PG WWBA Georgia

send us some report!

After some careful thought, I'm ready to post my pre-tournament predictions.

- It will be unbearably hot! (90+ and humid)
- There will be lots of people! (about 250 teams. Avg of 15 players per team = 3,750 players. Estimate 2 spectators per player, called mom and dad, plus coaches plus college and pro scouts and we around a million crazy baseball fans!)
- Many parents will realize that their kid and their kids teams are not the best in the country! (Sorry moms and dads. Your kids are still good, just not the best.)
- 1 team will be the best in the country! (My prediction is it will be the team that wins the most games)
- Most importantly, a lot of people will have a lot of fun. I know I will!

I'll try to give some real feedback during the event.

Rich
www.playinschool.com

East Cobb brings together a lot of different types of teams.

There are the local teams who've stayed together on into high school.

There are teams who are pretty much a high school team playing together over the summer.

There are teams who draw from an area including several schools.

There are teams drawn from/sponsored by baseball instructional facilities.

And there are teams who reach out and recruit the top players from across the country, and who play to be the very best in the U.S. every year simply by assembling an all star team of national caliber.

I predict that the tournament will ultimately be won by one of the latter teams!

For the other 215 teams there, make sure you take care of business. Hustle all the time, make your absolute best impression on scouts, and communicate with scouts to try to get them to come to your games and see you in person. Win, lose or draw, you can get a lot of recruiting done and THAT is why you are there!

PIS,

Good predictions. Yes, WWBA is humbling!

Please let me know if somebody hits a bomb that lands on the roof of that house at the complex! I'll never forget my son and I casually watching a game to see this lefty kid absolutely crush a pitch with a wood bat to hit that house's roof in right field. I can still see it! Bombs away.

Not sure what other teams made it down there from VA this past week but several Prospect Stars teams were there competing in the 18U tourney. 2011's won their bracket but lost in the opening round of knock-out 9-8. The 2012's finished second in their bracket going 3-1-1 and losing only to the bracket winner 4-1 in the last game.

A few weeks ago the 14U 2014/2015 Braves National team went 4-1 for the week. Losing 1-0 in the round of 16 to The Future from Chicago. They were the #3 overall seed after allowing 1 run in pool play and a total of 3 for the week. With a bit more timely hitting they could have made a deep run in the tournament.

He certainly is bringing it. I believe that's the same number that I heard a month ago or so when he pitched against the Canes 2012 North at VT. As hard as he is throwing it though it was his change-up that was un-hittable down at Coastal. The kid is something to watch on the mound and is an even better kid off of it...

The first day at East Cobb saw wins from several Va based teams. Off the top of my head Va Cardinals, RBA West Elite, Patriots National, Patriots of Nova, Canes, Braves 2013's all started 1 and 0. I'm sure I missed some. Sorry.

I spent the day at the main complex. At 9:30am there was probably already 100 colleges there!

I will stress that while that is impressive these guys are not looking for needles in hay stacks. They have a plan in place to view specific players on specific teams. Probably a waste of time to come if your coach and the individual players has not been doing their due diligence prior to coming. This morning at breakfast 3 D 1 coaches were going over their lists to plan their day. They told me their is no time for just randomly watching games of teams/players they dont know.

If you want to follow all the action go to the PG website. Game Changer is being used to keep live scores of all games online. Very cool technology. I followed games from other sits on my iPad live!

Rich
www.playinschool.com

If I have correctly identified all of the Virginia teams at the 17u WWB, the Virginia teams went 8-2 on Saturday.

Canes Baseball defeated the Illinois Sparks, 8-2, pounding out 11 hits. Josh Henderson, Suffolk, went 2-3. Cole Irvin pitched the complete game for the Canes.

Canes Prospects defeated America’s Future Prospects, 10-2 in a run-rule shortened game. Tyler Best, (Hickory HS), went 2-4 at the plate. Josh Wright pitched the complete game for the win.

Orioles Scout Team defeated the NJ Super 17 National, 7-3 on only 4 hits. Tyler Ramirez (Cape Henry Collegiate, Va Beach), Sean Trenchard (West Potomac), Garrett Brooks (Western Branch, Chesapeake), and Kyle McPherson (Western Branch) each had 1 of the hits with Garrett’s being a double and Kyle’s being a home run. Sean Poppen (Cape Henry Collegiate) pitched the first 4 innings for the win.

Patriots of Nova defeated Tri-State Arsenal 2013 National, 3-1. Scott Halsey pitched 6 innings, allowing 1 hit, to pick up the win and Carter Siweck picked up the save, allowing no hits. The Patriots play Del Mar Va Canes today.

Patriots National 17u scored 2 in the bottom of the last inning to defeat NJ Twins, 7-6. The winning pitcher was Parker Johnson who pitched the last 2 innings.

Richmond Braves 17u lost to the Windward Braves Red , 7-4. At the end of 3 innings, the game was tied, 3-3. WBR took the lead in the 4th and added 2 runs in the 6th. LP was Dylan Cheely (Walsingham Academy, Williamsburg.) RB managed only 4 hits to the WB’s 10 but did walk 5 times. Cheely contributed 1 of the hits and 2 of the runs while James Tavenner (Midlothian HS) went 2-2 and Alex Amory (Lanexa) was 1-2 with a run and a BB.

Richmond Braves National 2012 lost to the East Cobb Indians 9-8 in an up and down game, with East Cobb scoring the winning run in the top of the last inning. Matt Matthews (Greenbrier Christian Academy, Chesapeake) took the loss. Matthews and Austin Joseph (Midlothian HS) both went 2-3 at the plate.

Richmond Braves National 2013 defeated the NJ Marlins, 9-2. Ryan Lauria, Roanoke, pitched a complete game for the win. Bryce Harmon (LC Bird HS in Chesterfield) went 2-3 in a game where the Braves outhit their opponent 10-5.

Virginia Cardinals defeated the East Coast Gray South 3-0 while recording 0 hits. Kit Scheetz (James River HS) pitched the first 5 innings for the win, Tyler Carrico (James River HS) pitched the last 2 for the save.

Virginia Diamonds 17u defeated Lefty’s Lightning 8-0 in a run-rule shortened game. Aaron O’Neil , (Gloucester) pitched all 5 innings for the win.

I count 12 teams based out of VA playing in GA this week with the state going 9-3.

WB has the details, but I have the following teams as being from VA:

Wins went to the VA Cardinals, Canes Prospects, Canes Baseball, Patriots of NOVA, Richmond Braves 2013 National, Virginia Diamonds 17u, Patiots Nationals 17u, RBA West Elite, and the Orioles Scout Team.

Tough losses of 3 or fewer runs went to the Richmond Braves 2012, Richmond Braves 17u and Prospect Stars 17u Blue.

Here's to a successful day 2.

RBA West Elite won 2-1. Michael Boyle (deep run), Luke Bolka (Atlee), and Cam Maxey (Atlee) were the pitching stars. Patrick Gardner had the go ahead hit/RBI.

If someone knows how to change the name of this thread to 17u WWBA pleas do it.

Also if you tweet, most people are using #17WWBA or #WWBA

Rich
www.playinschool.com

Sorry, I missed RBA West Elite. So Virginia teams went 9-2.

RBA West Elite defeated Garden State Elite, 2-1, on 5 hits, 1 each by 5 players. The winning run was scored in the top of the 7th. Andrew Kizner (Hanover HS) and Michael Sims (The Steward School) each had a hit and scored a run. Patrick Gardner (Deep Run) drove in the winning run with a hit. It appears that Luke Bolka (Atlee HS) was the winning pitcher with Cam Maxey (Atlee HS) getting the save.

As PIS mentioned, the new Game Changer feature from Perfect Game is great to follow games and the performances of teams and individuals. Perfect Game is not only producing box scores of each game, but also making available live play.

Quad AAAA, Sorry, did not recognize the Prospects Stars Blue as being from Virginia.

PIS, I believe this works to change the name of the thread which only you or a moderator can do. Go to your first entry of the thread. Hit edit (second icon at the bottom right (with an eraser) when you are logged on.) Change the heading. Great for correcting typos!

quote:

Probably a waste of time to come if your coach and the individual players has not been doing their due diligence prior to coming. This morning at breakfast 3 D 1 coaches were going over their lists to plan their day. They told me their is no time for just randomly watching games of teams/players they dont know.

This is a lesson so many insist on learning the hard way. I was watching another game after ours got pushed back by overnight rain and there were ZERO scouts there until ONE showed up about halfway through. At our game later on, despite its being rescheduled during the day and also being a 30 minute drive from the main complex, we had 17 schools represented and it's always possible there were more who lurked in the back where I couldn't see them.

To be clear, some of those scouts came at the request of players on the opposing team, but it just shows what can happen when both teams do their homework prior to game time. The guys we brought saw the other team, and the guys they brought saw our team too, many for the first time.

I sometimes hear people whining about how they don't get any games at the main complex. At the main complex, you might pick up the casual viewer who's between games that he cares about. The odds of that turning into something for one of your players are very long indeed, unless you are bringing the 90+ pitcher no one has ever seen before (ha!).

But if your players actively identify schools of interest and then pro-actively contact those schools to express their interest, the scouts come out. They are human, and one thing they like is when someone is interested in THEM. It means they don't have to sell their school so much, they can just evaluate the player with their own eyes and see if they are interested in him.

And they are willing to drive 30-40 minutes between games to do it.

BTW if you are there and no one was at your first game, it's not too late. Get your players on their computers or the hotel's business center computer and get some e-mails out. The coaches will get them on their blackberries and laptops and you still have time for 5 more games as scouting opportunities.

A waste of time???

Anyone that stands out in any game will create interest. There's just too much information being passed around for that not to happen.

Most of the teams that draw the most scouts and college coaches are here to win. Those teams usually have at least one player or pitcher that draws the crowd.

It's good to notify recruiters when and where you're playing, but there are a ton of very good players here in every time slot. Most important is to play hard and help your team win games.IMO

PG -

The event is not a waste of time. This is the single best event I've ever seen!

Coaches have come with plans in place of who to see and when to see them. If a player/team has not done their work ahead of time then THEY have wasted their time.

And 90% of all my comments on here relate to the 95% of what I would consider normal players. Everyone knows the guys that throw 90. But lots of college and pro pitchers don't throw 90.

Rich
www.playinschool.com

quote:

Originally posted by PIS:
I will stress that while that is impressive these guys are not looking for needles in hay stacks. They have a plan in place to view specific players on specific teams. Probably a waste of time to come if your coach and the individual players has not been doing their due diligence prior to coming. This morning at breakfast 3 D 1 coaches were going over their lists to plan their day. They told me their is no time for just randomly watching games of teams/players they dont know.


Rich
www.playinschool.com

Scouts cannot be everywhere and that's why we kept our 10-Team FireCracker Tourney on one field because one scout could not be a two fields at any given time.

So I get what Rich is saying.

We were thinking about expanded out tournament and running on multiple fields and got feedback that it was easier to scout it the one field, so we kept our tourney to 1-field so the scouts had equal opportunity to see everyone on 1 field over 4-5 day period that featured 23 games.

Our last year of running our FireCracker, we had 19 scouts (considering it was the last week of June) come in and scout along with the Seattle Mariners and got very much positive feedback.

PG is right that "waste of time" is not right, too strong perhaps.

But not communicating to get people out to your games is an opportunity squandered. You may not waste your time, but you are not taking full advantage of the opportunity presented if you don't do everything you can do to help your target schools find you and come see you. After all, that's why THEY come to GA. They WANT to know about you and come see you. Help 'em out a little!

Well put Midlo

Details on you big win?

Day 2 was a tougher day in GA for our VA teams.

3-8-1 record for a cummulative total of 12-11-1.

Wins go to the Virginia Cardinals, Canes Baseball and Patriots National 17u

Losses for Richmond Braves 2012, Patriots of NOVA, Richmond Braves 2013 National, Richmond Braves 17u, Virginia Diamonds 17u, RBA West Elite, Orioles Scout Team and Prospect Starts 17u Blue.

A Tie for the Canes Prospects.

Here's to day 3 tomorrow.

Agreed that Sunday was a tough day for the Virginia-based teams. After going 9-3 the first day, I thought they went 4-7-1 on Sunday. (Are you sure, QuadAAA, that the results were 3-8-1?) Here’s what I thought I saw.

(9 a.m.) Canes Baseball (2-0) defeated Yak Baseball, 4-0. Tim Kelly (York HS, Hampton) had 1 of the Canes 4 hits. Josh Sborz (McLean HS)pitched 6 innings for the win allowing 3 hits, 2 BB and striking out 10.

(2 p.m.) Canes Prospects (1-0-1) and Florida Diamond Pros tied 5-5, with the FDP scoring 2 in the bottom of the 7th. Brandon Lowe (Nansemond River) went 2-3 with a double and 2 RBI.

(4:30 p.m.) Orioles Scout Team (1-1) lost 3-2 to Big Stix Gamers 17u.

(2 p.m.) Patriots of Nova (1-1) lost 2-0 to Del Mar Va Canes.

(4:30) Patriots National 17u (2-0) defeated the DCH Georgia Jayhawks, 5-3.

(11:30 a.m.) Prospects Stars 17U Blue (0-2) lost 7-3 to Marucci Elite 16s . Mark Gunst (Paul VI) took the loss. Jack King (West Potomac) went 1-2 with a run, a rbi and a walk in the losing cause.

(9 a.m.) RBA West (1-1) lost 6-5 to the Northeast Rays.

(9 a.m.) Richmond Braves 17u (0-2) got no hit by the DBAT McCabe, 13-0 in a 4 inning run rule game.

(9 a.m.) Richmond Braves National 2012 (1-1) defeated the Diamond Devils 17U Black, 9-4. The team had 7 BB and & 7 hits. Justin Kime (Mt. View HS) led the team in hitting, going 2-3 with a double and 3 RBIs.

(9 a.m.) Richmond Braves National 2013 (1-1) lost to the Orlando Scorpions 17U Black, 7-1. Dominic Fazio (Pittsburgh, PA) hit a homerun for the Braves.

(2 p.m.) Virginia Cardinals (2-0) shut out Teel Ravens 17U, 9-0. Daniel Bridgman (Dinwiddie HS) pitched a 7-inning complete game, 1 hitter. Josh Gardiner (Eastern View HS) and Shane Johnsonbaugh (Western Branch HS, Chesapeake) went 2-4; Brian Lee 1-2 and Nikolai Ellis (Grassfield HS, Chesapeake) went 1-3 with a double.

(7:00 p.m.) Virginia Diamonds 17u (1-1) lost to the Upstate Mavericks 17U Orange, 9-6. Josh Moore (Menchville HS) and Sean Sterling (Cox) each went 2-4 in the losing cause. Both teams had 8 hits.

WB,
I missed the Richmond Braves National 2012 win. I mistakenly had this as a loss. My apologies to those players.

Revised Virginia cummulative record through 2 days is 13-10-1.

PIS,

As to our "big win", it'll be big if we win tonight! We have our work cut out for us, facing FTB, considered one of the top teams in the tourney field. For now I don't want to jinx us.

But I will put a word in for our pitchers thus far. Kit Scheetz and Tyler Carrico combined for a 3-hit shutout Sat. night. Daniel Bridgeman had 2 outs in the 7th when their # 3 guy finally got a clean hit through the infield to break up the no-hit bid. He was incredibly efficient and that was a Godsend, as we were sitting in the shady dugout while the other team roasted in the field a few innings there. It was HOT!

Posted on the PG Scout Blog:

Not a VA team, but a VA player:

Del Mar Va Canes

7/11/2011 12:03:19 PM

RHP Hayden White (2012, Steward School, Midlothian, VA) topped out at 92, showing a quick arm and very easy arm action. His control was pinpoint and he showed four pitches: a curveball at 75, tight slider at 83, and changeup at 82.

Monday: A better day than Sunday, not as good as Saturday. 6 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie by Virginia-based teams.

(9 a.m.) Canes Baseball (3-0) defeated Syracuse Sports Zone Braves Blue 10-0, outhitting their opponent 11-3. Tim Kelly (York HS) hit a grand slam. Other Virginia players with hits were Matt Campbell (Hickory) 1-2, Luke Lowery (Cosby) 1-1, and Josh Sborz (McLean) 1-1.

(9 a.m.) Canes Prospects (2-0-1) defeated Windward Braves Blue, 7-6. Down 6-5 going into the bottom of the last inning, the Canes Prospects scored 2 to win 7-6 on a walkoff 2 run HR by Connor Henderson (Bethel). Brandon Lowe (Nansemond River) went 2-3, Henderson 2-4 and Nathan Parker (Lake Braddock) 1-2 with each hitting a double. Connor Jones (Great Bridge) pitched the last 1.1 innings to claim the win.

(9 a.m.) Orioles Scout Team (1-2) had a tough loss to Dallas Stars Black, losing 6-5 even though they outhit the Stars 10-8. Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the 5th, 5-5 but yielded the lead in the top of the 6th. Garrett Brooks (Western Branch) was 2-2 with 2 runs, 1 BB, Tyler Ramirez (Cape Henry Collegiate, Va Beach) went 2-3, 1 run, 2 RBI; and Sean Trenchard (West Potomac),1-3, 2 rbis.

(11:30 a.m.) Patriots of Nova (1-2) lost 12-0 to the Texas Sundevils.

(9 a.m.) Patriots National 17u (3-0) defeated Northeast Lumberjacks, 4-1.

(9 a.m.) Prospects Stars 17U Blue (0-3) lost to the Bucky Dent Bandits Royal, 4-3.

(11:30 a.m.) RBA West (2-1) defeated Ohio Force, 8-5. Eight players garnered a hit. Jesse Smith (Lee Davis) went 2-3. Patrick Gardner (Deep Run) pitched 4 innings for the win.

(2 p.m.) Richmond Braves 17u (1-2) got their first win, defeating the St. Louis Pirates, 9-5. Trailing 5-1, the Braves had a big 6 run 5th inning to take the lead. Tommy Mason (Hickory), 2-2, was the only Brave with multiple hits. Steve Klaiber (Cave Spring HS) walked all 4 plate appearances. Logan Moore (North Stafford) pitched 6 innings for the win.

(2 p.m.) Richmond Braves National 2012 (1-1) defeated Big Stix Gamers 2012, 11-3. The Braves only had 4 hits but reached base via walks 14 times.

(9 a.m.) Richmond Braves National 2013 (1-1-1) tied Huntington Hounds 2-2.

(7 p.m.) Virginia Cardinals (2-1) lost to FTB, a perennial power at the WWB, 8-3. Josh Gardiner (Eastern View HS) had 2 of the Cardinals 4 hits. FTB only had 5 hits but reached on 9 walks. Nathan Kirby (James River) took the loss.

(11:30 a.m.) Virginia Diamonds 17u (1-2) lost to Bandits Baseball, 9-1.

Great job WB ! Thank you !!

With yesterday's 6-5-1 record and today's 8-4 record, VA teams are now a combined 27-19-2.

Wins by the VA Cardinals, Patriots of NOVA, Prospect Stars 17u Blue, Richmond Braves 2012 National, Canes Baseball, Virginia Diamonds 17u, Orioles Scout Team and Patriots Nationals 17u.

Loss for the Canes Prospects, RBA West Elite, Richmond Braves 2013 National and Richmond Braves 17u.

Tomorrow is the last day of pool play and the beginning of tournament play.

Here is a little more detail on Tuesday's results. A much better day as a whole, 8 wins and 4 losses, for the Virginia-based teams bringing the cumulative record to 27 wins, 19 losses and 2 ties.

Just for informational purposes, there are 216 teams participating, divided into 36 pools of 6. Each of the 36 pool winners will advance as well as 12 of the 2nd place teams to form the championship bracket. According to PG’s rules, those 48 teams will all be seeded, with seeds 1-16 having a first round bye. This approach rewards those teams which have a better record as well as those teams which keep the runs allowed down. (This is different from some of their past WWB tournaments in which pool winners were slotted into a previously determined bracket. E.g., previously Pool A winner would play Pool B winner, Pool C winner would play Pool D winner, etc.) Those with 2 losses are not out of it; it is possible that a team which goes 3-2 could advance.

(11 a.m.) Canes Baseball (4-0) defeated Bucky Dent Bandits UCLA, 10-3. Looks like the Bandits had some pitching problems as they issued 8 walks and gave up 10 runs on 5 hits. Tim Kelly (York HS) was 1-2 (home run) with 2 rbis. Kyle Moore (Nansemond River) was 1-3 (double). Brock Hunter (McLean) pitched 5 innings for the win. The Canes currently are first in their pool.

(2 p.m.) Canes Prospects (2-1-1) were soundly defeated by Houston Kyle Chapman, 10-1. HKC collected a total of 13 hits (and 1 BB) off the Canes’ pitching while yielding no BB and only 4 hits, one each by Tyler Best (Hickory) 1-3, Dylan Raymond (Giles County) 1-2 and Nathaniel Trough (Riverbend) for the Virginia players. Connor Jones (Great Bridge) took the loss, allowing 8 hits and 5 earned runs in his 5 innings of pitching.

(2 p.m.) Orioles Scout Team (2-2) run-ruled Marucci Elite Blue, 8-0, outhitting the Blue 9-2. Jack Wynkoop (Cape Henry) pitched the first 4 innings, allowing 2 hits, to claim the win. Those players who batted .500 or more in the game were Kyle McPherson (Western Branch) 1-2; Sean Trenchard (West Potomac) 2-2 (double) with 2 runs, 1 rbi; Alex Hunt (Western Branch) 2-2, 1 run, 2 rbis, 1 BB; Jayme Murray, 2-3, 1 run, 1 rbi; and Ian Pezzella (Kempsville) 1-2, 1 rbi, 1 bb.

(4:30 p.m.) Patriots of Nova (2-2) won a close one, defeating CBC O’s Orange 2-1. CBC scored 1 in the bottom of the 4th and Patriots answered with 2 in the top of the 5th. Those batting .500 or better on the day were Chris Moylan (Batterfield) 1-1, Bryan Baquer (Osbourn Park) 1-2, 1 rbi; and Casey Hagan (West Potomac) 2-2, 1 run. Chris Colletti (Forest Park) would get the win as he was on the mound when Patriots took the lead in the 5th, but Connor Graber (Robinson), the starting pitcher who only went 3 innings, had a nice line: 3IP, 2H, 0 runs, 1 BB and *8* Ks.

(9 a.m.) Patriots National 17u (4-0) defeated Houston Heat Silver, 8-3. Two of their NC players had great days at the plate. Sam Foy was 2-3 with 3 runs, 1 rbi. Will Nance was 2-4 (home run and double) with 2 runs and 3 rbis. Michael Taylor (Christ Church School) pitched the last 3 innings.

(4:30 p.m.) Prospects Stars 17U Blue (1-3) claimed their first win by defeating the NJ Mariners 2012, 9-7. Each team had 9 hits. Those batting .500 or better on the day were Tyler Reif (Herndon) 1-1, 2 runs, 1 rbi, 3 BB; Matt Moser (Langley) 3-3 (all doubles), 1 run, 1 rbi; Michael Palma (Flint Hill School) 2-3, 1 rbi; Jack Breheny (Gonzaga) 2-2 (double & home run), 3 runs, 1 rbi, 1BB; and Matt Smith (Herndon) 1-1, 1 run, 2 BB. Kyle Corwin (Westfield) would get the win, pitching the last 3.1 innings and throwing 80% strikes.

(11:30 a.m.) RBA West (2-2) lost to the East Cobb Astos 17u, 3-2. Tough loss for RBA. East Cobb broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the 7th to claim the win. Darian Carpenter (Varina) was 2-4 with 1 run, 2 rbis. Cam Maxey (Atlee HS) took the loss.

(4:30 p.m.) Richmond Braves 17u (1-3) lost 4-1 to Farrah Builders Scout. The Braves managed only 2 hits.

(11:30 a.m.) Richmond Braves National 2012 (3-1) defeated Tri-State Arsenal Showcase, 13-3, on 13 hits. Those batting .500 or better on the day were Christopher Roth (Grafton HS) 2-2, 2 runs, 1 rbi and 1 BB; Cavin Clyde (Loudoun Valley HS) 2-2 (double), 2 runs, 1 rbi; Michael Trentham (James River) 2-3 (double), 2 runs; Matt Wright (Osbourn) 2-2, 2 runs. Jordan Gee (Hargrave Military Academy) pitched all 5 innings of the run-rule shortened game. The Braves currently are first in their pool.

(2 p.m.) Richmond Braves National 2013 (1-2-1) were run-ruled by Team Georgia Baseball Academy 17U, 8-0. The Braves only eked out 3 hits and Bryce Harman (LC Bird) was the only Virginia player with one. Adrian Powell (Broad Run), who took the loss, gave up 9 hits, 7 runs, 4ER and 3 BB while striking out 5 in his 3.1 innings of pitching.

(11:30 a.m.) Virginia Cardinals (3-1) defeated Mid South Select, 8-1 per the box score although the reported score in the “Scores and Schedules” was 7-1. Josh Gardiner (Eastern View) led the hitting going 2-3 (triple) with 2 runs, 2 rbis and a BB. Colton Konvicka (Benedictine) was 1-2 with 1 run , 2 rbis, and 1 BB. Nykolai Ellis (Grassfield) was 1-2 (double) with 2 runs and 1 rbi. Joe Manion (Powhatan HS) pitched 4.1 innings for the win.

(2:00 p.m.) Virginia Diamonds 17u (2-2) survived a close one, defeating Team Georgia Baseball 7-6. While the Diamonds never trailed, Georgia nipped at their heels. It was 2-2 at the end of 2, 5-4 Diamonds at the end of 3, 6-5 Diamonds at the end of 5 and 7-6 Diamonds at the end of 6, the final inning. Nine Diamond players recorded a hit. Those batting .500 or better in the game were Justin Carter (Woodside) 2-4, 1 run, 1 rbi; Robbie Heiser (Grafton) 1-2, 2 runs, 1 rbi, 1 BB; Alex Korecky (Menchville) 2-3, 1 run, 2 rbis; Anthony Rouleau (Woodside) 1-2, 1 rbi, 1 BB; Aaron Myers (Denbigh) 2-3, 2 rbis; and Jacob Futrell (Cox) 1-2. Aaron O’Neill (Gloucester) would claim the win, pitching the first 3 innings, allowing 4 hits, 4ER and 5 BB. Josh Moore (Menchville) would get a save, allowing 2 hits, 1 ER and 3 BB. (They were lucky to get the win issuing eight walks.)

Unfortunately while the box scores are very nice they are not always accurate. A 2-RBI hit by Gardiner was mistakenly attributed to another player. Actually Gardiner was 3-3 with 2 SB, 2 R, and 4 RBI on the game. For the tournament, Gardiner is 9-11 with 3 walks and 6 RBI from the leadoff spot. One of the most overlooked top players in Virginia, on his way to Radford in another month's time.

Also, while it was theoretically conceivable at the outset that a 3-2 team might advance to the playoffs, that was always highly unlikely, and at this point that cannot happen as there will be too many teams who will finish 4-0-1 or 4-1 for a 3-2 team to be among the top 12 2nd place finishers.

It's impossible to predict who will make the final playoff slots as even though you might be in good shape as you go to bed tonight, if you get beat badly on Wednesday you can fall mighty quickly. Right now the cutoff would be 4-1 teams with 12 runs allowed, but there are 5 teams within 2 runs of that.

We're due for another brutal day of weather Wednesday before things (supposedly) ease up on Thursday. Right now the umps and catchers are really getting nailed by the oven-like conditions. You have to switch out catchers to keep them safe and alert. Umps have been ... affected by the heat, shall we say.

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:Also, while it was theoretically conceivable at the outset that a 3-2 team might advance to the playoffs, that was always highly unlikely, and at this point that cannot happen as there will be too many teams who will finish 4-0-1 or 4-1 for a 3-2 team to be among the top 12 2nd place finishers.

Midlo,

I stated that it is still possible that a 3-2 team could advance and did not limit it to 2nd place finishers. I disagree with the statement that it CANNOT happen at this point. You have to look no further than your own pool with the Virginia Cardinals. Assuming that PG is reporting the records correctly, the current records in Pool O are:

Virginia Cardinals 3-1
FTB 3-1
EC Grays South 2-2
Midsouth Select 2-2
Teel Ravens 1-3
Game Ready 1-3

Tomorrow the Va Cardinals play Game Ready. If Va Cardinals lose to Game Ready, Va Cardinals record will be 3-2 and Game Ready's record will be 2-3. FTB plays Teel Ravens. If FTB loses to Teel Ravens, FTB's record will be 3-2 and Teel Ravens record will be 2-3. EC Grays South and Midsouth Select play one another. One will end up 3-2 and the other will end up 2-3. SO, at this point, it COULD happen. Pool O COULD have 3 teams with a 3-2 record and NO team with more than 3 wins. Thus the Pool O winner COULD be a team with no more than 3 wins.

Here's my understanding:

There are only going to be 48 teams in the playoffs. In the first round, the top 16 ranked teams get byes, and teams 17-48 play elimination games tonight. Thursday and Friday then becomes a 32-team single-elimination tournament with the winner having to win 5 games over two days. (In this heat, they will need a hospital bed and IV fluids when that ends!)

There will be 36 pool winners. They will all advance to the playoffs. Out of the 36 second place teams, only 12 will advance as wild cards. Last night I went through all 36 pools to review their standings and who they play today, to try to get a bead on how each pool could wrap up (specifically trying to get an idea of what our chances of making the playoffs might be).

The second place teams are going to be ranked first by their won-loss records. Out of the 36 pools, given who plays whom today, there will be more than 12 second place teams who finish pool play with 4-0-1 or 4-1 records.

If there are teams who are 4-0-1 but finish 2nd on tie breakers, they will get the top wild card seeds. After that, the 4-1 teams will be ranked according to runs allowed, with ties then broken by runs scored.

Pool O could well have a few 3-2 teams and we have to work hard today to avoid being one of them. But if we lose today, there's no way for us to make the playoffs. So, we're going out there to win, and hopefully to avoid giving up too many runs in the process as well. Unfortunately once you lose a game in pool play, that's the deal if you want to make the playoffs. Otherwise you get a Thursday consolation game (weather permitting) and that's the end of the trip.

Either way it's been a great trip for us. We got to play one of the top teams here and even though we lost, it was one of the most heavily scouted individual travel ball games I've ever been associated with. Outside of that game we've won, and in fact we've given up only 1 run in our 3 wins combined, so obviously we're pretty happy with our performance on the pitching/defensive side at least. Hopefully we can keep that going this afternoon.

More important, given the purpose of our team, is that we've had new interest generated in a few of our uncommitted players, and really that's what we're down here for. We're all competitive and you'd love to bring home a trophy at the end, but I'm not kidding myself about that! We just want to see how far we can get.

Nice that they are going with wildcards. Last week they only took the 30 pool winners...

Last day of pool play was a good one with the Virginia teams going 8-4 for a cummulative record of 35-23-2.

Wins go to the Virginia Cardinals, Patriots of NOVA, Canes Prospects, RBA West Elite, Canes Baseball, Richmond Braves 17u, Orioles Scout Team and Patriots Nationals 17u.

Losses to the Prospect Stars 17u Blue, Richmond Braves 2012 National, Richmond Braves 2013 National and Virginia Diamonds 17u.

All up a great showing by Virginia with a .583 winning percentage in that incredible heat. Special recognition to the Canes Baseball and Patriots Nationals 17u for 5-0 pool play records.

I am sure someone will post the tournament seedings once PG puts them on their website.

Cardinals won again tonight, 8-0, to advance to the round of 32 in the morning.

Happily the temps broke this evening, 85 felt balmy, and we got home without feeling totally spent.

Thursday's weather is supposed to be below 90 all day, though the threat of storms is ever present. Teams that win could play as many as 3 games, so it's nice it won't be 100. We'll see how long we can survive.

After a short night's sleep, we were a step slow here and there and tardy with the bats as well. Kentucky Baseball Club played solidly and knocked us out.

Still, pretty happy going 5-2 and finishing I guess tied for 17th out of 216 teams. After going 1-3-1 last year, it feels like we took a big step forward with our program.

And today brought news of offers to some of our previously uncommitted guys, and that is what this trip was really all about. Thanks again to PG for this wonderful event!

WB or Quad -

Any chance that one of you want to go through the PG site to give a recap on the Va based teams?

Rich
www.playinschool.com

Virginia teams went 41-28-3 at the 17u WWBA including pool and tournament play. The Virginia Cardinals won their first playoff game before losing game 2, while Canes Baseball and Patriots Nationals 17u lost their first playoff games.

quote:

Originally posted by QuadAAAA:
Virginia teams went 41-28-3 at the 17u WWBA including pool and tournament play. The Virginia Cardinals won their first playoff game before losing game 2, while Canes Baseball and Patriots Nationals 17u lost their first playoff games.

Canes and Patriots had first round byes. All 3 VA teams lost in the Round of 16.