Two North Carolina teams faced off against some of the best teams in the nation this past weekend in Cary, NC. #1 SBA Canes - Marconi and #2 Canes Baseball NC - Gilchrist both received an invite to the prestigious USA Baseball Futures Invitational. Both performed well and showed they belong in the discussion amongst the best 10u teams in the entire United States. Here we rundown and NC-focused recap the weekend's games in Cary.
Thursday Pool Play
In their opening pool play game, #1 SBA Canes - Marconi was matched up against the San Diego Show (CA). The Show are one of the top programs in Southern California and boast a 14-8 record in USSSA play against stiff Southern California competition this year. In an excellent pitchers duel, the Canes held the Show to 1 hit and were able to push across a run in the bottom of the 5th inning to score a 1-0 win in their opening game. Meanwhile, #2 Canes Baseball NC - Gilchrist was matched up against the Jupiter Hammerheads (FL) in their opening pool play game. The Hammerheads brought a 42-19-6 record between last fall and this spring with them into the USA Futures Invitational. In their opening pool play game, Canes - Gilchrist showed they would be a force to be reckon with in this event, holding the Hammerheads to two hits on their way to a 10-0 win.
In their second pool play game of the day, Canes - Marconi were matched up against ATP National (AZ). ATP jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back, rolling to a 10-4 win over the Canes and dropping Canes - Marconi to 1-1 after day 1. Canes - Gilchrist was matched up against the Top Tier Americans in their second pool play game. In this one, Canes - Gilchrist fell behind 8-5 after two inning, but battled back with 2 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning, and another run to tie it in the bottom of the 5th inning. The Canes held Top Tier scoreless in the bottom of the 6th inning and were able to plate the game-winning run in the bottom of the inning to score a 9-8 win over Top Tier and finish day 1 an impressive 2-0.
Friday Pool Play
On Friday, SBA Canes - Marconi were matched up against Kangaroo Court (FL). The Roos are one of the top 10u teams nationally, ranked #3 currently in the USSSA national power rankings, and were 46-5 this spring and 60-5 overall heading into this tournament. This was a tough test for the Canes from the opening inning as they fell behind 4-2 in the first, and 11-2 through 5 innings, eventually falling 11-4 to finish 1-2 in pool play. Canes - Gilchrist was matched up against Sandcrabs Baseball (TX) for their final pool play game. The Sandcrabs were 0-2 on Thursday and the Canes jumped on them early, scoring 5 in the first and taking a 7-2 lead through 3 innings. The Canes pounded out 16 hits on their way to a 12-6 win over the Sandcrabs. With the win, the Canes finished 3-0 in pool play to win Pool D and qualified for the 4-team Gold medal bracket. ATP National won Pool A, the Victory Braves (CA) won pool B, and Wilson Sandlot (AZ) won pool C to round out the four team Gold Medal bracket.
Bracket Play
In the Gold Medal bracket, Canes - Gilchrist was matched against ATP National on Saturday. ATP jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first inning as both teams settled into a tight defensive battle for the next several innings. In the 5th inning, Canes - Gilchrist broke open the game with 3 runs and held on for a 4-2 win over ATP National to reach the Gold Medal game. The Victory Braves rolled to a 7-0 shut out win in their semifinal match up against Wilson Sandlot. In the finals, the Victory Braves got on the board first with one run in the bottom of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. The Canes then answered with a run in each of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings to take a 3-1 lead. The Braves got one back in the bottom of the 5th inning to get the game to 3-2, however the Canes held on in the 6th to take a 3-2 win and take home the Gold Medal. ATP National topped Wilson Sandlot 9-4 in the Bronze Medal match.
In the consolation bracket, Canes - Marconi was matched up against Far West Select (AZ). The Canes and Far West both scored in the first inning leaving the score at 1-1, which it remained through 3 innings. In the 4th inning, Far West added a run in the top half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, Canes - Marconi added two of their own runs to take a 3-2 lead, and then they held on through the 5th and 6th innings to take a 3-2 win over Far West Select and set up a match up against the Midwest Elite Bombers (TX) in the finals. The Midwest Elite Bombers are one of the best 10u teams in the entire US and are currently ranked #1 in USSSA's national power rankings with an overall record of 52-4 in USSSA play. Canes - Marconi jumped out to a 3-0 lead through two innings and headed into the 6th inning holding onto a 3-0 lead. In the top half of the 6th inning, Canes - Marconi added two more runs to take a 5-0 lead into the bottom half of the 6th inning. Midwest Elite was able to knock across 3 runs before Canes - Marconi closed the door and took home a 5-3 win.