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.

Summary:

QuadAAA must have found a consolation game I could not find because I calculated Virginia-based teams went 35-23-2 in pool play, 1-3 in championship play and 4-2-1 in consolation play for an overall record of 40-28-3.

Canes Baseball, 5-0 in pool play, seeded #3 after pool play which earned them a first round bye in the championship bracket. Upset in their first round championship bracket game by Utah Baseball, seeded #27, giving up 5 runs in the top of the 7th to lose 6-4. Overall record 5-1.

Canes Prospects, 3-1-1, did not advance to the championship bracket, won their consolation game, 4-3. Overall record 4-1-1.

Orioles Scout Team, 3-2 in pool play, did not advance to championship bracket, tied 2-2 in their consolation game with All Star Baseball Academy. Overall record 3-2-1.

Patriots of Nova, 3-2 in pool play. Defeated RBI Hawks, 9-4 in their consolation game. Overall record 4-2.

Patriots National 17u, 5-0, in pool play, seeded #15 after pool play which earned them a first round bye. Lost to #18 East Cobb Astros 16U (which made it to the quarter finals), 5-4. Sounds like it was an exciting game. East Cobb scored 1 run in the top of each of the 1st and 2nd innings and carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 7th. Patriots scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th, to tie and force extra innings. East Cobb scored 3 in the top of the 9th and the Patriots scored only 2 in the bottom. Overall record 5-1.

Prospects Stars 17U Blue, 1-4 in pool play. Overall record 1-4.

RBA West, 3-2 in pool play, lost to 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Warriors in the consolation game. Overall record 3-3.

Richmond Braves 17u, 2-3 in pool play. Defeated Lefty’s Lightning, 6-0 in their consolation game. Overall record 3-3.

Richmond Braves National 2012, 3-2 in pool play, lost their consolation game 11-3 to the Florida Hardballers. Overall record 3-3.

Richmond Braves National 2013, 1-3-1 in pool play, defeated Team TPX, 7-3, in their consolation game. Overall record 2-3-1.

Virginia Cardinals, 4-1 in pool play, advanced to the championship bracket as a #40 seed. Defeated the #26 seed, Farrah Builders, but lost to #7 Kentucky Baseball Club in the round of 16, 6-1. Overall record 5-2.

Virginia Diamonds 17u, 2-3 in pool play. Overall record 2-3.

Eleven Virginia teams are in the 16U WWBA this upcoming week include the Canes Green, Canes White, Patriots of Northern Virginia 16U, Prospect Stars 2013 Blue, RBA West 16, Richmond Braves 16U, Richmond Braves 2013 American, Richmond Braves 2013 National, Stars 16U National, Tidewater Drillers and the Virginia Titans. Good luck to all of them.

WB Reporter and QuadAAAA,

Thanks for updating us back home on PG WWBA. It is truly a unique experience. If a Virginia team wins, it will be the fourth year in a row a Virginia team won the 16U event. Best of luck to all!

When you realize that VA had 3 teams in the final 32 at the 17u event, that's saying something for the caliber of baseball around these parts.

Good luck to the 16u teams this week!

Is anyone sticking around do give highlights of the 16U, i fully enjoyed reading about all the teams that were involved with some highlights, IT WAS GREATLY APPRECIATED FELLA'S....

Went to watch a Virginia team today (canes white) and noticed that only 4 of the 22 players on the roster were from virginia. What's up with that?

quote:

Originally posted by eraser:
Went to watch a Virginia team today (canes white) and noticed that only 4 of the 22 players on the roster were from virginia. What's up with that?

4 players on the roster are from VA. What's the problem with that?

The Canes program has players mostly from Virginia and North Carolina and with the addition of the Mid Atlantic Canes, now Maryland. Some Canes teams are made of up entirely of kids from one state with a few representing a couple other states. For example, the North Canes 2013 team has 14 kids from Virginia and then 1 from each of the following North Carolina, Delaware, and Tennessee.

Day one of the 16U WWBA had mixed results with a 5-5-1 record.

Wins went to the Canes Green, Canes White, Patriots of Northern Virginia 16U, Richmond Braves 2013 National and Stars 16U National.

Losses for the Prospect Starts 2013 Blue, RBA West 16, Richmond Braves 16U, Tidewater Drillers and Virginia Titans.

Richmond Braves 2013 American tied.

Mid-Atlantic Canes are all Pennsylvania kids. The DelMarVa program consists of the majority of Maryland, and Delaware kids with a smattering of Virginia kids.

Day 2 update from the 16U WWBA:
Virginia teams went 7-4 for a cummulative record of 12-9-1. In alphabetical order;
1-1 Canes Green
2-0 Canes White
2-0 Patriots of Northern Virginia 16U
1-1 Prospect Stars 2013 Blue
0-2 RBA West 16
1-1 Richmond Braves 16U
0-1-1 Richmond Braves 2013 American
2-0 Richmond Braves 2013 National
2-0 Stars 16U National
1-1 Tidewater Drillers
0-2 Virginia Titans

On Sunday, Richmond Braves National 16u defeated the winners of the age group last year - 643 DP. It was a 3 to 1 game anchored by a stellar pitching performance by Ryan Lauria. Both teams played very well - it was a great game to watch. BTW - the other team was from GA and the game was on their home field.

To put the VA programs' performance in some perspective, here's a fun factoid:

The Virginia Cardinals pitched 4 shutouts in their 7 games at the 17u tournament.

Only one other team in the entire 216-team tourney did that (DBAT McCabe). No one else had more than 3.

We also had a fifth game in which we allowed only one, unearned run.

Congrats to the pitchers who made it happen, including:

# 1 -- Kit Scheetz and Tyler Carrico, 5 and 2 innings respectively;

# 2 -- Daniel Bridgeman, who in fact gave up his only hit with 2 outs in the 7th before finishing a complete game one-hitter;

# 3 -- Daniel Byrd and Tanner Phillips, 4 and 2 innings of a rule-shortened game; and

# 4 -- Kit Scheetz again, all 6 innings of a rule-shortened game.

Also, in that other game, Joe Manion went 4 1/3 with only one unearned run, and Mack Krupp finished the last 1 2/3 of that rule-shortened game.

guess those pitchers love that wooden bat format!

Some more than others! There were some high scoring games at the tourney, too.

Day 3 of the 16U tournament was very successful for Virginia Teams as they went 9-2 for a cummulative record of 21-11-1. Teams records to date are:
2-1 Canes Green
3-0 Canes White
3-0 Patriots of Northern Virginia 16U
1-2 Prospect Stars 2013 Blue
1-2 RBA West 16
2-1 Richmond Braves 16U
0-2-1 Richmond Braves 2013 American
3-0 Richmond Braves 2013 National
3-0 Stars 16U National
2-1 Tidewater Drillers
1-2 Virginia Titans

According to weather reports, there is heavy rain predicted for the ATL area from Wed. - Sun. Anyone have experience with the playoff portion of the tournament being rained out? How would they determine a winner? I can't find anything in the rules on this.

They will do everything in their power to finish the playoffs. If field slots run short, consolation games will be the first casualty. There have been instances of them crowning "co-champions" when rain has made it impossible to finish the championship game. But unless it pours pretty much all day Friday, I wouldn't expect that to happen.

On day 4 of the 16U WWBA, Virginia Teams went 6-3-2 for a cummulative record of 27-14-3. Individual team results in alphabetical order are:
2-2 Canes Green
4-0 Canes White
3-0-1 Patriots of Northern Virginia 16U
2-2 Prospect Stars 2013 Blue
2-2 RBA West 16
2-1-1 Richmond Braves 16U
0-3-1 Richmond Braves 2013 American
4-0 Richmond Braves 2013 National
4-0 Stars 16U National
3-1 Tidewater Drillers
1-3 Virginia Titans

Pool play ends tomorrow at 7:00.

Those are some outstanding numbers.

Every year, we prove that Virginia is more of a hotbed of baseball talent than many give us credit for.

how many teams from Virginia made the championship bracket?

On the last day of pool play, Virginia Teams went 6-2-2, with one game postponed due to weather. The cummulative records of Virginia Teams in alphabetical order are:
2-2 Canes Green *
5-0 Canes White
4-0-1 Patriots of Northern Virginia 16U
3-2 Prospect Stars 2013 Blue
2-3 RBA West 16
2-1-2 Richmond Braves 16U
0-3-2 Richmond Braves 2013 American
5-0 Richmond Braves 2013 National
5-0 Stars 16U National
4-1 Tidewater Drillers
1-4 Virginia Titans

Five teams made the playoffs which begin tomorrow morning due to weather delays Wed. evening. 3 VA teams got first round byes.
Playoffs with a first round bye: Canes White, Stars 16U National and Richmond Braves 2013 National
Playoffs: Patriots of Northern Virginia 16U and the Tidewater Drillers

* 5th pool game postponed due to weather

QuadAAAA do you know who is doing well for the Patriots of Northern Virginia team? or the Canes white? thanks

Zeus,
Here is what I can tell from the box scores listed by PG. (I did not look up all of their first names or high schools).

Patriots of NOVA batting:
L.Farrar: 8 for 16, 6 runs scored
J.Agnus: 4 for 11, 5 rbis
D.Forgacs: 4 for 10, 4 runs scored
B.Pittman: 5 for 15, 5 rbis

Patriots of NOVA pitching:
C.Bhatti: 7.2 ip, 7h, 2er, 13k
N.Brown: 9.2 ip, 6h, 3er 7k
C.Steber 5.2 ip, 1h, 1er, 5k
D.Edwards: 6 ip, 4h, 1er, 3k

The Canes played fewer innings due to some mercy rule games and scored more runs so their batting stats were greater and their pitching stats were less.

Canes Batting:
A.McGuire: 7 for 14, 6 runs
A.Braswell: 6 for 11, 5 rbis
J.Fraley: 6 for 9, 6 runs, 7 rbis
J.Jarmon: 6 for 10, 5 runs, 8 rbis
J.Roberts: 6 for 9, 11 rbis

Canes Pitching (no one seemed to have over 4+ ip)
E.Philips: 3.2 ip, 2h, 0er, 5k
J.Callahan: 3 ip, 1h, 0er, 5k
K.Trader: 3 ip, 1h, 0er, 6k
C.Jones: 2 ip, 0 h, 0er, 2k
C.Cropper: 2 ip, 1 h, 0 er, 3k

Stars 16u and Richmond Braves National 2013 advance to round of 16. Games at 5:30 today (Thursday) - storm delay from 4:30.

Virginia Teams on Thursday in consolation and playoff games went 5-7-1 for a cummulative total of 38-23-6. In alphabetical order, the team results are:
2-3 Canes Green *
5-1 Canes White
4-1-1 Patriots of Northern Virginia 16U
4-2 Prospect Stars 2013 Blue
2-4 RBA West 16
2-2-2 Richmond Braves 16U
0-3-3 Richmond Braves 2013 American
6-0 Richmond Braves 2013 National
6-1 Stars 16U National
5-2 Tidewater Drillers
2-4 Virginia Titans

The Richmond Braves 2013 National are the only VA team still in the playoffs. Good luck.

* Only played 5 games due to weather.

Richmond Braves 2013 just lost to the Orlando Scorpions Purple 6-4. Braves had one bad inning - thats baseball! Great job by the VA teams!

Thanks for all the info greatly appreciated and glad the teams represented well.

Some random thoughts. I have lived in VA (shen valley) maryland (frederick) nc (raleigh) ga (near marietta) Kids are the same everywhere. Each time i moved i feared my kid would not be good enough. The biggest difference is the amount of competition the further south. I used to be thrilled if enough teams would enter a tourney for a round robin. Now as i get futher south there are at least about 24 teams in each age group at all tourneys. Dont get fooled into thinking all the teams in the wwba are great teams. Most use this as the year end event for their season if they live in that area. ALSO most travel coaches are in it to make money and take teams to places so they can pretend they are getting them scouted. However i will say my kid played against 1 of the top ranked 17u teams in the country and one of the top 16u pitchers at an event so scouts had to notice anyone who did well in that game. I also overheard several recruiters saying they hate this time of year as low man on totem pole gets sent away from their family for a few weeks to have to look at kids they will either never sign or will not want after they see them. Its hard work for recruiters and very nerve wreaking for kids and parents. Enjoy it and let go and enjoy the season and maybe great things will happen for you.

I'm sorry you've had such poor encounters, but they do not match my own. Or, are you just talking about the 15u/16u events?

Typically PG examines teams to have some bar set as to who gets in to the tournament. Since the 17u and 18u tourney fields are now 216 teams each, obviously some teams are not as strong as others, but there is an effort made to project team strength, seed teams and thereby balance the pools. If you are not a stud team, in all likelihood you will face at least 2 in your pool.

There are a number of Atlanta area teams in the tourney, but between the East Cobb program and teams like the Atlanta Blue Jays, very few of them are weaker sisters. By far the overwhelming majority of the tourney field comes quite a distance to play, and for good reason.

I'm sure there are bad travel coaches, but I don't think they are as cynical, in the main, as you suggest. If you don't have a lot of talent on your squad to draw scouts, it can get frustrating, but most teams at East Cobb -- at least in the 17u and 18u events -- are good enough that they are being followed at least by their home state schools.

The idea that the scouts are just the "low man on the totem pole" is hogwash. Again, unless you're talking about the younger events. At the 17u and 18u events, you will typically see programs send more than one guy because of the sheer number of games and venues to cover. If a scout is there just hoping to latch onto a kid for the first time and land him, I shan't wonder that he would struggle to hook any big fish. But that's not how anyone I know works and it's not an approach calculated to succeed.

Most of the scouts at our games are guys who follow us all the time and who want to see how our guys perform against top level competition and in pressure situations. And, it offers the chance to see many guys in a compressed period so you can maybe weigh options while all are fresh in your mind. I know it's a stressful time for the scouts but they get a lot done in a week's time, so it's a fair tradeoff for their schedules.

But we do also see a few schools who have very narrow criteria for players and who get really only this one week to see certain guys. The service academies and the Ivies in particular.

For the 15u and 16u events, to me the main reasons for a player to be there are to compete with your team, and to get used to the venue and the whole setup. That helps pave the way for better performances at the more heavily scouted events that lay down the road, in particular at the 17u and 18u events. I haven't been at the younger events in quite some time. When I was there last, there was very little scouting going on except by PG's people. I should think there has been an uptick at the 16u in recent years, since you see so many early commitments these days, but I can't imagine it's like the older age events.

Midlo i have not had poor encounters my 15yr old enjoyed playing in the 18u top 16 finish and playing in the 16u as well. I have attended these in various forms for years. trust me i dont want to name names but there are a lot of weak teams. Anyone from GA knows east cobb has about 2 very good teams and the rest are between good and very bad. Look at records from even local events much less national. It is not hard to get in the tourney. Also many places enter several teams say a a/b/c team. And yes i was at 18u and 17 talking to recruiters and if you think they would rather be there than at home a lot of times your wrong. Of course its a job for them and a summer job. Its also how they climb the ranks to move on to bigger and better jobs. My experiences have never been bad i am just realistic about what i see,hear and know. How often do you see teams go to events to "be scouted and then sent to a school where no one is at" I am all for these tournaments and going to them when my kids are or are not playing. But i know what to expect. I am also going to a few showcase tryout type events but i also know the downside of camps and showcase events. The below link sort of gives the alternate view..not one i entirely believe in but a lot is true. Coaches, scouts and most everyone is doing it as a job not just for the love of the game.
http://ericcressey.com/basebal...oney-and-get-injured

I'm sure it is a long, hot and stressful week for the scouts. But it beats driving all over a multi-state area chasing one prospect at a time, only to be disappointed with some frequency. And while we can all commiserate over a job that is low pay and long hours, often taken with the hope of advancing on to a better station in life, don't mistake that kind of water cooler chatter for a lack of seriousness in their undertaking the tasks presently at hand. After all, no one gets promoted without building a reputation for doing the job currently in front of them well.

As for going to get scouted and then being at a school with no one there -- if people go to these tournaments thinking folks are just going to be hanging out waiting for them to appear, then they are going to be disappointed. We push our players to identify target schools and then, knowing that they are going to have representatives at this event, to ask the scouts to make time for their games and come see them play. Regular contact by the players is critical.

The scouts are not going to just hang around hoping to notice someone out of thousands of players going through there, and then try to sell them on their school. When someone expresses interest, it suggests the player already knows the school and thus, a lot of the recruiter's sales job is already done; what remains is for the scout to determine if the kid can play at his program's level.

In the 17u just past, we did have a game out at Cartersville which is quite a haul from the main complex and I think there were only 2 scouts there. The main problem was that our pitcher that day was already committed and we were headed to the East Cobb complex the very next day, with an uncommitted pitcher slated, so scouts apparently decided they could more easily wait to see us the next day instead of driving 30 minutes each way. You also never know who else they need to see and where/when they might be playing.

In our pool, we played a couple of nationally known teams, a couple of solid regional teams, and one team that you might categorize as a local entry who was a bit short on arms and maybe in over their heads. (Though they did win a game in pool play, so they were not by any means hapless.) We then got into playoff rounds where our opponents were well known and respected programs. In at least 5 of our 7 games, our guys benefited not only from the scouts they asked to come see them (and who did, in fact, come), but also from the scouts the opposition brought by doing the same thing on the other side.

So there is indeed a chance to be "discovered" and then be surprised by someone's interest in you. But for the most part, this week is about grinding it out day after day, playing hard against competition that is a few cuts above what you might typically see, and allowing people to see you efficiently and on a time table that fits the recruiting cycle quite well.

I don't expect miracles for kids who don't play well. But as the saying goes, the problem with exposure baseball is that you can get exposure, or perhaps just be exposed. Players (and parents) who expect the baseball world to get swept away by the wonder and glory of themselves are destined to come away disappointed.

On the other hand, we went to this event with several players already committed. We left it with another player firmly committed and another of our uncommitted 2012's having been invited for a visit with a strong expression of interest by a program/school that he had not previously been in contact with, but that is right in his wheelhouse in terms of academics and baseball both. A few more of our uncommitted 2012's showed quite well and advanced themselves in the eyes of programs that are following them. Some of our 2013's were followed closely with an eye towards "junior days" invitations in the fall.

It was well worth the trip for us. I'm sorry if some don't seem to understand the role this event plays in the whole recruiting cycle or how to take maximum advantage of it, but I suppose in a field of 216 teams, some are going to have their acts together more so than others.

Well said MidloDad.

Having attended the 16u and 17u weeks the last two years - it is clear that scouts come to see certain players and teams. With that said - they do "find" players that they continue to pursue. If you are a solid player that on a team of highly recruited players it can be a great benefit to you.
We played all over creation this year and during the 16u week there were multiple scouts at every game - some games had 15 or more.
My only "beef" with the tournament itself is that PG let the winners of last year's 15u - a local team - play all their pool games on their home field and also their only post pool game. If they had won this year it would have been a story - as they did not I guess no one will care.

Here is another thing that was pretty cool..One game my son was playing the umpire was a college coach working for the summer and another the grounds keeper was a local scout just helping out. It is not always the guys in the logo shirts who will see you. Also many college coaches coach travel teams, we had one third base coach clocking all our players running home to first, catcher throw downs etc. he then asked the coach of our team about 3 of the kids after the game. OF course you quite often hear the dreaded "we would like you to walk on " statements. We could do a whole thread on the chess game between recruiters and players.

Regarding home games..Yes i too hate that many teams get to play all their games at their home fields but that is part of the negotiation. Most teams or schools get 2k for use of field. I guess they work their entry into that. I can name at least 8 teams who out of state teams would never know are playing at their home fields. Not sure it gives them a big advantage other than travel is easy for them.

I would imagine people seldom bother to scroll all the way down on these pages. If this were to include college commitments it would be at least 10 times longer. At the very bottom of each link are the college commitments by each year of the tournament.

Just those I had contact with this year in Georgia included... 8 MLB Scouting Directors, 4 front office execs, 1 MLB President. The Head Coach or recruiting coordinator of pretty much all the top college programs were there. I do not see these bottom of the totem pole types at this event. It just doesn't make sense to send the bottom guys to a place that has this much talent in one area.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of these links and everything will be self explanatory.

NOTE: Please allow time for the link to load completely. It's very large, so the first time you scroll to the bottom you might not get it all. Scroll slowly! You want to get to the long list of drafted players with links at the bottom to college commitments.

18U WWBA Championship

17U WWBA Championship

16U WWBA Championship

quote:

My only "beef" with the tournament itself is that PG let the winners of last year's 15u - a local team - play all their pool games on their home field and also their only post pool game. If they had won this year it would have been a story - as they did not I guess no one will care.

Actually these home field teams have won the tournament before. So it has been a story for quite awhile.

There is a very good reason why this takes place. As most people know, rain is always a possibility and the fields need to be prepared for every game. In some cases certain teams are responsible for taking care of that field for the entire day. In order to accomplish this they need to be there all day including their own games. (It is NOT many teams) In fact, it is very few teams, three or four!

I suppose it could be considered a slight advantage, but we don't hear many complaints about that these days. Years ago the biggest complaint was the umpires being homers. That caused a change that resulted in umpires coming in from all over the country to work the event.

This will all change in the future as the new 16 field, all turf, all lighted, complex gets built off of I75. This will not only be great for teams, colleges and MLB scouts, but it will allow us to control things better.

All that said... Anyone looking for perfection, will never find it at anything we do.

Thanks for the explanation PG - looking forward to the new complex.

quote:

This will all change in the future as the new 16 field, all turf, all lighted, complex gets built off of I75. This will not only be great for teams, colleges and MLB scouts, but it will allow us to control things better.

Hey Jerry, how's that all coming along? Will we be there next year? 2013?

Spring of 2013 is the schedule. Ground breaking should take place next month.

Here is a link with some info.

PG Complex at Lake Point

Also, a bit of perspective.

We entered a local tournament this week just because it was, well, local and would offer a respite from our recent travel.

I don't know if it's due to the EXTREME heat we've had, or just the event itself, but so far I've seen two schools at our five games combined. And they were there to see guys on our team. The other teams brought NO ONE to the party.

At the WWBA 17u, our least scouted game still had 2 colleges and at least that many pro scouts present. Our most heavily scouted event came when the currently top-ranked pitcher in VA faced a LOADED Florida team with numerous SEC committed kids and potential 2012 draftees. That game was played at Kell HS, which many of you know is the one across the street from the East Cobb complex. So it's easy to get to, but you have to want to see the one game to go over there.

In that one game I was able to identify 30+ collegiate programs present. Many had more than one guy there. Nearly all if not all MLB teams had scouts there as well, again many had more than one. There were a lot of others there whom I am pretty sure were scouts of one type or another but whom I just could not identify.

Our team has not been to any other events anywhere that offer that opportunity. (Too bad we lost! But we had some guys show themselves well nonetheless.)

A more typical game at the 17u would have roughly 10-15 colleges represented. I know because I go behind the backstop, introduce myself, get their schools noted in my scorebook, and hand out rosters to them all. After the game I count them.

Interestingly, our game at East Cobb was one of the least heavily scouted games we had. Unfortunately our opponent just didn't bring anyone to the dance, all we had there were guys following us and a couple of passers by. And our opponent was a good team, too. I guess their players just didn't do the homework in the days prior.

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
We push our players to identify target schools and then, knowing that they are going to have representatives at this event, to ask the scouts to make time for their games and come see them play. Regular contact by the players is critical.

This is a point I keep trying to get across to my son. He pitched a game at South Cobb that had a few scouts there, one of which had contacted him to get the day he was scheduled to pitch. At least two of the other scouts had been contacted by boys on our team. I keep telling him that it is up to the boys to get the Scouts out to their games by making contact well in advance (not a day or two before).

It's also nice to see that you are pushing your team to make these contacts. Although my son plays for an experienced organization, his team only has one coach and this is his first year coaching this type of team so they are not getting this type of encouragement. Thank goodness for these message boards or we would be totally lost.

It is up to the player to contact the schools. The coaches simply follow up. I know that we are busier before the games (when the schedule comes out) than during the games. We get TONS of texts from different coaches asking about our kids and when they will pitch, expected PT, etc.

Now, keep in mind, that if you throw 78mph, Top 10 programs like Texas, etc. really don't care and won't be out to see you unless you do something special. You need to be realistic. This dose of reality usually involves the coach of your team.

Targeting schools requires that you assess the player's academic level, as well as his baseball level. Also his financial resources.

If you are having trouble cracking the 1,000 mark on your 2-part SAT's, then you are probably going to have trouble getting a place like Vanderbilt to follow you. It'd be hard enough to get you in, there'd also be questions about whether you could STAY in once there.

And with so many private universities posting 50k+ sticker prices these days, you have to ask yourself if you can cover the net bill if they come with, say, a 25% offer, or a higher offer if you are talented enough to receive a higher offer. There's no point talking to (not to pick on them but just as an example) Vandy if you aren't ready to shell out the money for what the net bill is likely to look like. Unless you are likely to be able to package some other substantial financial aid with your baseball money, at least.

As a counter example, if you have top grades, 1300+ boards and cash to burn, if you go to the 17u, and if you contact all the Ivies in advance, I can guarantee you they will turn out for you. They realize that they can only really look at a small percentage of the guys out there and they will look coast to coast to find the few that fit their profile. Then it's just up to you to perform on the field.

In the end there's no escaping that last part. But if you're seeking opportunities, you can make them for yourself.

I think it was Edison who said something like, when opportunity knocks many people fail to answer the door, because it comes wearing overalls and disguised as hard work. Teenagers will come up with all sorts of excuses not to do their homework. In the end, those who do the prep work on balance will fare better than equally talented kids who don't. There's probably a good life lesson there too, don't you think?

Hey MidloDad! I think we're at the same tournament (maybe playing you tomorrow?). My son sent out a couple e-mails to local schools about when he was scheduled to pitch. My husband thought that he saw a couple of schools represented on Friday.

As far as connecting with the colleges at the 17U, that is such a great approach that you had. We only have one coach, so there is no way that he could do that since he is out on the field. I did see one scout go over to the coach before the game for a copy of the roster but nothing that was initiated on our side. Probably why you're seeing such success with your verbal commits.

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As a counter example, if you have top grades, 1300+ boards and cash to burn...

I appreciate what Midlo is saying overall (above), however I disagree with the Ivy Financial Aid wording ("cash to burn"). Ivy financial aid can be extremely generous, and their means are substantial. Need based financial aid is how they operate without athletic and academic scholarships. My advice is to not assume you can't afford it if you qualify academically and athletically. Let their FA offices run the numbers, and compare it to the other schools you've been offered. They have a lot to offer financially relative to other top shelf private $$ schools such as Richmond, Vanderbilt or Wake Forest. They do recruit nationally, so expect them at national tournaments and showcases.

I have to agree with fenway. I had discussion with a number of schools out of state prior to my son making his final decision and the ones that I talked to made sure to let me know that there was a much better than average chance to combine academic money with any scholarship money because they knew they had to get the tuition costs down to attract out of state players. Obviously the Ivies don't give athletic but the academic made up for it. Bottom line is to not make assumptions. Have some very frank conversations about money. You'll be surprised what you find out...

The other huge thing to remember is that if your player is using baseball as a means to go to school (obviously some don't much care, they just simply want to play ball at any D-1/2) then he really needs to address that during talks with the school. Many degree programs are literally off the table at a number of schools because the classes clash with the practice/game schedule. You REALLY need to take that into account if the degree your son is going after is what is most important to him. Don't take it for granted that just because a school offers that degree that your son will automatically be able to pursue it if he chooses to play ball at that school. Its not so cut and dry... Many, many things to consider there...

I should not have phrased that so carelessly, I apologize. But one thing you have to watch with any big ticket school is whether the particular school has a reputation for assuring that aid is renewed year to year. That goes whether you're talking about academic money, financial aid money, or baseball money.

If you're at an in-state school where the typical student has a budget of, say, 18k, then you're not as exposed. But when you're getting a big chunk of 52k/year paid, you need to make sure that money is going to be there for the duration. If you get 35k as a freshman and then see it drop to 20k the next year, given that you'd have to sit out a year of baseball if you transfer, you can be exposed.

I don't have any experience with Ivy League aid packages so I'll defer to Fenway on that topic. But I have certainly seen this when it comes to baseball money, at Wake and other places like it. (Happily not in my own situation, but certainly in the situations of others.)

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Obviously the Ivies don't give athletic but the academic made up for it.

Are you inferring that the Ivies offer academic aid? If so, you are mistaken. Ivies offer NEED BASED AID only.

I know harvard has the 10pct of your income policy. Does anyone know if this is considered a violation or not? A friend of mine said his some was not offered a scholorship but the school waived the out of state fee for him..seems like that is more than most scholorships are worth.

Out of state fee? For private U's?

You may be thinking of a place like Clemson, which has a policy across the board (not just for athletes) that if you graduate in the top 10% of your high school class, you get in-state tuition as an out-of-state student.

Not sure if that's good at all SC universities, but I do remember that Clemson offered it. And in a partial scholarship sport, it's a great opportunity.

I have seen that the "typical aid" package at the Ivy's runs roughly 75-80% of the cost. So that probably means that there are a number of students recieving almost free rides being offset by those that have the means. I know the Endowment funds at some of these places are huge but are not as big as they were about 3 years ago.

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Originally posted by gamefan:

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Obviously the Ivies don't give athletic but the academic made up for it.

Are you inferring that the Ivies offer academic aid? If so, you are mistaken. Ivies offer NEED BASED AID only.

A. The Ivy League schools certainly do offer academic assistance...if they didn't, they would have an enrollment of 12 (obviously a joke, but if you have "Ivie", you'd get that)

B. "need based" = talent based...either academically or athletically...don't foll yourself

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Originally posted by dblemup:

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Originally posted by gamefan:

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Obviously the Ivies don't give athletic but the academic made up for it.

Are you inferring that the Ivies offer academic aid? If so, you are mistaken. Ivies offer NEED BASED AID only.

A. The Ivy League schools certainly do offer academic assistance...if they didn't, they would have an enrollment of 12 (obviously a joke, but if you have "Ivie", you'd get that)

B. "need based" = talent based...either academically or athletically...don't foll yourself

Don't foll yourself? Need based means FINANCIALLY in its best sense of the word.

Everyone can't afford an "Ivie" tuition