TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: 11U NORCAL AT BIG LEAGUE DREAMS, MANTECA
 
Ranked 11th by Travel Ball Select, the Chino Hills Storm 11U team (SoCal) is traveling to northern California this weekend to play at Big League Dreams, Manteca - specifically to play against the 4th ranked and North State Champions, TABU (NorCal).  Earlier this year, these two teams split games at the MLK Super NIT - with TABU winning the elimination game.  The 'rubber game' will take place in pool play on Saturday. The 8th ranked Lamorinda Cougars (NorCal) is not scheduled to play in this tournament.  The Cougars toppled TABU at the recent USSSA Northern California State Championship in pool play by a score of 14-11.  They did it against TABU's ace, Bryce Dydra.  The Cougars had a let down the next day in the single elimination round losing to a non-ranked team.  TABU went on to win the California North State championship.

Tournament Results: 11U USSSA California State Championships

Pounding out 11 hits, including four triples the unranked Walnut Rebels knocked off Los Tomateros 9-3 in the championship game. The Rebels finished 5-0 and were the only undefeated team in the Division. The Rebels are one of those rare travel ball teams that is filled with talent from its own home town. They beat 13th ranked Chino Hills Storm in pool play and then beat the 11th ranked San Diego Stars 11-8 in the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals the Rebels scored seven runs in the second inning to take control of the game against the Stars.Andrew Acosta had two hits in the inning as the Rebels moved into the finals. Los Tomateros lost to the Rebels 8-6 in pool play and became the wild-card team in the semi-finals by virture of an outstanding defense that allowed less runs than the other 3-1 teams. Los Tomasteros jumped on top 3-0 in the top of the first inning of the finals. Acost came on in relief with runners on second and third with one out. He proceeded to pitch 4 2/3 shutout innings. Giving up a single and a walk to pick up the win. Matthew Vargas pitched the final inning for the Rebels and sat down the side in order.

“I knew we had as much pitching as anybody,” Rebels coach Perry Johnson said. “We’re a team stacked with pitching and anything other teams can throw at us, I think we can match. It’s a tribute to the quality of our team. We have so many arms and we get all the way to the championship game and we’ve got Acosta, one of our aces, with five innings left.” Elias Orona had two triples and scored three runs for the Rebels. Acosta was three for three including a triple and knocked in two runs. The Rebels scored three runs in the bottom of the first to tie the game. The took the lead for good with three runs in the second and put the game out of reach with two runs in the fifth. T.J. Freedman led off the fifth with a single, Elias tripled to drive him home and Anthony Moreno drove in the final run with a sacrifice fly.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS: 11U Update on Ranked Teams in Texas 

Travel Ball Select’s fifth ranked TEAM Rattlers won the 11U Triple Crown Slumpbuster Tournament in Omaha, NE posting 5 shutouts in 6 games.  They only gave up two runs total for the tourney.  There are eight teams at the college level that wish to have that kind of success in Omaha at the College World Series this week.

The nation’s tenth ranked Houston Angels went 2-2 in a 12AAA tourney at Baseball USA in Houston.  The 11U American Avengers II played in the tournament as well.  These two teams hooked horns twice during the tournament, splitting the games by identical 5-3 scores.

17^th ranked Beaumont Gladiators played in 12AAA tourney in Beaumont, TX this past weekend.  They went 2-1 with their only loss coming to another 11U team playing up, the Highlands Cyclones.

Ohio Diamond Hawks Win 11U Michigan Major Elite NIT;
Beat Travel Ball Select #18 West Chester 5-1 in Rain-Shortened Title Game
By Rich Kincaide

Sunday, June 8, 2008  (Ypsilanti, MI) – The (TBS #18) West Chester Sluggers trailed the Ohio Diamond Hawks 6-2 in the bottom of the 4th inning of the Michigan Major Elite NIT Championship Game Sunday here afternoon, but the Sluggers were rallying.  They had one run in and runners on second and third and still nobody out when, with a storm approaching, umpires ordered everyone off the field.  Within minutes of play being stopped, a severe thunderstorm packing winds of 70 miles per hour hit the ball diamonds on the campus of Eastern Michigan University and it quickly became apparent that there would be no further baseball on this day. 

When the game was officially called, the final score reverted what it had been at the end of the 3rd (the last completed inning): Ohio Diamond Hawks 5, West Chester Sluggers 1.

The Sluggers were disappointed.  So, too, was the baseball fan in you who wanted to see how this game was going to play out. 

The Diamond Hawks were happy, though.  Within days of falling out of the Travel Ball Select National Rankings, they’d capped on a 7-0 weekend by defeating (in a tournament title game no less) a West Chester team which had themselves only days ago moved into the National Rankings for the first time this season.

After scoring 3 runs in the top of the first inning against the Sluggers and adding 2 more in the 2nd, the Diamond Hawks looked to pitcher Tyler Stambaugh to make the lead hold up.  He did, getting the win in the title game. 

The Diamond Hawks played a beautiful tournament.  Three of their victories came by one run including a Friday game in which the would-be tying run was thrown out at the plate to end the game; a bottom of the 6th inning rally from 6-3 down for a 7-6 win against West Michigan Elite Saturday; and a last-licks 4-3 win over the Indiana Blazers in the first round of tournament play in which pitcher Casey Johnson completed his complete game victory by hitting a walk-off single to break a 3-3 tie.  Carrie Johnson, Casey’s mom and the coach’s wife summed it all up with, “Wasn’t that exciting?”  Yes, yes it was.  But there would be more.

The Diamonds—perhaps the surprise team of the tournament—in the quarterfinals.
Despite being 0-2 at the end of play Friday (including a 7-2 pounding by TBS #19 Macomb in the tournament opener), Diamonds had already defeated two Travel Ball Select rated teams during a 4-game win streak which moved them into the semifinals against the Diamond Hawks.  On Saturday, the Diamonds had defeated TBS #20 Region Redbirds 5-4.  The next day, Tournament Sunday, Diamond had to play (and beat) the host team MSA Black just to get to a semifinal matchup against TBS #19 Macomb.  Diamonds held off MSA Black 4-3 to advance.  Diamonds, based in Grand Rapids, took revenge for Friday’s result and turned the tables on the TBS #19 Mud Hens 6-2.  “They’re (Macomb) a great team.  A great team,” said Diamonds coach and former Major Leaguer John Vander Wal after the win.  “We’re just here to learn.” 

Ohio did the schooling against Diamonds in the next round, 8-0, with Luke Rightnowar tossing the complete-game shutout.

While Ohio was winning the close ones to make it to the title game, West Chester had more or less bludgeoned the other teams en route to the championship match, outscoring opponents 51-6 in their first 5 tournament games.  Also, the Sluggers had shutout its opponent twice and held them to a single run in two others. 

With J.J. Johnson hitting a 2-run homer, the Sluggers opened the tournament as if it was just another day of pool play, roughing up the Region Red Birds 7-1. The Redbirds, ranked # 20 by Travel Ball Select, lost 3 straight to end the tournament.  . 

The Sluggers advanced to meet the Champaign Tribe in the semifinal and the Tribe gave them a battle.  West Chester led 3-1 in the top of the 4th when, with runners on second and third and nobody out for Champaign, Brandon Williams (who turns 11 next month) came on in relief for West Chester and struck out the side to preserve the Sluggers’ lead.  Williams wound up working the last three innings, striking out 7.

The 11U Michigan Major Elite NIT was a first-class event under Tournament Director Rick Goff.  17 teams were in the hunt for the huge First-Place trophy but only the Ohio Diamond Hawks got to hoist the hardware this weekend.

East Cobb Astros lose two:

The Home Plate Chilidogs win the AAU GEORGIA STATE Championship for the 2nd year in a row. Beating the #1 ranked East Cobb Astros not once but twice in the double elimination tourney.

Chilidogs went 5-0 beating the Astros 6-5 in the Winners Bracket final. Then beat the Astros a second time 8-5 after the Astros had beaten the East Cobb Titans 7-5 to get to the ship.  

This is the same team that had victory over the Florida Fire (ranked #4) snatched from them the week before due to a protest that went in favor of the Fire.

Chilidogs are now 36-8-1. 2 of those loses came in a 12 yr old tourney where they took 2nd place.  This is a team that has been overlooked in the past but no more.

Here is the link to the scores of the tourney at All Tournament Players Park 

http://www.alltournamentplayerspark.com/BB_11U_AAU_9U_Dizzy_WarmUp_662008.htm

HOUSTON UPDATE: 

Houston Lightning – 2^nd at Super NIT in Dallas with only loss to Armour Baseball in championship.  Armour Baseball qualified for Elite 24.

Team Rattlers – Rattlers take 1^st place in 12 AAA NIT in Houston. 

Texas Prospects Americans – overall winning streak came to an end as Americans finished 3^rd in 12U Major Barrett Fletcher State Tournament.  Americans lost to Dirdin Dragons 3-2 in semi-final.  Dragons went on to win tourney over Friendswood, TX Mustangs whom Americans had defeated in pool play.  Americans still have 34 game winning streak in 11U competition.

MIDWEST UPDATE: 

The 3^rd annual JustBats.com tournament featured 14 of the top ranked teams from Missouri and Kansas in the 11U “Major” tournament.  The Inside Sports KC Blues won the tournament going a perfect 6-0.  In the semi-finals Inside Sports (TBS #12) beat HM Mac-n-Seitz behind a one hit pitching gem by Casey Kelley.  Noah Croft pitched a complete game in the championship with a 9-2 victory over the Independence (MO) Indians.

SOUTH FLORIDA UPDATE: 

Miramar Canes World Series Classic tournament: Dynasty Elite wins it all!

Dynasty Elite is # 1 seed after pool play in which the Elite win two.

Quartile Finals: Dynasty Elite 9 - Tamiami Outlaws 8

With the Elite down 5 to 1 and in the bottom of the 6th with 2 outs and 2 strikes, an amazing hit, a grand slam, gave Dynasty Elite new life.  The team also came up w/ some big 2 outs hits in extra innings that allowed them to win the game in the bottom of the 11^th inning.  This was a great comeback versus a great Tamiami Outlaws team.  This gives new meaning to an old expression, “it’s never over until the last out is made”. 

Semi-finals: Dynasty Elite 10 - Plantation Stars 8

Dynasty Elite had a 5-0 lead and gave up 8 runs in the 4th inning to a much improved Plantation Stars team.  Some big hits in the 5th and 6th inning and great relief pitching allow Dynasty Elite to move on to the championship game.

Finals: Dynasty Elite 9 - Tamiami All-Stars 2

Dynasty Elite finally puts together a complete game and wins the Miramar Canes WS Classic.  We were challenged by a stacked (some of the best players from the Miami Brawlers and the Miami Enforcers) Tamiami All-Stars team.  But the Dynasty Elite pitching was fantastic and the defense was very supportive of the pitching.

Tournament Results (6/8/08):  11U Dallas Super NIT (Championship Day)

There was little time for a post-game speech after ARMOUR BASEBALL defeated the No. 9 Houston Lightning on Sunday in the championship game of the Dallas Super NIT 11-and-under bracket.  “Hurry up, guys; get your stuff. We have a plane to catch,” was the echoing cry of the coaching staff moments after the team accepted their trophies.  But there will be plenty of time for celebration on the plane trip back to Denver after ARMOUR earned a 5-2 victory to punch their ticket to Orlando for the Elite 24 Tournament in July.  ARMOUR proved its worthiness of the invitation, allowing just seven runs in four tournament games, including a 6-0 shutout of the Dallas Patriots in the semifinals earlier on Sunday.  The championship game was even through four innings, with the teams tied at 2-2. In the top of the fifth, leadoff hitter Peyton Remy jump-started ARMOUR by blasting a shot through a stiff wind and over the right-field fence for a solo home run and a 3-2 lead.  Later in the inning, Mike Casados, Cody Wood and Jake Hernandez had consecutive singles to bring home another run and make it 4-2.  ARMOUR tacked on an insurance run in the top of the sixth when Matt Whalen reached on an infield single, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a squeeze bunt by Cole Halpin.  That would be plenty for Whalen, who allowed just two runs in six-and-a-third innings of work. With the Lightning down to their final at-bat, they did get a walk and a hit batter, but Hernandez came on to slam the door and secure the trip to Orlando.

In the first game of the day, Bullet Baseball knocked off Oklahoma Elite, 6-4, to stay alive for a while, but were eliminated later that morning by Houston, who posted a 5-2 victory.

The Houston Lightning entered the small five-team field as the only ranked team at No. 9 and had no problems in winning its two pool games.  The Lighting used a six-run explosion in the fourth inning to propel them to a 10-0 run-rule victory over Oklahoma Elite.  Houston took advantage of every opportunity in the inning. After a leadoff walk to Caleb Morris, Braedon Morrow reached on a check-swing single and Austin Luchak plated a run when he reached on a fielder’s choice.  Both runners would eventually score on wild pitches to make it 7-0. Anthony Dahl added a sacrifice fly, Rainier Ausmus doubled in a run and John Tucker drove in another on a ground out to put the run rule in effect.  That would be plenty for Morrow, who came within one out of throwing a four-inning no-hitter.  The Lighting are joined by ARMOUR BASEBALL as teams that went undefeated through pool play. ARMOUR blanked the Dallas Patriots, 6-0, and held off Oklahoma Elite, 9-5.

The 11-and-under championship is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Some of the top teams from across the Great Lakes region converge on the campus of Eastern Michigan this weekend to participate in the Michigan Major Elite NIT. This is a five game guarantee event hosted by MSA Black that kicks off at 9am Friday morning. All 17 teams are looking to get through this tough field, but it will take timely hits, deep pitching and heads up coaching to make it all the way.

Three of the TBS top 25 teams will be in action this weekend. TBS #12 Ohio Diamond Hawks will be looking to get back on the right track after a disappointing Memorial Weekend showing. TBS #17 Macomb Mudhens and #18 Region Redbirds will square off Saturday at 11:15 am in a game that everyone will be paying attention to. The Mudhens are fresh off their 2^nd place finish at Sterling Heights, which allows them to return to Disney for the second consecutive year.

The team that won the Memorial Weekend event, the West Chester Sluggers (Cincinnati, OH) will be returning to Michigan for the second time in two weeks. They are hoping to carry the momentum from their Disney berth all the way to the championship game.

There are a few teams that are traveling a long way that can’t be taken lightly. The Champaign Tribe and the McHenry County Hurricanes are from the Chicago area, the Dayton Heat and The Kinect Nationals are from mid Ohio. The Indiana Blazers join the Redbirds as the Indiana entries and the lone PA team, RBI Redwings, are part of an organization that has already seen their 13U team qualify for the Elite 24.

Eight Michigan teams will try and defend their “home turf”. Pride becomes a big factor in an event like this and while these eight teams play against each other week in and week out, you can bet that they will be rooting for each other during this event.

West Michigan Elite and Grand Rapids Diamonds will be coming from the “west side”, while MSA Black, Novi Heat, Clarkston Riverdogs, Lapeer Outlaws, Downriver Outlaws and the above mentioned Mudhens will look to keep the title in the home state of Michigan.

One thing for sure, no matter where you are from, if you come out on top in this event, you will have beaten some great teams and at least two TBS ranked teams along the way.

TBS wants to wish everyone good luck with plenty of sunshine this week in Michigan!

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (6/1/08): 11U TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS
(CHAMPIONSHIP GAME)

Four days later, it was the best four teams in the tournament, according to Travel Ball Select’s ranking, that made it to the final four.  And then it was the best three teams as the California TABU players (nationally ranked 4th) knocked off Georgia’s Chiefs Baseball (ranked 7th) behind the strong pitching of Karsten Lee and Devin Lehman and the hitting of Cameron Smith (1 HR) and Bryce Dyrda (2 HRs).  In the double elimination tournament, the second ranked Astros (GA) gave the third ranked Florida Fire their first lose and sent them from the Winners Bracket to the Losers Bracket to take on the TABU, a team they had beaten they day before.  The winner of that game would go on to face the perfect ECB Astros. 

The one run lose to the ‘Strohs took the wind out of the sails and the Fire could not gain any momentum after losing the 9-8 thriller, especially after putting so much energy into mounting a magnificent rally in the fifth and sixth inning.  Suffering their first lose of the tournament and having to face one of the top pitchers in the nation, Bryce Dyrda (photo left: #3), the Florida Fire was finally put out.  Not only was Dyrda a force on the mound (struck out the side one inning, something no one else has done to the FL Fire using three pitches effectively – fastball, change-up and curve), he hammered one over the trees in left field 225’ away from home plate.  Note: Remember, it was Bryce who had pitched the day before to beat the Chiefs on a one hitter. That is not an easy task as both the Chiefs and Fire teams are hitting juggernauts.  Oh, was it mentioned that this was Dyrda’s fourth homerun……in this day alone.  Bryce had one of the better individual performances throughout the tournament.

So the TABU team proved themselves worthy by fighting back out of the Losers Bracket only to face a well rested East Cobb team.  TABU was running low on pitching whereas the Astros had a couple of Top Guns ready to fire.  The Astros took advantage of TABU’s worn down pitchers to pound out double digit hits and homeruns by Tyler Stephenson and Nile Ball.  On the mound, Ty was pounding the strike zone and a fundamentally sound defense did the rest.

In the end, the ECB Astros, who are not a big team by any stretch of the imagination, executed flawlessly.  They are a well coached team who has been taught how to respect the game (hustle all the time, play as a team and not as individuals, listen and learn, be humble or the game will humble you …) and respect their opponent.  As a result, the 11U Astros will not beat themselves - someone will have to play great baseball to beat them.  The way these boys are playing it doesn’t appear to be any time soon.

Congratulations to the Champions and to all teams who competed as this was definitely the best 11U tournament of the year!

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (6/1/08): 11U TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS  (CHAMPIONSHIP DAY OF THE DOUBLE ELIMINATION)

It was only a few hours from the time the teams left the ECB Park at midnight before they had to play again Sunday morning at 8:00am.  The teams didn’t mind.  They were happy they were one of the final six teams remaining.  The Loser’s Bracket had the 7th ranked Chiefs Baseball from GA doing battle with a worthy foe from North Carolina, the Greensboro Tarheels.  The Tarheels have been on Travel Ball Select’s radar for some time and had a great showing this weekend and were knocked out by Travel Ball Select’s 2nd ranked ECB Astros on Saturday night before taking it on the chin to the Chiefs on Sunday morning.  While the Chiefs were winning their game, TABU, ranked 4th nationally, was getting the better of the Mississippi Royals who like the Tarheels showed they were a formidable foe.  The victors moved on to face each other.  It was do-or-die for these two highly ranked teams.  In addition it was a rematch of the game played the day before (one that had TABU’s ace, Dyrda, throw a gem of a game).A brief rain delay allowed everyone to catch their breath before play resume.  Once the game resumed play, it was TABU who had the momentum and energy to beat the Cooperstown champs from a year ago, the Chiefs.  While these two teams were playing to advance, the two undefeated teams squared off as well.  The second ranked Astros were visitors to the third ranked Florida Fire as a result of Pool Play seedings.

The Florida Fire, ranked 3rd nationally by Travel Ball Select, and the 2nd ranked Astros played a clean game with both teams scoring by hitting the ball hard.  As the game came to a close, it was the visitors holding a 9-5 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.  The Fire cut the lead by two with some timely hits with two outs.  Momentum was starting to grow especially when the Fire prevented the Astros from scoring after getting the bases loaded.  This momentum carried into the bottom of the sixth.  The home team loaded the bases with some singles after recording an out.  The next batter swung and missed on strike three however the ball got by the catcher which prompted the runner from third to steal home.  It was a bang/bang play at the plate but when the dust settled the runner was called safe and the lead was reduced to one, 7-6.  Now the Fire had runners on second and third as result of the pass ball and two outs on the scoreboard.  An out of any kind preserves the victory for ECB and a hit of any kind most likely wins the game for the Florida boys.  On the first pitch the batter connects on a line drive.  But its within reach of the third baseman who squeezes the ball into his glove for the final out.

As a result the Fire had to drop into the Loser’s Bracket to face the TABU (CA) team while ECB Astros waited for the winner.

Tournament Results (6/1/08):  11U Governor's Games X Results

In the 11-U division, the Corpus Christi-based RBA Seahawks outslugged Groves, Texas-based Gladiators Baseball 20-16 to bring home the championship.  Playing six games in three days can really take a toll on pitching.  RBA Seahawks coach William Roland can attest to that fact after his team outslugged the Gladiators 20-16 for the championship.  The result put in the spotlight the strength of the Corpus Christi team.  “In five games this weekend, we had 160 hits and six home runs,” Roland said. “So we can swing the bats.”

In three of the wins, the Seahawks reached double-digit runs. The glaring exception to the big offense rule was a 3-1 pitcher’s duel win over the New Orleans Monarchs in the semifinals.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (5/31/08): 11U TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS (Second Day of Bracket Play)

It is a perfect day for baseball so let’s play two games or three games or for some possibly four games at the East Cobb Complex in Atlanta, GA.  The Tournament of Champions has to rank as the best tournament of the season for 11U teams.  14 of the 24 teams that signed up to play in this tournament are listed in Travel Ball Select’s national rankings and many others who have shown they belong.  The competition was fierce, coaching was admirable, and the talent was unbelievable.  Homeruns were clearing the ten foot fences that were 225’ from home plate like Ken Griffey, Jr. or Alex Rodriquez was at the plate themselves.  One Florida Fire player took one over 300’.

As in every tournament, there are some controversial calls.  This tournament was no different.  The Florida Fire protested a call in a game against the Chilidogs (GA).  The game continued on under protest and the ‘Dogs held on to pull off the major upset of the tournament.  The 5-2 win came as result of good pitching and strong defense especially by their shortstop that showed off range and a strong arm.  However, the Tournament Director did the right thing by overturning a mistake by the umpire crew.  Hence, the game was resumed from the point of the umpire error and the score 4-2 in favor of the Chilidogs.  The Fire made the most of their second opportunity and collected two runs in their next at bat to tie it in the bottom of the fifth.  The visitors stranded some runners in the top of the sixth before giving up a run in the bottom of the sixth to lose 5-4.

The Fire rode the emotional wave into the quarterfinal match-up with TABU.  TABU had earned a chance to play the Fire when they beat the Chiefs team 6-3 on a one hit effort by their pitcher, Dyrda.  The Chiefs scored on some aggressive base running and some miscues.  TABU had a tough bracket draw as they played the 10th ranked team on Friday night and then turned around to face the 7th ranked team on Saturday morning.  Therefore, they had to throw some “A” pitchers to advance.  Even though TABU is deep in pitching, they didn’t have the answer for the Fire who connected on multiple extra base hits including three bombs in their 10-4 win.

On the other side of the winners bracket, the second ranked ECB Astros went undefeated.  But they got a scare with a squeaker win against the Mississippi Royals.  The Royals fell 7-6 but had their chances.  The lose sent the Royals into the losers bracket where they proceeded to knock off the 10th ranked Storm.  The Royals proved this weekend they have the ability to play with the best.  The Virginia Storm had already rebounded from their lose to the TABU the day before.  They had beaten the Yellow Jackets (GA) and the Honorable Mentioned DQ Busters.

The Greensboro Tarheels (NC) team was another group of players that came out of the Losers’ Brackets to play on Sunday.  They too proved they deserve the recognition as one of the best teams in the nation.  Travel Ball Select is looking forward to sharing their story in a Featured Team Article soon.  The Chiefs came out of Saturday with an extra inning win over the ECB Braves to advance to Sunday’s play.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (5/30/08): 11U TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

(First Day of Bracket Play)  There is whole lot of good teams playing a whole lot of baseball at the East Cobb Complex in Atlanta, GA.  This has to rank as the best tournament of the season for 11U teams.  14 of the 24 teams that signed up to play in this tournament are listed in Travel Ball Select’s national rankings and many others who have shown they belong.  After each team played two games of Pool Play to determine the seeding, double elimination brackets were set up and the Florida Fire captured the number 1 seed, the ECB Titans (GA) took the second spot, the ECB Astros (GA), Team TABU (CA), and the Chiefs Baseball (GA) came away as the 3, 4, 5 seeds respectively. On Friday there were 16 bracket games after a morning of pool play games.  A couple of Honorable Mentioned Teams battled it out in the first round with the Shoetiques (TN) getting a strong pitching effort from southpaw “Boo Boo” Prewett to beat the DQ Busters and then later lose a heart breaker to another Honorable Mentioned team in the Greensboro Tarheels (NC).  The Tarheels who were trailing most of the game found away to get three runs in the bottom of the sixth with two outs to steal a 5-4 over the ‘tiques.  Other Honorable Mentioned team, the Cincy Flames had a tough time of it against the 22nd ranked North Florida Hurricanes who pounded the ball and accumulating 14 runs to the Cincy Flames (OH) zero.  The Chiefs, who had a bye as the 5 seed, were waiting on the ‘Canes and wasted little time in taking the win.  Due to the win over the N.F. Hurricanes, the Chiefs would face the winner of the TBS nationally ranked Storm (VA) and TABU --  the Storm ranked 10th and TABU ranked 4th.  The Storm looked liked they had an upset in the making but could not hold the lead late in the game as the TABU team proved too resilient and won 7-6 with some timely hits.  Two central Florida Teams, Bullets Gold out of Tampa, FL and Florida Fire out of Orlando, FL area, drove seven hours to meet in the second round of bracket play.  Unfortunately, that is how the draw works.  The Gold, another Honorable Mentioned team, advanced with a convincing win over the Memphis Tigers (TN) and the Fire (ranked third by TBS) had a bye.  The Florida Fire was not going to let the in-state rival think about an upset and instead run-ruled the Bullets Gold team 11-3.  It was evident the Fire can hit from top to bottom in their line-up even though they were missing three of their regular players (there are other things than baseball and sometimes siblings have to attend family graduations).  As a result, the Fire picked up a couple of players from the St. Pete Hurricanes.  In a tournament like this you have to be deep at pitching especially if a team gets bumped into the loser’s bracket. In the loser’s bracket and games of mention had the Viper Baseball Academy (AL) who are ranked 25th beat the Bullets Gold.  The DQ Busters (AR), last year’s winner of this tournament and an Honorable Mentioned team, caught the Hurricanes in a downward fall and collected the win. The outcome of Friday’s play will make for an interesting and full day of baseball on Saturday.

Tournament Update (5/30/08):  11U Governor's Games  X

The only ranked team in the field, #6 Texas Prospects Americans of Pearland, Texas, opted not to come to the tournament, giving the Ruston, La. Bearkats a forfeit win. Four teams who are honorable mentions in the rankings — the Metairie, La. Rangers, the New Orleans Monarchs, the RBA Seahawks of Corpus Christi, Texas and the Bearkats — were in action. The Rangers were surprised 13-2 by Gladiator Baseball of Beaumont, Texas while the Monarchs (11-3 over Team Texas of Rockwall) and the Seahawks (6-4 over Thunder Baseball of Southwest Louisiana) both picked up first-day wins.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS: 11U SoCal Memorial Day Triple Crown 5/25/08
(POOL PLAY)

The rain slowed down the start of the tournament but it did not dampen the spirits or keep the boys on the west coast from playing this Memorial Day Weekend.

In a tournament with all the top 11U teams in Southern California participating, competition was at its best.  To make it more interesting teams were playing on small Little League fields which made it fun for the hitters but a nightmare for the pitchers.  Tides Baseball had nine (9) homeruns in its two games.  And one player for the Stars had no trouble clearing the 200 foot fence as the 6’ 0” and 180 pound 11 year old knocked it over 250 feet.  Some of the top teams that faced off during pool play were the SoCal Mavericks (ranked 21st in the nation by Travel Ball Select) who tripped up the 11 ranked San Diego Stars and the South Gate Democrats who  won the slugfest over the Tides Baseball Team (both Honorable Mentioned teams according to TBS) by a score of 12 – 8.

TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: 11U SoCal TRIPLE CROWN (5/23/08)

Memorial Day Weekend is a time to pause and recognize those who have made sacrifices for each of us and this country.  There are many symbols that say “America” and one is America’s favorite past-time, baseball.  There will be a lot of baseball played this Memorial Day Weekend.  One location in particular that will be thriving with top ranked 11U teams is in Southern California.  Temecula, CA is home of the Triple Crown 7th Annual Memorial Day Classic.  17 Major level teams will be battling it out over the three day weekend.  The San Diego Stars, who are ranked as one of the top 10 in the nation by Travel Ball Select, is favored.  But they will have up to five other teams who could upset them and claim the championship.  Some others to watch are the SoCal Mavericks (ranked 21st), Tides Baseball (honorable mention), South Gate Democrats (honorable mention) and Northern County Longhorns (honorable mention).  In addition, keep your eye on the Santa Clarita Redhawks who could play the spoiler role this weekend.  A key pool game match up will have the two ranked teams, Stars and Mavericks, competing on Saturday for seeding position as well as bragging rights.  Tides Baseball and the Democrats also face each other in pool play in what should be a close contest as both teams have been viewed by Travel Ball Select as one of the top 30 teams in the nation.  Pool Play games are important as only six teams advance to Monday’s championship round.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS: 11U RANKED TEAMS NOT AT SNITs

11U ECB Astros (ranked 2^nd by Travel Ball Select) continue to win – even while playing up against the 12U teams.  This was evident as they run ruled their opponents until the finals against the North Georgia Bombers (Travel Ball Select’s 19^th ranked 12U team).  The Bombers didn’t like the fact that the two teams had tied, 1-1, the last time they played and played inspired ball.  They hit the ball very hard and there pitcher was a notch above what they normally see at the 11U level.  But that is the purpose of playing up, to challenge and develop the players to reach their full potential. 

Houston, TX baseball continues to show they are the King of the Diamond for this age group as yet another team in this city wins a Super NIT.  This time the Houston Lightning, ranked 11^th by Travel Ball Select, take first place in the Colorado SNIT and will join last year’s champions Texas Rattlers, the Houston Angels who won the Carolina SNIT and the Texas Prospects – Americans who won the Oklahoma SNIT and ranked 6^th and 7^th respectively by TBS.  Houston Lightning had their way as they mercy ruled every team to make it to the finals where they won over 12^th ranked Inside Sport (KS).

Both the Houston Angels and Team Rattlers played in Brenham, TX Triple Crown 12U Division I Tournament this past weekend.  It was not a successful weekend on the scorebook as both teams went 0-3, but the competition will make them stronger in the long run.

The Texas Prospects – Americans won all four of their games this weekend in the 11U age bracket as they accumulated 46 runs and only gave up 6. 

This sets up a showdown for this weekend with most of the top Houston teams playing including Americans, Rattlers, Angels, Lightning, RBA Seahawks, Highlands Cyclones.  Travel Ball Select will want to cover the results of this event.

Another Houston, Texas team, the Beaumont Gladiators, will play in the Kansas City Super NIT.  Don’t be surprised if another Houston teams captures the championship in KC.  The Gladiators have an excellent chance of winning that tournament. They are a very good team and have battled week-in and week-out against some of the toughest teams to get them ready.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (5/16 - 5/18/08):  Colorado Super NIT 

Pool Play

Armour Baseball out of Lone Tree, CO entered the tournament with USSSA’s #1 power ranking and an HM rank from Travel Ball Select. They entered the Colorado tournament with a  14-1 record for the year but finished pool play at 2-1, losing to Cherry Creek Royals, 11-8. Interestingly enough, these same two teams tangle Sunday morning in tournament bracket play. The Houston (TX) Lightning (#11 TBS) and Inside Sports KC (MO) Blues (#12 TBS) both went 3-0 in pool play.

Bracket Play

Travel Ball Select’s #11 ranked Houston Lightning and #12 ranked Inside Sports KC Blues lived up to their spring rankings, reaching the finals of the 11-U tournament in Aurora, CO. In the biggest defensive struggle of the tournament, the Lightning emerged the victor, 1-0.  Caleb Morris threw five great innings in the championship game for the victors. Most local eyes, however, were on Armour Baseball, USSSA’s number one power ranking team in the country for this age group. Armour entered the event 14-1 but wound up pool play at 2-1 and ultimately bowing out of the tournament at the hands of the KC Blues in a hard fought semifinal round bracket game, 8-7. The two teams that ultimately met in the tournament finals were the only two teams in this tournament to end pool play with undefeated 3-0 records.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (5/16 - 5/18/08):  Sunshine State Super NIT

Pool Play

TBS sources report a major confrontation on the field in pool play action between the Central Florida Diamondbacks and Dynasty Elite in Saturday morning’s 11 o’clock battle. The D’backs ended up winning the match in a forfeit, 6-0. The 11-U pool play got off to a rousing start with #3 ranked Florida Fire losing to the D’backs, 13-5. The D’backs and Central Florida Patriots were the only teams to survive pool play undefeated.

Bracket Play

Despite all the fireworks that took place in pool play Saturday, the cream rose to the top of the tournament and Travel Ball Select’s #3 ranked Florida Fire captured top honors in the 11-U tournament in the Sunshine State Super NIT for 11-U teams. The team from Longwood, FL beat the Manasota Meteors by a 2-0 count in the finals to qualify for the Road to Disney. On Saturday, TBS’s HM Dynasty Elite were tossed from the tournament after an incident between a coach from the Elite and an umpire. Parents of players wound up on the field in an ugly situation. Florida Fire’s 13-5 loss to the Central Florida Diamondbacks in pool play was their only loss over the weekend. A chance to avenge that loss, however, didn’t happen. The D-backs lost to the Manasota Meteors, 7-5, in semifinal round action. The Fire then beat the Meteors in the finals, 2-0. Travel Ball Select is not taking sides in this issue of umpire assault and parents on the field. But coaches and fans need to be reminded that the game is for the kids. In most states, it is a felony for a coach to attack an umpire and criminal charges are continually being handed out for such actions. The presence of parents on the field during a contest is dealt with equally as harsh. As important as winning is in this country, we must also teach our kids sportsmanship.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (5/11/08): 11U SUPER NIT (AL); TRIPLE CROWN (ATLANTA, GA)

In a Triple Crown tournament in Atlanta, the second ranked East Cobb Astros (GA) outscored a pretty good 17 team field, 72-9, hitting 17 homeruns in 6 games from 8 different players. Only one game went the distance. This ECB team beat Travel Ball Select’s fifth ranked team, Chiefs Baseball (GA), in finals after the Chiefs escaped two tough 1 run wins.  In the quarter finals verse Wills Park Yellow Jackets (GA), the Chiefs had to come back after falling behind to Willis Park 5-0.  The Chiefs’ comeback was highlighted by a 5th inning 3 run homer to put the Chiefs up 8-7.  They then escaped a close game against the ECB Tigers in Semi finals before squaring off and falling to the champions by a score of 9 – 3.  The Astros run their record to 34-6-1 after winning all six games this weekend.

Only two hours to the west of Atlanta in Birmingham, AL, another tournament with many talented teams were battling it out for two berths to the Elite World Series.  But two unranked teams from Alabama made it to the ‘ship and walked away with an invitation to Disney.  It was the Alabama Naturals who topped TBS Honorable Mentioned Viper Baseball Academy in a nail biter, 5-4.

The other 24 teams did not make it easy on the Naturals or the Vipers as both came out of pool play with a lose.  The teams that did look impressive coming out of Pool Play were the Mill Creek Hawks (GA) who played solid defense to go 3-0.  They eventually were knocked out in single elimination by the Naturals who redeemed themselves from a Pool Play lose to the Hawks.  The New Orleans, LA Voodoo team also went 3-0 and did it against two TBS Honorable Mentioned Teams, Royals (MS) and Shoetiques (TN).  On top of that they beat their in-state rival and 17th ranked N.O. Monarchs 3-0 in the first round of single elimination.  Did the tough Pool games take the fight out of the team?  It appears so as they ran out of gas in their 7-1 lose to the Vipers.  The Alabama Predators looked tough out of Pool play as well with a 3-0 record and a win against the Vipers.  But they too fell in their second game of single elimination bracket play to the Royals (MS).

Other notable performances were by the Shoetiques who finished with a 1-3 record and the N.O. Monarchs who had the same record.  The Shoetiques are now 20-5 on the season.  Their schedule does not get any easier as they will travel to Atlanta to play in the Elite Travel Classic and have to play the Astros and Chiefs (see the above Tournament Results article).  The East Georgia Hurricanes have been playing well (43-8) prior to this tournament but could only manage a 2-2 performance and a lose in the first round of single elimination.

The field was evenly matched as any age group during this weekend’s tournament.  However, the Naturals came in sporting a tournament best 43 and 7 record and left with a Super NIT Championship and a ticket to the Elite World Series.

Tournament Results: Texas Prospects-Americans are OK Super NIT Champs (5/2 -5/4/08)

Travel Ball Select’s seventh ranked team, TP Americans, had a 25 game winning streak on the line as they traveled to Oklahoma City on May 2-4 to compete for a berth to the Elite World Series at Disney in August.  The team made the trip a successful one (with a perfect 6-0 record) as it outlasted the field of twelve and defeated cross town rival and 11th ranked Houston Lightning 4-3 in the final.

The Texas Prospects opened Friday night with the Arkansas Scorpions (a team that has had success with other ranked teams) jumping to an early lead and ending the game after 4 innings in a 9-1 victory.  Saturday the squad struggled in its first game with the Oklahoma Elite – TBS Honorable Mention Team - before finally pulling away and winning 8-0 after five innings of play.  In the second game on Saturday, the bats were hot and the team quickly pounded out a 13-0 three inning victory over the Inside KC Sports Blues – the top team in the Midwest and recently ranked 12th by Travel Ball Select - and earned the number one seed for Sunday play.

On Sunday, the Americans again struggled in the first game of the day and held on to defeat the KC Royals 6-5.  In game two, the squad fell behind early but rallied to a 10-3 victory over yet another ranked team and the team that had upset the Lightning in pool play, Ft. Smith Outlaws (21st), setting up the finale against the Lightning. Rumor had it that the Americans were avoiding the Lightning throughout the Spring Season. There was no place to hide as the two met in the championship game. It has always been said there is two sides to every story. And as Paul Harvey always says “The rest of the story” had a different ending.

Congratulations to the Americans and all the teams who have the passion and courage to compete against the best to be the best.

Texas Prospects Americans (ranked 11th) run streak to 25

After the tournament in Brenham, Texas was rained out, the TP Americans played in an impromptu round-robin tournament hosted by the Highlands Cyclones in Crosby, Texas.  The Americans opened with the Cyclones and came out hitting in a 14-2 victory.  Adrian Munoz and Kendal Jefferies combined pitching efforts to secure the victory while KeBryan Hayes, Jake Almendarez, Johnny Rizer, Munoz and Jefferies each hit 220 foot shots.  In game two, the Americans took on the AAA Houston Angels II and continued to hit the ball in an 11-4 win with Rizer and Almendarez pitching in the victory.  Game three pitted the squad against the AAA Highlands Cyclones II.  With Hayes and Munoz going deep for the Americans, Ruben Hancock and Tanner Schuetz combined pitching efforts to secure a 13-2 victory.  The final game of the day matched the Americans against the Highlands Cyclones once again.  Schuetz homered to open the game and the squad took a 5-1 lead only to see the Cyclones rally in the bottom of the 6th before a game ending double play closed the door in a 5-4 victory.  Earlier in the inning, Zach Shirey, who had previously pitched two scoreless innings, helped save the victory by reaching over the left field fence to pull back a two run dinger.  Marco Becerril, despite fighting a mild illness, continued his hot hitting throughout the tournament while handling the majority of the catching duties for the weekend.  T.J. Alexander was inactive for the day.  The squad has now put together a 25 game win streak. 

The Americans will travel to Oklahoma City this weekend in efforts to secure a berth in the Elite 24 tournament in Orlando in August.  As of April 28, other participants in the Super NIT will be the Houston Lightning, Mac-n-Seitz Indians, Inside KC Sports Blues, KC Royals, Oklahoma Jammers, Oklahoma Elite, Arkansas Scorpions, Ft. Smith Outlaws, Dairy Queen Busters, the Texas Crush and the McKinney Marshalls.

In other news from Houston: 

TEAM Rattlers:  Rained out in Brenham, TX

Houston Angels:  Did not play after traveling the week before to North Carolina and winning the Super NIT. 

Houston Lightning: Went 3-1 in a local tournament. 

Tournament Results: 11U Florida Fire is On--Wins the 12U AAA State Championship on (4/29/08):

Not only did the Florida Fire win big this past weekend in the BITS Tournament before the rain halted play, they also played up and won the 12U AAA State Championship the weekend before in preparation for the challenging Battle in the South 11U Tournament. 

The Fire battled 18 other teams for the Florida state 12U AAA title and finished with a perfect 6-0 record on their way to receiving the crown.  But the road was not easy.  They had to win three games on Sunday, two of which went into extra innings and the championship game was won in the bottom of the 6th inning.

After a weekend like that, one might expect a let down the next weekend.  That was not the case.  This team comes ready to play every game, every week. 

Tournament Results: 11U Battle in the South (4/26/08):

It was the first B.I.T.S. tournament of the 2008 season and it did not disappoint.  Doc Roberts delivered a star studded tournament with top ranked teams battling it out for mid season bragging rights and a chance to move up in the rankings or prove their status is deserving.  Included in the tournament were some of Travel Ball Select’s most recognized teams and some that deserve more recognition.  Those ranked teams who participated were Chiefs Baseball (GA, 2^nd best team by TBS in preseason), Lamorinda (CA, 3^rd), East Cobb Astros (GA, 5^th), Diamond Hawks (OH, 9^th), Fire (FL, 10^th), Storm (VA, 14^th), Charlotte Megastars (NC, 16^th), Miami Brawlers (FL, 19^th), Viper Baseball Academy (AL, 20^th), and the following Honorable Mentioned Teams: Columbus Sharks (OH), Knoxville Stars (TN), Homeplate Chili Dogs (GA), Meteors Baseball (FL), Greensboro Tar Heels (NC), Shoetiques (TN). 

First, let’s recognize those who traveled from far away to make this tournament what it is.  Without the commitment by the best to play the best, the rankings would not be decided on the field but on paper.  If a team thinks they are worthy of a top spot in the polls, then get to a big event like these team were brave enough to do.

When it was over, four teams remained unbeaten: the Fire (FL), ECB Astros (GA), Chiefs Baseball (GA) and the Storm (VA).  But due to weather and travel arrangements, the tournament was called and the winner was determined by runs allowed.  Congratulations to the Florida Fire who allowed only four runs and edged out the Astros who gave up five and the Chiefs who surrendered six.  

The Fire moved through the tournament with a strong showing in pool play against arguable the hardest schedule.  They mercy-ruled all three teams – Diamond Hawks (ranked 9^th), Megastars (16^th), and Tennessee Homers.  They also received a first round bye before beating North Florida Hurricanes.  The Canes made some noise by beating Lamorinda Cougars (3^rd), Knoxville Yard Dogs (HM), and Cincy Flames.  The top ranked California team, Lamorinda Cougars, took another lose in the quarter finals when they lost to the Storm (VA).  

The tournament did show the Southeast is not only keeping pace with the West and East but has moved forward.  The East also was impressive as the Storm (VA) made it to the final four and the Cincy Flames and Long Island Titans landed in the Championship round.  In addition, the Diamond Hawks (OH) won their consolation game against the Tar Heels who had beaten the Canes and Yard Dogs and lost a close one to the Cougars.  The Titans from NY were the biggest surprise as the got the best of the Brawlers (FL) and Shoetiques (TN).  The Shoetiques also had some strong wins against the Vipers (AL) and the Brawlers (FL) who are both ranked teams.

The tournament did show some dominating performance by a few teams, but for the most part there is parity in the 11U division and that any team at the Elite level can knock off another.  This will make it difficult for Travel Ball Select when they look to update the rankings later this week.

11U Tournament Results and News (4/22/08):

WEST
The Simi Predators added two top bats from the SGV Cobras before the Presidents Day Super NIT.  But then after qualifying, they added Michael Palos, the SGV Cobras ace pitcher and #4 hitter.  Michael is one of the top two So Cal pitchers.  The other top pitcher is Brady Aiken of the San Diego Stars.

SOUTHEAST
This past weekend the USTBA held a tournament in North Georgia. There were a lot of great teams in each age group. But the 11u age group had a great cast of teams. The East Cobb program was in full force. In the 21 team field, ECB had 8 teams there. Along with ECB, the Chief Baseball team was there as well. It was a great tournament. The ECB Astros were the winners by defeating the ECB Longhorns in the ‘ship.  The ECB Rockies (first year travel team) finished third.  The Rockies are gaining ground and best the 2nd rank team in the country - Chiefs Baseball.
For more information, check out the following link:

www.ustba.org

EAST
Travel Ball Select predicted last week that the Super NIT in Charlotte would be a legitimate test and help shape up the National Rankings as the Houston Angels traveled to the Atlantic Coast to face some of the best teams from the Carolinas and the East.  The boys from the Lone Star state had a fun trip home as they beat six other teams to win it all and earn an automatic bid to the Elite World Series.

The Houston Angels got the best of the Charlotte Megastars (second highest ranked team in the tournament and the best from the Atlantic Coast area at 16) in the championship game.  It was a close one as the Stars fell 8-7.  The Houston Angels had to defeat Honorable Mentioned Greensboro Tarheels in the Semi-finals to advance.  It was a squeaker too as the Heels lost 9-8.  The Megastars advanced to the finals by beating cross town rival, Charlotte Angels (18th ranked), 13-1 in the Semi-finals.

On their way to a perfect 6-0 record, the Houston Angels beat Laurens Lightning (13-3) and the Carolina Hurricanes (11-3) in Pool Play.  Then they won two early in bracket play against the Midland Express (4-2) and the Beaver Valley Red (17-2).

The other question Travel Ball Select wanted to know was how the Palmetto Flames would fare in a non Shoot-out format Super NIT.  The Atlanta Super NIT winner, Palmetto Flames, won their two pool games but failed to produce enough runs to conquer the Carolina Hurricanes in bracket play and finished with a 2-1 record.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS (4/21/08): 11U LAMORINDA COUGARS AND TABU (CA)

The Lamorinda Cougars and TABU continue to play up in 12U's and win.  The Cougars are preparing for the Battle in the South and TABU is preparing for the Tournament of Champions.
 
The Cougars went 4-0 to win the 12U USSSA "Heatin' Up" tournament April12-13. The highlight was a 6-4 come from behind win over the 12U Bay Area Boys (last season's 11U Solano Storm squad that went to the Elite 24). John Breidenthal allowed no earned runs in pitching the complete game win.  He was selected the tournament MVP.

TOURNAMENT RESULTS: 11U RANKED TEXAS and LOUISIANA TEAMS 

The TEXAS PROSPECTS - AMERICANS scored in the final minute and Johnny Riser tacked on the extra point….actually, Riser connected for a bases loaded triple in the bottom of the 5th inning to cap off a major comeback by the Americans to defeat the 12U Rockhounds 16-14 in a Barrett Fletcher World Series Qualifier at Big League Dreams in League City, Texas.  The Americans fell behind 8-0 in the top of the first and trailed 11-1 in the third inning before beginning the comeback culminated by the Riser triple.  KeBryan Hayes then fired the sixth inning closing out the win for the Americans.

The Americans had opened on Saturday against the Lufkin Riverdawgs with Riser opening on the mound and Jake Almendarez finishing up the game.  The Americans were very sloppy giving little support defensively by committing numerous miscues but outhit the Riverdawgs in a 15-8 victory.  In game two against the Dirdin Dragons, one the Houston area’s top 12U teams, Marco Becerril started on the mound pitching two solid innings before Zach Shirey mowed down the Dragons for the final four in a 3-2 victory.  The two wins placed the Americans as the number two seed for Sunday play. 

As the two seed, the Americans again drew the Riverdawgs.  Becerril again opened on the mound and continued his pitching excellence throwing four solid innings before Almendarez closed out the 7-1 victory.  By virtue of an extra inning win over the Katy Owls, the Dirdin Dragons were again the semi-final opponent.  Shirey again took the mound and fired five solid innings with Hayes closing out the 5-2 win leading to the miraculous comeback against the Rockhounds, another of the Houston area’s best 12U squads,  and a fourth consecutive tournament victory.

Scores: 

Americans 15 Lufkin Riverdawgs 8

Americans 3            Dirdin Dragons 2

Americans 7            Lufkin Riverdawgs 1

Americans 5            Dirdin Dragons 2

Americans 16           Rockhounds 14

Other results from the past weekend: 

Houston Angels win three and tie one with the Houston Lightning.

Angels 6 – Gladiator Baseball 1

Angels 9 – Lightning 9

Angels 10 – Seahawks 3

Angels 15 – Angels Baseball 5

Houston Lightning wins three as well and tie the Angels.

Lightning 9 – Angels 9

Lightning 9 – Seahawks 3

Lightning 8 – College Station Twelve 6

Lightning 6 – Gladiator Baseball 4 

New Orleans Monarchs (LA)

Prior to last week’s Super NIT “Shootout”, Travel Ball Select’s 6th ranked Monarchs had played in three tourneys and won two.  They have beaten the likes of #13 ranked Aquasox (twice), Voodoo Baseball (strong showing at last year’s Cooperstown Tournament), and the Metairie Rangers.  They also lost to the Metairie Rangers who won last year’s 10U USSSA World Series in Atlanta and therefore are qualified for this year’s Elite 24 World Series.