The 10u age group started with one dominant team, Evoshield Canes NC – Gilchrist, and ended with a much more competitive balance as things progressed. Many of the top teams faced one another and we were able to see some excellent baseball played by many of these teams. The Canes finished the Fall #1 in our rankings, although we did drop them to #2 briefly at one point. They finished 23-3 this fall, with a loss to 11u Evoshield Canes VA – Cheetham, a 6-4 loss to #2 SBA Canes – Marconi, and a 4-2 loss to Loudoun South Eagles (VA) in the 10u Top Gun Winter World Series. More impressive, however, is their list of wins. This included a win over 11u #8 Cleveland Wildcats, 1-1 record against SBA Canes – Marconi, a 2-0 record against #3 Clayton Fusion, a 1-0 record against #4 Mission Baseball Gold, a 1-0 record against #5 Carolina Havoc, a 1-0 record against #6 Stix, a 2-0 record against #8 FV Wildcats, and wins over #12 Sandhills Stingrays, #15 Dirtbags Black, #17 GRIT, and two wins against #20 East Rowan. That’s a combined 13-1 against top 20 10u teams. Right on their heels at #2, however, is SBA Canes – Marconi. This team was originally the MARA Cobras, but appears to have switched affiliations heading into the Winter/Spring. The SBA Canes went 10-3 this fall, including 1-1 against Evoshield Canes NC – Gilchrist, and had losses to Gameday Shockwave (SC) and the Georgia Bandits. In addition to their win over the Evoshield Canes, SBA had wins over #4 Mission Baseball Gold and #5 Carolina Havoc. Coming in at #3 in our top 20 are the Clayton Fusion. The Fusion went 19-6-1 this fall including a tie with #4 Mission Baseball Gold, a win over #6 Stix, two wins over #9 Port City Rebels, two wins over #10 Wendell Knights, and wins over #11 Alamance Patriots, #15 Dirtbags Black, #16 Youngsville Heat, #18 NCDB Rivercats, and #20 East Rowan. Much like the Evoshield Canes, the Fusion have sought out and competed against some of the best teams in the state. Mission Baseball Gold finished #4 in our rankings after a 17-8-1 campaign this fall that included a 2-0 record against #5 Carolina Havoc, and a win over #12 Sandhills Stingrays. Rounding out our top 5 are the Carolina Havoc. The Havoc went 17-5 this fall including a 1-1 record against #4 Mission Baseball Gold. Their only losses against in-state opponents came to #1 Evoshield Canes NC – Gilchrist, #2 SBA Canes – Marconi, and #4 Mission Baseball Gold.
Coming in at #6 in our top 20 are the Stix, who went 21-7-1 this fall. The Stix got off to a bit of a slow start this fall, but won 15 of their last 18 games to close out the fall. They had wins over #8 FV Wildcats, #10 Wendell Knights, and a 1-1 record against #9 Port City Rebels. The Rawlings Stars earned our #7 rankings after going 18-5 this fall. Several wins at the 11u level and a tournament win at the Top Gun Winter National Championships highlighted the Stars fall season. The FV Wildcats ended #8 in our rankings. The Wildcats got off to an exceptionally slow start this fall, going 0-3-1 in the first tournament of the fall with losses against Evoshield Canes NC – Gilchrist, the Clayton Fusion, and the Stix. However, they bounced back nicely to win 11 0f their last 14 games including wins over #3 Clayton Fusion, #15 Dirtbags Black, and two wins over #18 NDCB Rivercats, in addition to reaching the finals at the Top Gun Winter World Series. The Port City Rebels finished #9 in our rankings after a 14-7 campaign against 10u teams this fall. They scored wins over #3 Clayton Fusion, #6 Stix, #12 Sandhills Stingrays, and #20 East Rowan to highlight their fall season. The Wendell Knights finished #10 in our rankings after going 17-8 this fall. The Knights won the D2 Top Gun Winter World Series including a win over #16 Youngsville Heat on their way to the title.
The Alamance Patriots finished #11 in our rankings after going 10-3 this fall. Playing primarily AAU tournaments in Oxford, Alamance had a 2-1 record against #16 Youngsville Heat and a win against #14 Carolina Thunder to highlight their fall season. The Sandhills Stingrays finished the fall #12 in our rankings after posting a 14-7 record this fall. The Stingrays boast wins over #9 Port City Rebels and #20 East Rowan this fall in addition to several close losses to top 20. The Carolina Red Sox – Snyder finished the fall ranked #13 in our top 20 after going 17-7 this fall. They did not see quite the level of competition as some of the teams above them, despite their excellent record. The Carolina Thunder finished #14 in our rankings, after going 19-6. They boast a win against #3 Clayton Fusion, a win over #10 Wendell Knights, and a 1-1 record against #16 Youngsville Heat this fall. They played almost exclusively AAU events in Oxford and didn’t see quite the level of competition as some teams above them, however if they continue to dominate they way they have this fall, we’ll be hard-pressed not to move them up farther in our top 20. Finishing out our top 15 was the Dirtbags Black. The Dirtbags finished 12-7-1 including a win against #7 Rawlings Stars, a 1-1 record against #8 FV Wildcats, a 2-0 record against #12 Sandhills Stingrays, a win over #16 Youngsville Heat, and a 3-1 record against #20 East Rowan. Despite their record, their level of competition was excellent this fall and primarily while they finished in our top 15.
The Youngsville Heat finished #16 in our top 20 this fall. The Heat finished 15-7 this fall including a win over #6 Stix, a 2-1 record against #10 Wendell Knights, a 1-2 record against #11 Alamance Patriots, and a 1-1 record against #14 Carolina Thunder. GRIT finished #17 in our top 20 after going 17-4 this fall including a 1-1 record against #2 SBA Canes – Marconi and a win over Dirtbags Black. The NCDB Rivercats finished #18 in our top 20 this fall, after posting an 8-5 record this fall. Although they weren’t too active this fall, they did post wins over #6 Stix, #9 Port City Rebels, and an excellent 12-3 RBA RipCity (VA) team this fall. West Raleigh Blue earned our #19 ranking this fall after going 7-1 this fall including a championship at the Ripken Experience Columbus Day Tournament in Myrtle Beach. They should be a team to watch in the late Spring and Summer as their recreation season closes and they begin to play more travel ball. East Rowan was the final team to make our top 20 after posting a 10-7 record this fall. They faced some great competition this fall and posted two wins against an excellent Tega Cay Titans (SC) team, a win over #7 Rawlings Stars, and a win over #15 Dirtbags Black.
The 10u age division saw many of the top teams go head-to-head on multiple occasions this fall. While Evoshield Canes NC – Gilchrist and SBA Canes – Marconi appear to be the top two teams in the age group, there are many teams such as the Clayton Fusion who are right behind them trying to take their spots. This turned out to be a very exciting age group and we’re sure to see some changes in the top 20 as the Spring progresses.