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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/7/2021

CBU Riding High Expectations at 17u WWBA

Matthew Welsh     
Photo: Chris Arroyo (Perfect Game)
MARIETTA, Ga. -- CBU 2022 Scout Team took home their first win of the 2021 17u WWBA Championship on opening day, beating Team All American, 7-1, in a full seven innings. 
 
The scoring for CBU began early in the bottom of the first inning, when Florida commit Erik Blair drove home AJ Nessler on a two-strike single to left field, who reached base earlier in the inning on a single and subsequently advanced to second. 
 
That early momentum was all starting pitcher Chris Arroyo needed to dominate in his team’s first contest of the national event. 
 
“It felt great, especially when my teammates scored early,” said Arroyo of the initial runs support. “[The offense] really gave me the confidence that I needed. It’s very important to start out high, and then just go from there.”
 
Arroyo, himself a Florida International commit, tossed four innings of two-hit, shutout baseball, giving his offense the chance to amass their then building lead. Through 75 pitches, he struck out six batters and flashed a 91 mph fastball in a start that seemed notably calm and collected. Under Arroyo’s watch, only two members of Team All America reached base. 
 
“Even though I had a lot of 3-2 counts, at the end of the day, I think I threw a good game, and I was happy to help my team get the win,” Arroyo said. “I just think now I need to keep throwing strikes.”
 
Blair was a constant complement to Arroyo’s strong outing. The lefty outfielder, who in the win assumed the designated hitter role, finished the afternoon with three hits in three at-bats, and accounted for two of the team’s first four RBI. Exiting the third inning, following Blair’s second RBI single of the day, CBU found themselves with a 3-0 advantage. 
 
Yet even beyond today’s stars lies a CBU roster brimming with potential ready to prove their worth on the nation’s biggest stage. The squad boasts 26 total Division-I commits on a 31-man roster, which also includes an additional three players ranked in the top-500 that have yet to make their next-level decision. 
 
LHP Brandon Barriera (ranked ninth overall, Vanderbilt commit), shortstop Jesus Pena (ranked 86th overall, Wake Forest commit), RHP Evan Dobias (ranked 117th overall, Virginia commit) and outfielder Zachary Showalter comprise the team's four highest-rated prospects. 
 
Another four players in Jamaliel Rosado, Santiago Ordonez, Jake Clemente and Adrian Dominguez reside in the top-300 players of the 2022 class. 
 
With that level of talent, CBU is aware that a successful result for their team in this weekend's festivities is expected rather than aspired. Manufacturing a deep tournament run among the 408 teams that have descended upon Atlanta with title hopes will take a collective effort. 
 
The players stressed pitching, hitting, defense post-game; every facet of the game will be crucial for the Pompano Beach, Fla. natives in their championship pursuit.
 
“Our approach is always to try and come out and score early because with our pitchers on the mound, we have the ability to shut other teams down,” Blair said. “I think that if we just keep up our aggressive mentality and keep putting barrels on balls, then we’ll have a really good chance to win going forward. We just like to come out here and have fun with it.”
 
CBU Scout’s next two pool play games are slated for Saturday at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., respectively. The team wraps up their final pool play contest on Sunday morning, with aspirations of playing in the playoffs later that afternoon. 
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