There’s only 1 age group going in Clemmons this weekend but Oxford is loaded with talented teams all looking to make a name for themselves. There are several ranked teams in the fields as well as several other teams playing up an age group looking for a challenge. It should be a great weekend of baseball at the AAU sites. Here’s the preview:
Clemmons
12u
With none of our top 20 in the field, this will be a wide open age division this weekend. There are 6 teams playing at the Clemmons site, and several of these teams are familiar with one another, having met at one time or another this fall already. Select will be going up against 5 Star Carolina – Smith and Carolina Voodoo on Saturday. 5 Star will also play PBC in pool play and the Voodoo will play Hutters. Voodoo have already beaten Hutters twice this fall, 6-2 and 10-4. In addition to the Voodoo, Hutters will play 4G3 Training Facility. 4G3 will also face PBC in pool play.
Oxford
8u
None of our top 10 is in the field this weekend in Oxford. Garner Express will go against the Virginia Squires and the Granville Rays on Saturday. The Squires will also face the Southside Panthers (VA) and the Rays will also go against the Southside Panthers. The Express has beaten the Rays twice already this fall, so they may have the upper hand here. Additionally the Rays and Squires just recently played a 16-15 shootout in which the Rays came out on top, so all signs point to an exceptionally competitive field here.
9u
None of our top 20 is in this 6 team field this weekend. The South Granville Red Sox will take on D1 Performance and the Carolina Flash in pool play. The Red Sox have played 3 times this fall with the Red Sox winning once and the Flash winning twice. D1 will also meet the HYAA Hawks and the Flash will go up against the Carolina Tide in pool play. The Flash and Tide played a high scoring 16-12 game earlier this fall in which the Tide came out the winner after scoring 6 runs in the top of the last inning. The HYAA Hawks and the Tide will also both play the Rampage in pool play.
10u
This should be an excellent division with #14 FV Wildcats and #15 NCDB Rivercats as well as a competitive Southside Panthers (VA) in the field. The Wildcats and Rivercats go head-to-head in pool play, in a game that should go a long way to determine seeding and the road to the championship for these two teams. The Wildcats will also play D1 Performance and the Rivercats will go against the CBC Blue Sox in pool play. The South Side Panthers will go against the Blue Sox and D1 Performance, so may have the inside track towards a top 1 or 2, in addition to the winner of the Wildcats/Rivercats game.
11u
Although none of our top 20 are in the 11u field, this is a large 11 team field loaded with quality teams. The Carolina Outlaws will face one of the top teams in the field, the Durham Blues, and Zone Select on Saturday. The Blues and Zone Select will also both go against MVP Athletics Black on Saturday. The Performance Academy Nationals – Batts will face the Carolina Pirates and the Virginia Squires in pool play. The Squires and Pirates will also face off against one another in a mini-pool-like scenario. Purpose Driven Baseball is also in the field and will go against Heavy Hitters and the Carolina Braves in pool play. The Heavy Hitters and the Braves will also both play D1 Performance Academy in pool play. The Blues look to be the favorite in this age division, but it will definitely be competitive come bracket play on Sunday.
12u
This will also be a competitive age division with 5 teams in the field, including the 11u NCDB Rivercats, coming off a tough performance at the Top Gun Winter World Series, playing up and going against the Youngsville Punishers and the Carolina Rattlers in pool play. The Punishers will also face the Carolina Thunder, and the Rattlers will go against D1 Performance Orange in pool play. The Thunder and D1 will also face one another to complete pool play. The Rattlers and Punishers may be the top teams in this age group, and I would expect either or both of these teams to make the final on Sunday.
13u
Although none of our top 20 13u teams are in this field, there are 7 teams in the 13u division, including 12u #14 NCDB Rivercats. The Rivercats will face off against the CBC Blue Sox and the HYAA Hawks on Saturday. The Blue Sox will also face MVP Athletics Black and the Hawks will meet up with the Granville Crushers, a team they edged out 9-8 by scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the last inning earlier this fall. The Southside Panthers (VA) are also in the field and will go against MVP Black and D1 Performance Blue 12u. D1 Performance, also playing up this weekend, will face the Granville Crushers in their other pool play game. This should be a very competitive field with no true favorite in the field.