End of Fall Rankings Recap 8u 2018

We've found following the 8u age group to be a very interesting challenge since we launched the site just over 1 year ago. First, there are generally less travel teams playing in the 8u age group than in the older groups. Second, the vast majority of these teams never play one another. Third, players develop so rapidly at this age that once a team starts catching fly balls, they can go from an average team to one of the better teams around. Despite this, we have found following this age group to be an enjoyable challenge, and this fall was no different.

        1. East Rowan
          The East Rowan program generally produces some of the best youth teams in North Carolina, especially at the younger age groups, and this fall was no exception. The 8u East Rowan team ended up 12-0 this fall including a tournament win at the Top Gun Winter World Series, which was perhaps the best 8u tournament field of the fall season. Along the way, they scored wins over #2 West Raleigh Blue, #3 Cleveland Wildcats Black, #4 Spartans - Mullins, #5 Davidson Crush, #6 GRIT, and #9 Area Stars Cox, cementing their status as the top 8u team in North Carolina.
        2. West Raleigh Blue
          Falling just behind East Rowan this fall was West Raleigh Blue. The boys from West Raleigh finished 10-2 this fall with their only losses coming against #1 East Rowan and #3 Cleveland Wildcats Black. Among their 10 wins, West Raleigh scored 3 wins over #3 Cleveland Wildcats Black and a win over #9 Area Stars - Cox.
        3. Cleveland Wildcats Black
          Cleveland Wildcats Black, who will become Dirtbags Black in the spring, went 18-6 this fall season. Among their 6 losses, one came against #1 East Rowan, 3 were against #2 West Raleigh Blue, and another came against #6 GRIT. The Wildcats also scored a win over West Raleigh Blue, one of only 2 losses by West Raleigh this fall, and a win over #9 Area Stars - Cox.
        4. Spartans - Mullins
          The Spartans went 17-3 this fall playing largely out of the Clemmons AAU site where a handful of our 8u top 10 frequented. Of their 3 losses, one came against #1 East Rowan, one came against #5 Davidson Crush, while another came against the Carolina Spinners. They also boast two wins over #5 Davidson Crush among their 17 overall wins. There 2-1 head-to-head performance against the Crush is how we separated these two teams.
        5. Davidson Crush
          Much like #4 Spartans - Mullins, the Davidson Crush spent most of their fall playing at the Clemmons AAU site. There they formed a competitive rivalry with the Spartans, finishing 1-2 against them this fall. Overall, the Crush finished 20-5  Of their 5 losses, one came against #1 East Rowan, two against #4 Spartans - Mullins, and two came against #6 GRIT. The Crush also scored some impressive wins including a 19-1 win over Spartans - Mullins, a 17-2 win over #6 GRIT, and a win over #10 DC Bombers.
        6. GRIT
          GRIT finished 17-9-1 this fall and landed in the 6th spot in our final rankings. GRIT scored a win over #3 Cleveland Wildcats Black and two wins over #5 Davidson Crush among their 17 wins this fall. They also played a competitive schedule that included losses against #1 East Rowan, the Crush, and #9 Area Stars - Cox (x2).
        7. McDowell Titans
          The McDowell Titans, based in Marion, NC, finished an impressive 16-1 this fall. They were a tough team to find the right spot for in our rankings because they did not have as many common opponents as many of the other teams in our 8u rankings. Nevertheless, among their 16 wins, the Titans did go 4-0 against #11 Dry Pond, to help solidify their status among the best 8u teams in North Carolina.
        8. Union County Crush - Bennett
          Similar to the McDowell Titans, the Crush went an impressive 16-1 during the fall 2018 season. Their only loss came against the MARA Muddawgs. The only thing holding the Crush back from a higher ranking this fall was a lack of wins/games against what we felt was the top competition in the state. The Crush will be moving over to the SBA organization for the spring, so we'd expect them to go against some of the better teams in the state routinely this spring.
        9. Area Stars - Cox
          The Area Stars went 13-7 this fall and had some impressive showings against top competition along the way. This was a team that appeared to improve throughout the fall, going 1-3 in the first tournament and finishing 12-4 across their last 4 tournaments. Their fall was highlighted by two 1-run wins over #6 GRIT, and they fell 13-12 against #1 East Rowan in the Top Gun WWS.
        10. DC Bombers
          The DC Bombers went 11-1 this fall, primarily playing out of the competitive Clemmons AAU site. Their lone loss came in a 19-18 heart-breaker against #5 Davidson Crush, in which they gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the last inning. Although their record was quite impressive, they didn't face near the same level of competition as many in our 8u rankings, which is why they ended up at #10.
        11. Dry Pond
          Dry Pond, based out of Boger City, NC, posted an 18-5 record this fall playing both USSSA and some Top Gun events. As noted above, 4 of their 5 losses came against the #7 McDowell Titans. While they didn't have a win over any ranked teams, we felt their record and performances across competitions was enough to warrant inclusion in our 8u rankings this fall.