Hightower was very impressed with the way his team handled the tournament. By capturing another Perfect Game tournament title, the Colt .45s are continuing to build their brand of baseball and make a name for themselves.

“We’re building the Colt .45 name on top of the East Cobb tradition,” said Hightower. “It took everybody to get here, we had some great pitching performances; Davis (Sharpe) threw a great game against the Cougs, he was on point and dominated through. When he’s able to throw a complete game like he did, it keeps Luke available to go on the championship.”

The Cougars were not a new opponent for the Colt .45s. This is a team, and a program (643) that all East Cobb teams are very familiar with and Hightower made sure that his team was prepared for the Cougars’ style of play and to ensure that his team was ready for anything.

“We know they’re going to be competitive,” said Hightower. “They do the little things right. They try to ix it up on the mound which can give you fits at the plate. They’re going to try to do things to put pressure on you, you have to be able to slow the game down, hit the reset button, and think about what the opposing team is trying to do and how to counteract that. It becomes very strategic and the kids did a great job of executing at the right times.”

By winning the 16u WWBA National Championship Qualifier, the Colt .45s have secured a spot in the National Championship, which takes place later in mid-July. Hightower expects his team to take their performance from this tournament and to learn from it, build on it, and come out for the National Championship as a better and complete team.

“We can go back and say we’ve been here (National Championship) before,” said Hightower. “It’s the same process, the same workload, the pitchers are starting to expand on their conditioning so we’re starting to let some guys stretch out a little bit. We do have good depth. When you have kids who can go the distance it really makes an impact on the big picture.”

The MVP of the tournament was Noah Ledford of the Colt .45s. Ledford hammered the baseball all tournament long resulting in two home runs, four doubles, 11 RBI, 10 runs scored and nine hits in 20 at-bats. The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Peyton Berry, the No. 20 righthanded pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2018, of the Cougars. Berry went 1-0 over 13 2/3 innings pitched, did not allow an earned run, and struck out nine batters.

Ledford attributed his performance to an aggressive approach at the plate. He takes advantage of his 6-foot-1, 230-pound frame and is able to generate a lot of power in his swing.

“Be aggressive and hit the first good pitch I see,” said Ledford. “That’s what my coach has been telling me, with the power I have, to look to be aggressive at the plate.”

Ledford was proud of his team’s ability to play a complete tournament as the Colt .45s went 9-0 over the course of the week. He felt that the entire team deserves credit as everyone on the team had a part to play.

“Our whole team played awesome in this tournament,” said Ledford. “There were some times where we fell downhill, but we always find a way to come back up and get the win. 9-0 in one week is incredible.”

The Cougars reached the championship game after defeating Clutch in an extra-inning affair by a score of 1-0. A scoreless tie throughout seven innings, Peyton Berry was incredible on the mound. He tossed 7 2/3 innings of shutout baseball and kept his team within striking distance the whole game. They finally won in the bottom of the eighth inning after a walk-off squeeze bunt from Guillermo Granier.

The Colt .45s reached the championship game after defeating 643 DP Cougars Sterling 7-0. Davis Sharpe, the No. 5 righthanded pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2018 and committed to play at Clemson, dazzled spectators as he allowed only one hit to the Cougars. Jack Alexander, the No. 3 catcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2018, drove in three runs as the lead offensive player for the Colt .45s.


2016 16u WWBA National Championship Qualifier champions: East Cobb Colt .45s



2016 16u WWBA National Championship Qualifier runner-up: 643 DP Cougars Mang



2016 16u WWBA National Championship Qualifier MVP: Noah Ledford



2016 16u WWBA National Championship Qualifier MV-Pitcher: Peyton Berry

 



Team DeMarini captures 17u National Qualifier title

EMERSON, Gal. – Team DeMarini 17u National defeated Team GA 17u Elite 5-1 in the championship game of the 17u WWBA National Championship Qualifier. Team DeMarini used a combination of timely hitting and quality pitching to dismantle Team GA Elite.

Colin Davis, the No. 22 outfielder in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017, started off the scoring with a three-run home run in the third inning. He hit a rocket off the bat that went approximately 340 feet. Team DeMarini had squandered opportunities to score runs in the innings prior but Davis made sure that they were going to get runs with his home run.

Peyton Glavine twirled a gem on the mound for Team DeMarini. He tossed six shutout innings while only allowing two hits and striking out four.

Andres Perez, a 2016 University of North Georgia commit, added another run in the fifth when he doubled home Davis. Team DeMarini capped off their scoring in the top of the seventh when Davis drove home another run on an RBI triple.

Drake Murray, the No. 8 first baseman in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017, came in relief of Glavine and locked down the victory.

Coach Matt McCarthy was impressed with how complete his team had played during the tournament. The one run surrendered was the only run that Team DeMarini surrendered in bracket play and the championship game was the only playoff game that they were unable to run-rule the opposing team. With the pitching staff as dominant as they were, McCarthy noted that it was good to see the offense contributing.

“It started off with our pitchers,” said McCarthy. “We gave up only one run in bracket play. Throughout the tournament they were keeping pitch counts low and we got the job done on the mound. With our hitters we kept hitting gaps, doing their job, getting runners over, and we kept getting the big hit. This guy right here, Colin Davis, was getting the job done all tournament.”

Team DeMarini did not win any of the Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational tournaments despite their competitive play, so that added another fire for this team to come back and earn a tournament victory.

“We came up a little bit short in the Perfect Game (East Cobb) Invitational,” said McCarthy. “But this tournament was perfect for us. This was a great opportunity with seven pool play games and bracket play. We came to compete and walked out champions.”

With the MLB PitchSmart rules now in effect, coaches are taking different approaches to how they handle their pitching staffs. McCarthy’s method was simple: use your best pitchers early on and they’ll be ready to pitch in bracket play.

“We threw some of our better pitchers early in the tournament,” said McCarthy. “That way we could have them later. Peyton Glavine, who pitched today, also threw Saturday. We have to get the pitch count rules down a little bit better because we wasted some arms. For the most part we tried to throw our big guys earlier and then fill in spots.”

The dynamic offense for Team DeMarini was a big part of the game plan for the championship game. McCarthy was confident in Glavine to give them a shot to win and planned on the offense showing up early in the game. The offense didn’t show up until the third inning but McCarthy will take it.

“We knew we were going to get good innings out of Peyton Glavine,” said McCarthy. “But we knew that Team Georgia is a great team and a great program. We wanted to jump on early but unfortunately it didn’t happen; we’ve been scoring in the first inning the whole tournament so this was rare. Once we got the lead we knew Peyton would settle down and to keep on pounding after that early lead.”

The MVP of the tournament was Colin Davis of Team DeMarini. In addition to his three-run home run in the championship game, Davis went 14-for-26 with two home runs, 17 RBI and seven runs scored. The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was Patrick McNamara – the No. 13 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017 – of Team GA Elite. McNamara went 1-0 with 15 strikeouts, one save and only two earned runs allowed in 11 2/3 innings pitched.

Team GA Elite advanced to the championship game after defeating Chain North Hall 2-0. McNamara was dominant on the mound for Team GA Elite as he tossed a complete game shutout and only allowed one hit the entire game. Offensively, Bo Majkowski, the No. 8 outfielder in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017 and a Clemson commit, plated a runner with an RBI single, and Michael Kolesar, the No. 15 outfielder in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017 and an Air Force commit, scored another with an RBI triple of his own.

Team DeMarini advanced to the championship game by defeating the Nine Inning Royals 8-0 in six innings in the semifinals. Patrick Conlin, the No. 37 righthanded pitcher in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017, threw a complete game shutout for Team DeMarini. He was remarkably efficient and only allowed three hits to finish the game with only 65 pitches thrown. Offensively, Andres Perez and Colin Young contributed with three RBI and two RBI respectively.

2016 17u WWBA National Championship Qualifier champions: Team DeMarini National



2016 17u WWBA National Championship Qualifier runner-up: Team GA Elite



2016 17u WWBA National Championship Qualifier MVP: Colin Davis



2016 17u WWBA National Championship Qualifier MV-Pitcher: Patrick McNamara
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