Around the State Recap (Top Gun) 10/5-10/6/19

Over a dozen ranked teams were in action across the various Top Gun sites this past weekend. There were some impressive performances as well as multiple games between top 10 and 20 teams. Here we recap the weekend's games from the Top Gun sites across the Carolinas this past weekend.

8u
The 8u NCDB Rivercats went 4-0 this past weekend on their way to the Gold bracket title in Rocky Mount.

In Fayetteville, Area Stars Blue went 4-0 with wins over the Palmetto State Copperheads (SC) and NSA Thunder on both Saturday and Sunday. In Myrtle Beach, the Leland Lugnuts went 4-0, outscoring AmeriCannon (SC) and the Coastal Bombers (SC) a combined 43-2 on Saturday. They followed that up with a 21-11 win over the Coastal Bombers in the semifinals and a 14-13 win over the Wilmington Seahawks in the finals.

In Indian Trail this past weekend, the MARA Mavericks went 4-0, including wins over Union County Crush - Ridings and the Sandsharks (SC) on Saturday, followed by a 17-3 win over the Sandsharks in the semifinals and a 20-10 win over Union County Crush - Ridings in the finals.

In the 8u division in Rocky Mount this past weekend, #9 Carolina Thunder went 0-2 on Saturday and fell to the Silver bracket after an 11-9 loss to the NCDB Rivercats and an 8-6 loss against Greenville Athletics in pool play. The Rivercats topped the Carolina Pirates 21-6 in their other pool play game on Saturday. In the Gold bracket semifinals on Sunday, the Rivercats topped Greenville Athletics 14-11 and the EC Diamondbacks edged the East Carolina Bombers 252 12-10. In the finals, the Rivercats finished off a 4-0 weekend with an 18-5 win over the EC Diamondbacks.

 

9u

Our top team in the 9u age group, East Rowan, played up in the 10u age group in Indian Trail this past weekend, and finished 3-1 overall including a Gold bracket title. On Saturday, East Rowan defeated CBA Copperheads Black 13-2 and fell 14-7 against the MARA Spartans. On Sunday, East Rowan scored a 16-12 win over the Carolina Warriors followed by a 5-2 win over Blythewood Bombers Gold (SC) in the finals.

In the 9u division in Charlotte this past weekend, #12 LKN Hurricanes finished 4-0 for the weekend, notching a 19-0 win over the North Lincoln Destroyers and a 20-15 win over SBA LKN Burgess on Saturday. They followed that up with a 7-5 win over the Park Sharon Nationals and a 16-5 win over #16 Carolina Spinners in the finals. At the Goldsboro/Snow Hill site, 3 top ten teams - #3 West Raleigh Blue, #4 Dirtbags Black, and #8 Greenville Athletics Black - were in all in the 5-team field. On Saturday, Greenville Athletics Black scored a 14-6 win over the Clayton Railroaders and a 12-11 win over Carolina Titans - Ricks to earn the top spot for Sunday. West Raleigh earned the #2 seed with a 14-12 win over Dirtbags Black and a 22-11 win over the Titans in pool play. The Dirtbags rolled to a 20-3 win over the Clayton Railroaders in their other pool play game. In the semifinals on Sunday, Dirtbags Black avenged their pool play loss with a 6-4 win over West Raleigh, while Carolina Titans - Ricks notched a 13-4 win over Greenville Athletics Black. In the finals, Dirtbags Black finished off a 3-1 weekend with an 8-7 win over Carolina Titans - Ricks.

At Shipyard Park in Charleston, South Carolina, #18 GRIT went 3-0 notching a 5-2 win over #6 Area Stars Orange, an 11-9 win over the Local Boys (SC), and a 12-0 win over the Carolina Braves. Area Stars Orange scored a 12-11 win over the Local Boys and a 5-3 in over the Carolina Braves in their other games this past weekend.

 

10u

#8 West Raleigh Blue went 4-0 for the weekend in Myrtle Beach, scoring two wins each over the Coastal Bombers (SC) and Next Level/JG and outscoring those teams a combined 50-18 across those 4 games. In the Triad Area, #9 Five Star Carolina - Young dominated the weekend, going 4-0 overall and outscoring opponents a combined 64-11 across 4 games. This included an 11-3 win over #6 Summerfield Stars in the finals. The Summerfield Stars finished 3-1 for the weekend.

Dry Pond went 4-0 in the 10u division in Charlotte this past weekend, scoring wins over the Lenoir Ravens and a 17-10 win over Fury Baseball in pool play. On Sunday, Dry Pond notched an 11-6 win over the Lenoir Ravens in the semifinals and a 20-19 win over Outlaws Baseball in the finals.

In the 10u division in the Triangle Region, the NC Heat finished 4-0, outscoring opponents 59-18 across 4 games. In the Open division at the Goldsboro/Snow Hill site, #4 Canes Baseball NC - Harris earned the top seed for Sunday with a 4-3 win over Dirtbags East and a 17-0 win over NSA Select. Area Stars Orange also went 2-0 in pool play with an 8-3 win over Rock Solid Red and a 13-9 win over Carolina Titans - Ambrose. The Titans topped Rock Solid Red 5-2 in their other pool play game. On the #4/5 play-in game on Sunday, Titans - Ambrose topped Rock Solid Red 10-2. In the #3/6 play-in game, NSA Select scored a 10-9 win over Dirtbags East. In the semifinals, Titans - Ambrose rolled to a 12-5 win over Canes Baseball NC - Harris, and NSA Select topped Area Stars Orange 6-4. In the finals, Carolina Titans - Ambrose blasted their way to an 11-1 win over NSA Select to finish 4-1 for the weekend.

At Shipyard Park in Charleston, South Carolina, Cherryville Baseball went 4-1 and took home the Gold bracket title. This included a 13-7 win over Union County Crush - Gadd in the finals.

 

 

11u

Area Stars - Derick finished 4-0 for the weekend in Fayetteville, notching wins over Straight Gas and the Cumberland Astros on Saturday. On Sunday, they defeated Area Stars White 15-0 in the semifinals followed by a 13-12 win over Straight Gas in the finals. Diamond Deacons - Tierney played up in the 12u division in the Triad Region this past weekend and went 4-0 overall. This included a win over the Carolina Strikers on the semifinals and a win over Diamond Life Athletics in the finals.

In the 19-team 11u division in Charlotte this past weekend, #18 Carolina Bearcats was impressive on Saturday going 2-0 with an 8-7 win over MARA Blue and an 18-3 win over the Carolina Sundevils. Perhaps even more impressive, the Pfafftown Raiders 2027 posted a 15-3 win over Concord Athletics - Boone and an 18-2 win over Elite Baseball EBC in their pool play games. In the semifinals on Sunday, the Bearcats topped SBA - Callahan and the Pfafftown Raiders topped the NC Young Guns 9-1. In the finals showdown between the Bearcats and Pfafftown, the Bearcats scored a 13-9 win over Pfafftown Raiders 2027 to finish 4-0 for the weekend.

In the 11u age group in the Triangle Region, #13 Garner Royals and #16 Smash Baseball headlined an 8-team field. The Garner Royals scored the #1 seed with a 9-4 win over Rocky Mount Marshals - Ward and a 16-0 win over Area Stars Orange in pool play. Smash finished with the #4 seed after a 4-2 loss against Warriors Baseball and a 9-4 win over MVP Red in pool play. In the semifinals on Sunday, Warriors Baseball out-slugged the Carolina Freedom 24-15, and Smash Baseball scored a 6-3 win over the Garner Royals. In the finals, Smash Baseball finished off a 3-1 weekend with an 18-1 win over Warriors Baseball. In the 11u division at the Goldsboro/Snow Hill site, #6 Dirtbags Black finished 1-1 with a 9-2 win over Eastern Impact and a 3-2 loss against #11 East Carolina Tribe - Brannan. The Tribe fell 7-2 against Eastern Impact in their other pool play game. Greenville Athletics - Scott finished with the #1 seed with a 10-9 win over #19 Carolina Titans and a 14-7 win over Wilson Baseball - Battle. In the #4/5 play-in game, the Carolina Titans topped Eastern Impact 8-7. In the #3/6 play-in game, the Tribe notched a 7-3 win over Wilson Baseball - Battle. In the semifinals, Greenville Athletics - Scott got past the Titans with a 9-8 win, and Dirtbags Black scored a 12-9 win over East Carolina Tribe - Brannan. In the finals, Dirtbags Black finished off a 3-1 weekend with a 17-2 win over Greenville Athletics - Scott.

At Shipyard Park in Charleston, South Carolina, #17 LBC Thunder finished 2-1 for the weekend. On Saturday, they scored a 7-6 win over G&B (SC) and a 13-8 win over GRIT. This earned them the #2 seed for Sunday. In the semifinals, however, the Thunder fell 8-2 against the Charleston Revolution. Dirtbags East also made the trip down and finished 3-1 including a Silver bracket title with a 10-7 win over GRIT in the Silver bracket finals.

 

12u

Area Stars White finished 4-0 in Myrtle Beach this past weekend, topping Next Level/JG - Edmond 8-4 and East Coast Snipers - McCarter 9-0 in pool play. On Sunday, Area Stars White topped the Punishers (SC) 9-4 in the semifinals and Makos Baseball (SC) 7-6 in the finals. 11u Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley (SC), who is one of the top teams in South Carolina, went 4-0 playing up in the 12u age group in Indian Trail this past weekend. They defeated the Rocky River Rage and a 20-5 win over Carolina Bulldogs on Saturday. They followed that up with a 6-1 win over the Rocky River Rage in the semifinals and a 10-4 win over the Richmond Rockies in the finals.

The 12u age group featured 16 teams, including #11 CBA Copperheads Red, as well as several quality teams including Team 24 Gamecocks - Bailey (SC), the Carolina Cannons (SC), the DSA Bulldogs, and the Carolina Spinners. Unfortunately, only 4 teams made the Gold bracket and CBA Copperheads Red, who finished 2-0 on Saturday, were left out of the Gold bracket and finished 4-0 for the weekend with a Silver bracket title. Team 24 Gamecocks - Bailey finished 4-0 for the weekend with a Gold bracket title, scoring wins over the Mooresville Biscuits and the Carolina Sundevils on Saturday. On Sunday, Gamecocks - Bailey topped the Carolina Spinners 6-4 in the semifinals and scored a 9-8 win over the Carolina Cannons in the finals. In the 12u one-day event in Charlotte, DSB Carolina Bullfrogs went 3-0 including wins over On Deck O's Orange, the Carolina Crossfire, and the SOTG Muddawgs in the finals.

In the 12u D1 division in the Triangle Region this past weekend, the Carolina Outlaws finished with the #1 seed with an 11-9 win over the FV Wildcats and an 11-6 win over Luckies Platinum. In the other pool play games, the Akadema Heat fell 15-5 against Luckies Platinum and a 12-2 against the FV Wildcats. In the semifinals on Sunday, Luckies Platinum notched a 12-4 win over the FV Wildcats and the Akadema Heat notched a 9-4 win over the Carolina Outlaws. In the finals, Luckies Platinum got down 7-0 before scoring 10 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning to take a 12-8 win over the Akadema Heat. In the D2 division, the Cleveland Wildcats finished 4-0 for the weekend, outscoring their 4 opponents a combined 36-16 across 4 games. In the 12u division at the Goldsboro/Snow Hill site, the Neuse River Broncos went 4-0, outscoring opponents a combined 43-16 across those 4 games. This included a 10-6 win over the Bomb Squad in the finals.

At Shipyard Park in Charleston, South Carolina, #9 Dirtbags East rolled to a 4-0 weekend. Across 4 games, Dirtbags East outscored opponents a combined 47-9 on their way to the Gold bracket title.

 

13u

#18 Team Ghost went 4-0 for the weekend in Fayetteville, outscoring Area Stars White and Area Stars Orange a combined 21-1 on Saturday. They notched a 12-2 win over Area Stars Blue in the semifinals and a 10-0 win over the 12u Area Stars Blue in the finals. #4 Canes Baseball NC - Simpson was dominate in Myrtle Beach this past weekend, going 4-0 and outscoring their 4 opponents a combined 37-6 across 4 games, including a 6-5 win over the Carolina Bombsquad (SC) in the finals.

In the 13u age group in Charlotte this past weekend, SBA Patriots Red finished 4-0 for the weekend, notching a 5-4 win over #16 Vision Bandits - Germano and a 4-3 win over the Mooresville Biscuits on Saturday. On Sunday, SBA Patriots Red defeated CBA Copperheads Red 8-3 in the semifinals and the Carolina Reds (SC) 7-3 in the finals. In the one-day event in Charlotte this past weekend, On Deck O's Black went 3-0, scoring wins over the Pineville Blue Sox, the Matthews Wolves, and On Deck O's Orange in the finals.

In the 60/90 division in the Triangle Region, #19 Carolina Rockies Gold was impressive, going 4-0 overall and outscoring their 4 opponents 38-8 for the weekend. In the 54/80 Open division, the Greensboro Nationals finished 4-0 for the weekend and took home the Gold bracket title. They notched wins over Triangle Sports Hawks Blue and the Walk Off Warriors in pool play. They followed that up with a win over South Johnston and Triangle Sports Hawks Blue on Sunday. The 60/90 Open division in Rocky Mount featured 3 ranked teams in #10 Carolina Rage, #12 Carolina Titans Blue, and #14 Dirtbags East. In pool play, Dirtbags East earned the top seed for Sunday with a 14-0 win over the Carolina Rage and a 17-0 win over the SP Vipers. Carolina Titans Blue scored the #2 seed with an 8-4 win over the Carolina Rage and a 14-2 win over the SP Vipers. In the semifinals, the Carolina Rage topped Carolina Titans Blue 6-3 and the SP Vipers notched a 6-2 win over Dirtbags East. In the finals, the SP Vipers finished off an impressive bounce back Sunday with an 18-4 win over the Carolina Rage. In the consolation final, Carolina Titans Blue edged Dirtbags East 5-4. In the 54/80 division in Rocky Mount, EC Diamondbacks - Bass went 4-0, outscoring opponents a combined 39-7 across 4 games for the weekend.

At Shipyard Park in Charleston, South Carolina, the SBA Nationals finished 3-1 and as runner-up. On Saturday, they defeated the Cleveland Wildcats 8-0 and Grand Slam USA Stars 7-3. In the semifinals, they notched a 12-8 win over the Weddington Warriors before falling 11-1 against Bonaire Force Baseball Club (SC).