FORT MYERS, Fla. – After three days of pool play, 15 teams have been cut down to the final eight, with SWFL Nation nabbing the No. 1 seed with a 3-0-1 record heading to Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
On Monday, SWFL jumped out to an early 10-0 lead after three innings, which was more than enough for Noah Ahiyon (2020, Boca Raton, Fla.), as he threw a five-inning two-hit shutout against the Indiana Prospects. With the exception of their 8-5 victory to the Keowee Cougars on Sunday, SWFL has tossed two shutouts and played a scoreless tie in their opening game on Saturday.
Justin Bethke (2020, Cape Coral, Fla.) and Ahiyon have each tossed five scoreless innings to lead the charge on the mound.
Offensively, Cole Cothern (2020, Plant City, Fla.) and Sam Schner (2020, Boca Raton, Fla.) are leading the way with Cothern batting .857 (6-7) with three doubles and Schner hitting at a .500 (5-10) clip with eight RBIs.
A strong performance on Monday helped the PA Playmakers-Kelley take the second seed, as they defeated the Missouri Gators 7-5 and the West Coast Braves-White 10-5 to also finish with a 3-0-1 mark.
Taking on the previously unbeaten Gators in their early morning meeting, The Playmakers fell behind quickly 4-0 after one inning, but answered with three second inning runs, coming on a wild pitch with the bases loaded and edged ahead on a two-run single by Connor Schilling (2020, West Chester, Pa.) in the third.
The Playmakers added two more runs in the fourth, and starter Ethan Sarosi (2020, Kennett Square, Pa.) fired four scoreless frames after a tough first inning to take a 7-4 through five innings. Riley Davis (2019, West Grove, Pa.) came on in relief, picking up the two-inning save by getting a flyout to left with the go-ahead run at the plate.
In their 10-5 victory against the West Coast Braves-White, Kyle Lyons (2019, Unionville, Pa.), Ryan Santangelo (2020, Oxford, Pa.) and Jack Haveson (2020, Garnett Valley, Pa.) each drove in two runs to help the Playmakers wrap up the second seed and set up a matchup with the seventh-seeded Elkridge Hurricanes in the quarterfinals.
Marlins Puerto Rico took the third seed, and needed a 5-2 victory over West Coast Braves-Navy in their final game to guarantee their spot in the final eight. With the score even at one in the fourth, the Marlins used a four-run inning, with the big blow coming off the bat of Enrique Rodriguez (2019, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) who tripled in two runs.
David Velez (2019, San Juan, Puerto Rico) surrendered a lone earned run in his six innings of work to pick up a crucial victory for the Marlins, who will take on the sixth-seeded Tri-Cities Titans in the quarterfinals.
Tri-Cities needed an early morning victory to sew up a spot in the playoffs, and raced off to a six-run first inning and never looked back defeating the Elkridge Hurricanes 6-2. Dylan White (2020, Piney Flats, Tenn.) had a two-run double and Cade Maupin (2020, Kingsport, Tenn.) added a two-run single in the six-run first for the Titans.
The Missouri Gators dropped down to the fourth seed after losing their first game of the tournament to the Playmakers in the morning, and will take on fifth-seeded Ninth Inning Royals-Bohana in the quarterfinals.
The Royals needed a victory over the Keowee Cougars in their final game of pool play to stamp their ticket to the playoff round, and got two RBI singles from Ben Smith (2020, Decatur, Ga.) in the third and fifth innings to help them to a 5-2 win and a spot in the playoffs.
The playoff action will begin at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday and takes place at JetBlue Park, with the winners advancing to semifinal play on Wednesday.