Richmond Braves '10 win another National Event

That is great. Who did the pitching?

They played 7 games in 4 days, I think everyone pitched Houston, Cox, Cundiff, MacDonald, Kaufmann, Brooke, Cullen and Young. Richardson pitched the Semi game. Houston started the championship game and came out in the 4th tied 2-2. Cox pitched the final 3+ innings to get the win 3-2. A lot of top name teams from all over the country at this event

Did anyone ever pick up Cullen for college ball?

Maybe after the exploits of some of our players of, shall we say, lesser altitude in the CWS, some folks will give this kid a shot. Not tall but quite a player, could probably help a lot of teams.

Congratulations to all the young men on this team. This was some of the best ball games I’ve seen. A truly team effort from all against some powerhouse teams. Outstanding coaching as well.

All eighteen Braves contributed to the Championship. As one would expect to win an event such as this, our pitching was in top form.
FYI: I tallied up the book to kill some time on the 10 hour ride home yesterday and here are the staff totals.

In 7 Games:
44 Inn
1.43 ERA
12 Runs
09 ERuns
28 Hits
45 K
19 BB
04 HBP
(28-157) .178 OBA

Defense was solid with 8 errors.
Our team also hit well (66-188).

A special thanks to the staffs at U of N Kentucky, U of Miami Ohio and the U of Cincinnati for the excellent venues to play.

Team picture

Midlo,
Cullen is uncommitted but has nothing to worry about. He is one heck of a player and is playing well.

Richardson was lights out in the semi against Lake Erie. He only allowed 1 meaningless run in the 7th.
In the final against Norcal, Houston went the first four, then Cox finished the last three.

Didn't Cullen graduate this year? Or does he have another year of HS yet to go?

Can you post this team's roster, with their positions and high schools/class years?

Richmond Braves National '10 Team

#12 Patrick Arnold LHP / OF # 3 Christian MacDonald LHP
#10 Henry Brooke RHP #15 Eric Mayers C / OF
#28 Cody Cox RHP #21 Mitchell Shifflett OF
# 1 Bill Cullen OF / LHP #23 Tyler Skulina RHP
# 7 Trent Cundiff RHP / CIF #22 Jordan Tarsovich MIF
#20 Rian Ellis INF / RHP #26 Walker Turner C / 3rd
# 5 Johnny Fasola 3rd / RHP # 2 Logan Walker MIF
#25 Patrick Harrington C / OF #24 Kevin White C / OF
#47 Matt Houston RHP / 1st # 9 Austin Young 1st / RHP
# 8 Connor Kaufmann RHP

All are '10s except Kevin White who is an '11. Several '09s will play in larger events due to late birthdays. Josh Richardson played in Cincinnati (very well I might add) Fasola & Skulina did not play in Cincinnati

So Cullen does have another year? Glad to hear that. I thought he was getting passed over. I guess he has time to get a deal yet.

I also like Connor Kaufmann. I've seen him get roughed up a few times but he looks to me to be just a hair away from getting to be a dominant arm.

sounds like a great team. Is team all richmond kids or is just the name and this team is composed of players all over the country.

Arnold, Patrick Lord Botetourt (Roanoke)
Brooke, Henry St. Albans
Cox, Cody Grassfield
Cullen, Bill Thomas Dale
Cundiff, Trent Northside
Ellis, Rian Grassfield
Harrington, Patrick Kellam
Houston, Matt Spotsylvania
Kaufmann, Connor L. C. Bird
MacDonald, Christian
Mayers, Eric Hanover High School
Richardson, Josh Greenbrier Christian Academy
Shifflett, Mitchell Cosby
Tarsovich, Jordan Trinity Episcopal School
Turner, Walker Broadway
Walker, Logan Matoaca
White, Kevin St. Anne's-Belfield
Young, Austin Atlee
This was the team for the Tournament of Champions

Any idea why Shifflett isn't at the Tournament of Stars right now?

Re: Cullen He is getting several looks from D-1 programs in the state and in the Carolinas. A few offers are forthcoming with many to follow as the summer progresses

Wouldn't mind if I found out Wake was one of the teams looking. I think this kid has "it". Teams he is on will always do their share of winning. Glad to hear some are looking past his height to see that.

I wonder if they consider Cullen as an OF in College or a pitcher?

I know his height may work against him, as far as the college pitcher stereotype...

But first off he's a LEFTY.

And he can throw it. AND he's got a nasty breaking ball which he can control....nothing like a good 12-6 with a good FB to make hitters think...

FWIW (which may be nothing), I see him as a pitcher. He has a good, quick bat but I don't see him developing the power necessary to play OF at the collegiate level, where the CF fence is 400+ feet out. I do think he has a pretty good breaking pitch, with another year or two I could see him in the 88 range, and he has that competitiveness you just love to see in a pitcher.

Cullen's out pitch is the change-up. Probably has one of the better changes in the region. Makes his FB seem even faster. Most of the time, he throws in the low 80's. When he dials it up, he can get into the mid-80's range. I agree with both of you, that someone should give him a look on the mound at the D-1 level and from what I hear, a few of the schools recruiting him are in fact looking at him as a two way player. Point blank...the kid is a winner and will be successful whether he is on the bump or in the OF

What team are we talking about here? Is this the Richmond Braves 17U, or the National 2010 team a different team? I have yet to figure out the Braves organization and structure. Can someone explain what teams the Braves organization hosts, from the earliest years to the lastest (I think they have a Braves 2009 team, right?)?

Richmond Braves '09 National Team (only played a couple of events this year) Most players were committed.

Richmond Braves '10 National Team won the Tournament of Champions in Ohio, played in WWBA 18 & 17U events will play selected showcase events

A list of all Braves teams can be seen at www.richmondbraves.net

Thanks for the link. That is a pretty amazing program. It appears that the National level teams are made up of top Div I level talent and the age-based teams are just below that level--is that a correct assessment?

By the way, I meant to ask why the Canes program is not ranked nationally like the Braves program is. For that matter, why is the Dirtbag program not ranked that high? I have followed the Canes and Dirtbags alot these last few years, and it seems to me that both are producing as many, if not more, top Div I players and that they are competing in and winning tournaments with top teams from across the nation. Am I missing something here?

rhobbs, I believe the Canes and Dirtbags are ranked. At least, Perfect Game has them listed. You may find the Braves ranked higher because they have been around longer and the 2011 Braves squad has done very well.

That may not always be the case. The 16U Canes just won the World Wooden Bat Tournament at East Cobb today.

quote:

Originally posted by El gato:
rhobbs, I believe the Canes and Dirtbags are ranked. At least, Perfect Game has them listed. You may find the Braves ranked higher because they have been around longer and the 2010 Braves squad has done very well.

That may not always be the case. The 16U Canes just won the World Wooden Bat Tournament at East Cobb today.

Congrats to the 16U Canes, including Augie Ayers (Manchester High School), Jordan Boze (Lee Davis), Jake Cave (Hampton Christian), Tyler Long (Halifax County), Travis Myers (Northumberland), Blake Sipe (Ft. Defiance) and Nick Thompson (Western Branch). They beat a very good Florida team in the championship game at East Cobb.

Winning the 16U WWBA is a great accomplishment, and should put the Canes on the national map for sure. That said, let me ask about the "North Canes" vs. the "South Canes." I thought the South Canes were primarily SC and NC players, and the North Canes were primarily VA and NC players. The roster on the website indicates that the North Canes have only three VA players, one MA player, and the rest are out of NC and SC. Is there any sort of geographic link with North and South Canes, or are those names just names?

Also, I saw that the North Canes (the oldest North Canes--17U, rising seniors, mostly) list Chad Pindar's brother, Chase, on the roster as a 2014. Seriously. . . unless he is the second coming of Mickey Mantle, how do you do that? Is he the bat boy or is he a player? If the latter, pls provide the details of his next scheduled appearance so I can come out and take a look at an 8th grader capable of playing with seniors. Has to be the bat boy, right?

Congrats to the Canes. Two years in a row a Va based team wins the 16U WWBA.

Can you call the 16U North Canes a Virginia-based team if only 3 on the roster are from VA?

quote:

Originally posted by Spartan81:
Can you call the 16U North Canes a Virginia-based team if only 3 on the roster are from VA?

The post three up listed the 7 Canes players from Virginia on the team which won the 16U WWB.

quote:

Originally posted by Spartan81:
Can you call the 16U North Canes a Virginia-based team if only 3 on the roster are from VA?

Can you call the Braves a Richmond team with a limited number of kids from Richmond?

There is a discrepancy between the official North Canes roster and the roster listed above showing 7 VA players. In any case, I was just trying to get at the structure of the Canes organization. First there was the Canes. It was almost purely a Carolina organization. Then out of that organization sprung the North Canes and the Canes became the South Canes, right? The North Canes were largely VA players. Then the organization added the "Senior Canes" and various younger teams. The North Canes seem to have alot fewer VA players than the onld North Canes. So, is there any sort of guidelines used to determine who plays on what roster? The official roster on the website lists only 3 VA players on the North Canes. Is that simply because there are not that many great VA players this year? And is there an answer to the Chase Pindar question--bat boy?

rhobbs,

I have moved my response to the Canes Topic.

rhobbs, am also posting a response under the Canes topic.