The 13u age group was another age group that was very competitive at the top with several teams threatening for the #1 ranking through the fall. This is a difficult age group to rank because teams play in different pitching mound/base distances (54/80 vs. 60/90) and many teams play a good proportion of their games against 14u teams. In the end, however, we felt the Evoshield Canes NC – Gallaher was the clear #1 in this age group. Here we recap the highlights of the fall season for the 13u age group.
Evoshield Canes NC – Gallaher ended the fall season our #1 team in the 13u age group. They were 25-1 this fall overall, and 16-0 at the 13u level. Their only loss came in a 10-9 game at the hands of the 14u Bandits Baseball. They went 5-0 at the Top Gun Winter World Series, topping #12 Charlotte Nationals and an excellent Mid Atlantic Pirates (VA) team and outscored opponents a combined 54-10 on their way to the championship. They put on a similar performance at the USSSA Beast of the East where they went 6-0 and had wins over #3 Evoshield Canes NC – Haire and #4 Akadema Knights Gray on their way to the championship. They were totally dominant at the 13u level all fall and are well-deserving of the top spot. Coming in at #2 was the East Coast Clippers. The Clippers finished 14-2 this fall, with only one loss coming at the 13u level (their other loss came against the 14u Carolina Titans). They also notched wins over #16 Carolina Naturals and #17 Dirtbags Black. Evoshield Canes NC – Haire ended the fall our #3 team after going 18-3 this fall. The Canes NC – Haire were champions at the Jay Criscione USSSA Super NIT and had wins over #9 Carolina Havoc – Clonch,#10 Bandits powered by CBC, and #14 Bomb Squad Elite this fall. Akadema Knights Gray finished 17-4 this fall and earned our #4 spot in our final 13u rankings. The Knights won the D1 54/80 division at the Top Gun Winter World Series and had wins over #8 Greenville Athletics – Jones, #11 Dirtbags – Smith, #13 Next Level, #16 Carolina Naturals, and #20 Walk Off Warriors this fall. The NCDB Rivercats finished out our top 5 after a 12-4 record this fall. They played the majority of their games at the 14u level this fall, so it’s a bit difficult to get a true gauge on their level of play relative to some of the other top teams in the 13u age group, but we think this is about where they fit in. The Spring should be helpful in assessing the Rivercats’ true place in the 13u rankings.
The Diamond Thieves finished #6 in our top 20 after posting a 24-5 record and a win at the AAU Winter World Series this fall. They played predominately 54/80 this fall and had a win over #18 Orange County Crushers and two wins over #20 Walk Off Warriors. The Kernersville Bulldogs posted a 24-7-1 record this fall and earned our #7 ranking. Wins over #9 Carolina Havoc – Clonch and #11 Dirtbags Smith highlighted the fall season for the Bulldogs. Greenville Athletics Jones finished in our #8 spot after posting a 12-3 record this fall in Top Gun play. Although not as active as some of other teams in our top ten, they did have a win over the #6 Diamond Thieves this fall. #9 Carolina Havoc – Clonch finished 22-8 this fall including a 1-1 record against #4 Akadema Knights gray, a win over #10 Bandits Powered by CBC, and a win over #16 Carolina Naturals. Bandits Powered by CBC earned our #10 spot this fall after finishing 14-4 in USSSA play. Although they did not have any wins over teams in our top 20, they did have a nice win over a good Team 24 Gamecocks – Zohner (SC) team.
We ranked Dirtbags – Smith #11 in our end-of-fall rankings after posting a 23-7 record. The posted a win over #4 Akadema Knights Gray, a win over #6 Diamond Thieves, and two wins over #13 Next Level this fall. The #12 spot in our top 20 went to the Charlotte Nationals who finished 18-5 this fall including a win over #3 Evoshield Canes NC – Haire. Next Level finished #13 in our top 20 after posting an 18-6 record. Although they didn’t face near the competition of some of the teams in our top 10, they did have a win over #20 Walk Off Warriors to highlight their excellent record. We ranked Bomb Squad Elite #14 in our top 20 after posting a 13-2 record in USSSA play this fall. It’s difficult to feel we’ve ranked teams like Bomb Squad accurately when they haven’t faced any of the other top 20 teams in action this fall, but they did post a win against a quality SBA Marucci Squad in addition to their outstanding record. Our hope would be that with a bit more competition this Spring, we’ll get a better handle on where to accurately rank teams like Bomb Squad Elite. Similarly, we had a difficult time knowing what to do with the Sandhills Patriots, who we ranked #15 in our end-of-season rankings. They finished an outstanding 7-1, but did not play much, did not play the best competition, but do boast a win over #11 Dirtbags Smith, which helped get them in our rankings.
The Carolina Naturals finished #16 in our rankings after posting a 17-9 record including a Gold Bracket Championship in the D2 Top Gun Winter World Series and a win over #13 Next Level. Dirtbags Black earned our #17 ranking after posting a 13-9 record this fall that included a win over #4 Akadema Knights Gray and a win over #20 Walk Off Warriors. The Orange County Crushers finished #18 in our rankings after posting a 19-7-1 record this fall. This is another team that posted and excellent record against a bit lower competition than some of the teams above them in our rankings. They played predominately AAU tournaments and had a Silver Bracket championship at the AAU Winter World Series to their credit. We ranked the Youngsville Intimidators #19 in our end-of-fall rankings after a 13-5 record across Top Gun and AAU play that included a win over #18 Orange County Crushers. Rounding out our top 20 was the Walk Off Warriors. The Warriors finished 17-7 this fall in Top Gun play including a championship in the 54/80 division of the Top Gun Winter Nationals.
Overall, we felt the 13u age group was the most difficult of all the age groups to rank. First, teams play across two pitching/base distances (54/80 vs. 60/90). Second, we felt this age group more than perhaps any other had many top teams not face off against one another, which left ranking of the teams the victim of significant subjectivity. We are not huge fans of this, but nevertheless tried to put forth a ranking that reflected the results of the fall as best we could interpret them. Our hope is that the Spring will bring about more head-to-head competition against these top teams.