Any coach will tell you it is hard enough to win a national championship, let alone repeat but that is exactly what the Canes did at the World Wood Bat Association tournament in the U16 division. On the brink of elimination in pool play, the Canes squeaked through and rattled off five straight victories in the two-day knockout round to emerge from the 192-team field.
After five games in the six-team group, the Canes posted a 3-1-1 record, which typically isn’t strong enough to advance into the knockout round. After a 3-2 loss on Friday, the chances of advancing looked slim but everything fell into place on Saturday with a 6-3 victory over the Blue Chip Bulls coupled with a tie between Team Gwinnett/Mizuno and Orlando Reds.
Sunday brought a triple header with games at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and a nightcap at 7 p.m. and in all three games, the Canes were hardly threatened winning by an average of more than five runs. That meant a berth in the final four and two games on Monday.
Led by catcher
David Houser’s (Columbia/A.C. Flora) pair of solo homeruns, the Canes won 10-5 in extra innings of game one over the Banditos to set up a date with Carolina Cubs Blue in the championship.
That’s when the USC commitments and targets really went to work. Class of 2012 commitment
Max Schrock roped a one-out double down the first base line in the bottom of the first inning. Shortstop target
Landon Lassiter served a single to right field to put the Canes up 1-0. Outfield target
Josh Henderson drilled a two-out, two-run homerun to right and the Canes left the first inning with 5-0 lead.
First baseman/pitcher target
Curt Britt walked and came around to score on a double by
Dylan Raymond to push the lead to 7-2 in bottom of the third inning.
The Canes, led by head coach and general manager
Jeff Petty went on to take home the trophy with a 10-4 victory over Carolina Cubs Blue to post the first back-to-back titles by a team since East Cobb Astros did so in 2003-04.
Class of 2011 commitment
Evan Beal was credited with a hold in the championship game after appearing in relief. He picked up a victory in Saturday’s win to help the Canes advance to the championship round.
Schrock finished the game 1-for-3 with a double and run scored. Lassiter finished the game 1-for-3 with an RBI single while Britt was 0-for-2 with a walk and run scored.
Britt holds offers from a variety of schools but is down to South Carolina and North Carolina. A decision could come as early as this week. Lassiter has maintained that South Carolina is his leader.
U16 Player Impressions
