This weekend it’s the AAU’s turn to put on their showcase event of the fall season, the Winter World Series. Taking place in Oxford, NC, this event will feature some of the very best teams in the state. Here we preview the action this upcoming weekend.
8u
There are only two teams in the 8u field this weekend, the Granville Rays and the Youngsville Phantoms. These two have played several times already this fall, with Youngsville holding a 3-2 advantage in the series. They’ll play two games, and if they split those two games, they’ll play another one to determine the champion.
9u
There are 12 teams in the 9u division this weekend in Oxford, and our highest rated teams in the field include the #5 Carolina Titans, who are 13-1 this fall and #12 Smash Baseball, who gave the Titans their only loss of the fall back in September. The Titans will face the Carolina Flash and MVP Red in their pool play games. Smash will also face the Carolina Flash and MVP Red in their pool play games. The top 8 seeds will make the Gold bracket, so it will be important for these two to get off to good starts in pool play. Rise Baseball – LeBron (VA) will be bringing their 8-1 fall record into the WWS and could be a dark horse contender in this field. They’ll face the Hawks and the Carolina Thunder in their pool play games.
10u
AAA
The 7-team AAA division should be one of the most competitive fields in Oxford this weekend. It is headlined by #3 Clayton Fusion, who have been playing some of their best baseball of late and are coming off of a 4-1 showing and a Silver bracket championship at the Top Gun Winter World Series last weekend. They’ll face #17 Carolina Thunder and the DC Vipers in their pool play games. The Thunder will also go against North Wake Elite in pool play. This will be an informative weekend with regard to where the Thunder stand among the best 10u teams in the state, as this will be, by far, the best competition they have faced collectively in one tournament. #11 Youngsville Heat are also in this field and will go up against the Alamance Patriots and #14 Dirtbags Black in pool play. The Heat are coming off a 3-1 weekend in the D2 Top Gun WWS in which they lost to the Wendell Knights in the semifinals. The Dirtbags will also face the DC Vipers in their other pool play game. Clayton is the heavy favorite in this field, but with several other ranked teams in the field, it should be a great weekend of baseball in the 10u AAA division.
AA
The AA division has a large, 12-team field. Although there are none of our top 20 teams in this field, there are several quality teams which should make for an exciting, competitive division. The Southside Panthers (VA) have had an up and down fall, but look to be one of the top competitors in this field. They’ll face D1 Performance and TSI Titans Elite (VA). The Titans are 11-5 this fall, but are a relative unknown this fall to the NC AAU teams. In addition to the Southside Panthers, the Titans are matched up against Diamond Jaxx (VA) in pool play. Big Cats Baseball could also be a contender in this division and they’ll face D1 Performance and Diamond Jaxx in pool play.
11u
Although there are no teams currently ranked in our top 20 in the 15-team 11u field this weekend, there are several teams who have either been in the rankings at one point this fall, or are right on the verge of being ranked, who are in the field. The SP Vipers, who are 10-9 this fall, have wins against #11 Cleveland Wildcats, #12 Vision Bandits, and #17 Carolina Pilots on their resume this fall. They look to be one of the top teams in the 11u division and will face Rock Solid Red and the Carolina Titans in their pool play games. FBI Fungo are 13-7 this fall and coming off a title last weekend in Oxford. They will face the Zebulon Cougars and the Carolina Braves in pool play. The North Wake Shockwave are another excellent team who will have a good shot this weekend. They’ll start their tournament run against GCAA Wildcats Blue and the Diamond Hawks in pool play. Dirtbags Camo are 11-5-1 this fall and could also be a factor on Sunday afternoon. They’ll go against MVP Athletics Black and the Durham Blues in their pool play games. The Blues, who are 18-5 this fall, will face Heavy Hitters in their other pool play game on Saturday, and should also have an excellent shot in this tournament.
12u
AAA
The 6-team AAA will be headlined by #9 Carolina Thunder and #10 Rawlings Prospects NC. These two will go head-to-head on Saturday in a game that should have significant implications on the rankings of these two teams. The Prospects will also face D1 Performance Blue and the Thunder will go against Rock Solid Red in their other pool play games. Rock Solid Red and the Thunder have met twice already this fall and have split their season meetings, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Rock Solid Red also has something to say on Sunday afternoon. They’ll go against the Carolina Wildcards in their other pool play game. Although I expect the Thunder and the Prospects to be most likely title winners, their game on Saturday could shake things up for the Sunday bracket.
AA
This is a relatively small, 5-team field. The Youngsville Punishers have been competitive with some of the best 12u teams in the state this fall and should be one of the top competitors in this field. They are matched up against D1 Performance Orange and the Cary Wildcats in their pool play games. The Phoenix Elite are 18-10 this fall and will start their tournament against the Cary Wildcats and the Durham Blues. The Durham Blues will face D1 Performance Orange in their other pool play game.
13u
#10 Diamond Thieves are our highest ranked team in the 13u division this weekend. They’ll go up against the Orange County Crushers and Richmond Hornets Orange. The 9-2 Hornets will also face GBI Express Black in pool play. The North Wake Bandits, who at 16-2 this fall should probably be in our top 20, look to be one of the top teams in the field this weekend. They’ll face Phoenix Elite and the Carolina Prospects in their pool play games. The Orange County Crushers are 17-6 this fall and also look to be a potential spoiler to the Diamond Thieves’ title run. They’ll start their tournament with pool play games against the Diamond Thieves and the Southside Panthers. Only the top 5 seeds make the Gold bracket in this division, so it will be important for these teams to be ready to go for their Saturday pool play games.