EMERSON, Ga. – Sheets Baseball remained undefeated at the 15u WWBA National Championship on Tuesday with a 17-2 victory over the NCDB Rivercats 15u. With the win, Sheets Baseball improved to 6-0 at this week’s tournament, clinching a spot in the single elimination playoff bracket.
After a scoreless first inning by both teams, Sheets Baseball was able to erupt for 14 runs on eight hits, highlighted by a lined shot to the right-center gap by Brody Drost. Drost was able to come all the way around to score for what went in the scorebook as a three-run home run.
“I was going to stop at third, but I was like ‘hey it’s my birthday’ so I might as well go for it all,” said Drost, who has been swinging a hot bat all tournament. “I’m just seeing the ball really well right now, and I’m trying to jump on good pitches early in the count.”
Drost finished the day 2-for-2, adding a triple in the fourth inning to finish with five RBI. A two-way player that can both pitch and play the field at a high level, Drost first got the chance to play on the big stage at the 14u Perfect Game Select Baseball Festival in Fort Myers, Florida last year.
“That [PG 14u Select] was awesome. The exposure is great, and I got to see new people and meet new people that are just as good as I am if not better. It is always cool to meet new people when you’re traveling around and playing baseball.”
Drost’s impressive performance at the Select Festival and on has given him the opportunity to play his college baseball at Louisiana State University. A native of Sulphur, Louisiana, Drost is ranked as the best player in the state; he is a great piece in what is becoming a solid 2020 class for the Tigers.
“I went to a lot of LSU games growing up, and it is kind of a big school where I love to go watch games and be in the environment over there.”
Hitting just one spot ahead of Drost in the order on Tuesday was fellow LSU commit Connor Simon. Simon, who is a native of Mandeville, Louisiana, went 1-for-3 with a double and a pair of walks in the victory.
Ranked as the 76th-best player in the country, Simon recently was able to put his talent on display at the Junior National Showcase held at LakePoint. At the showcase, Simon ran a quick 6.89-second 60-yard dash, and national scouting coordinator Greg Gerard was impressed with his ability to spray line drives to all fields with the raw hitting tools that he has.
Returning many of the same players that went 8-1 in last week’s 16u WWBA National Championship, this Sheets Baseball team is looking to make more noise as this week heats up with playoff matchups.
At the helm of this Sheets Baseball team is former big league pitcher Ben Sheets. Sheets played for 10 years – eight with the Milwaukee Brewers – and was a four-time All-Star. With over 1,300 strikeouts in his career, Sheets is now using his knowledge and expertise to lead a good group of players from his home state of Louisiana. Sheets also has the privilege of coaching son Seaver Sheets, who is a high follow in the 2021 class.
“In the first tournament, we played some good defense and pitched well to go 8-1 and make a nice little run in bracket play,” said Sheets. “This week, our bats have kind of started to show up a little bit. We haven’t necessarily pitched and defended how we would like to, but we have the right guys coming up and were hoping to make a run and be competitive the rest of the way.”
The bats truly have come alive for Sheets Baseball this week. They have outscored their opponents 62-21 during pool play, and have certainly set themselves up well to make that run deep into the playoffs this week.
“We don't have excess arms because we have our guys that we kind of live in die with. If we can win one game at a time on Thursday we will start to worry about making it through the games Friday as they come.”
One of those key arms that Sheets was referring to is hard-throwing righty Hayden Durke. Durke, who is ranked as the 11th-best player in the state of Louisiana’s 2020 class, tossed the first inning of Tuesday’s game before resting up for a playoff run later in the week.
“My changeup was really working well for me today. I was able to get my curveball over strikes, but my fastball velocity didn't really feel like it was as high as it normally is,” said Durke, who had one thing to say about his team’s key to success the rest of the way. “Just swing the bats.”
For this core trio on a very talented Sheets Baseball roster, they are hoping the road is far from over at this week’s 15u WWBA National Championship. At 6-0 and playing good baseball, the sky is the limit for this bunch the rest of the way.