We had a #1 go down in the 11u ranking and a tough decision to make regarding their position. In the end, SBA Canes – Ross will be in contention for the #1 spot nearly every week if they continue to play like they have been, but for now we gave the #1 spot to the Blue Sox after their defeat of the Canes. We also moved Minion into the #1 spot in the 12u rankings. They’ve just been to good this spring to keep out of that spot. Hopefully we’ll see more head-to-head match-ups amongst the top teams in that age group. Here’s a rundown of our thought process this week.
11u
SBA Canes – Ross has been #1 in our 11u rankings since our first addition in September 2017. With good reason too. They’ve been the best, and most consistent team in the 11u age group this season. This past weekend at the USSSA Beast of the East Super NIT (BoE), they were defeated by previous #8 Carolina Blue Sox. The Blue Sox went on to win the BoE. Coupled with their 11-0 record this spring and win over the Canes – Ross, who moved to 16-5 this spring (2 losses at 12u level) and 38-10 overall, we felt a move to the top of the rankings for the Blue Sox was warranted. Canes NC – Hood remained at #3 while Five Star Carolina – Neyra moved up to #4 after a 2-1 weekend at the BoE including a win over #6 Mission Vipers Gold. The Cleveland Wildcats moved up to #5 after an idle weekend and a 1-1 weekend from Mission Vipers Gold, who moved down from 2nd to 6th. We moved Canes NC – Simpson down from 4th to 7th due to inactivity. Big Game 2025 moved up from 10th to 8th after a 2-1 weekend at the BoE. SBA Canes – Erwin moved down two spots (#7 to #9) as they continue to just not be able to get over the hump against the top teams with losses to #1 Blue Sox, #2 Canes – Ross, and #3 Canes – Hood this spring.
LKN Attack moved up 1 spot from 11th to 10th after an idle weekend, as did the Carolina Pilots (12th to 11th), Lake Norman Hurricanes (13th to 12th), and Carolina Rams (14th to 13th). North Wake Fungo moved up from 16th to 14th with some teams losing in front of them, and the Durham Blues also moved up two spots (17th to 15th) for the same reason. Team Ghost dropped from 9th to 16th after a 1-2 weekend in Myrtle Beach this past weekend. The OTK Saints and Rock Solid Red both moved up 1 spot to 17th and 18th, respectively, after Athlete’s Lab Crushers was dropped from the rankings after a loss to unranked WCW Black this past weekend. The Dirt Devils and Carolina Astros make their first appearances in the rankings at 19th and 20th, respectively, this week. The Dirt Devils are 10-1 this spring and 24-11 overall, while the Astros moved to 9-3 this spring with a 3-0 weekend this past weekend.
12u
East Rowan has been #1 in our 12u rankings since their 11-3 head-to-head win over previous #2 Minion in the Top Gun Winter World Series. This spring, however, Minion is 17-1, and last weekend won their 4th straight BoE title, outscoring opponents 57-5 while going 6-0 to win the title. Their accomplishments this spring were enough for us to move them back to #1, a spot they last occupied on the 10/31/2017 rankings. East Rowan slipped to #2 this week, while we kept Legends Baseball steady at #3, despite their loss to the Carolina Rockies at the BoE. We felt the Legend’s 14-1 record this spring and 36-4 overall record was enough to warrant the #3 ranking this week. We moved the Park Sharon Nationals up 1 spot to #4 after their finals appearance at the BoE, and we moved the Rockies up from #11 to #5. The Rockies are 9-3 this spring with a win over Legends and two close losses against Minion. 5 Star Carolina – Shelton was moved down from 4th to 7th because of inactivity, while teams 7th through 10th all dropped one spot with the Rockies’ move up. We dropped the Sanford Cobras from 12th to 14th after a 1-2 showing at the BoE. We also dropped SBA Canes – Mendez from 16th to 17th after going 1-1 at the BoE. Canes – Harland moved up two spots as we dropped the Carolina Chaos from the rankings and moved Carolina Prime 2024 to 20th after respective early exits from the AAA BoE. Canes – Charlotte also was moved into the rankings at 19th. They are 2-2-1 this spring with a one-run loss to Legends Baseball and a two-run loss to the Rockies.
13u
Canes NC – Gallaher remained at #1 after their championship run at the BoE. We moved Knights Prime from #4 to #2 after their finals appearance at the BoE which included two wins over #8 NCDB Rivercats and a win over #11 Carolina Havoc – Clonch. Canes NC – Haire remained at #3 this week after a close loss to Canes – Gallaher in the semifinals at the BoE. We dropped the East Coast Clippers to #4 this week. They haven’t been particularly active yet this spring, and haven’t faced as much of the top 13u competition as of yet. The Kernersville Bulldogs and Greenville Athletics – Jones moved up one spot with NCDB dropping down from 6th to 8th with two losses to Knights Prime at the BoE. Carolina Havoc – Clonch also moved down from 9th to 11th after going 0-1-1 at the BoE with a loss to Knights Prime. Team ranked 12th through 16th all remained steady. We added Dirtbags Platinum – Holt in at #17 after a 1-1 weekend at the Triple Crown Sports Capital City Class this past weekend in their first action of the spring. The Walkoff Warriors and Orange County Crushers moved down one spot each to 18th and 19th to accommodate the Dirtbags, and Bluechip Athletes was dropped from the top 20 after a 1-2 weekend this past weekend. PITT413 remained at number 20 this week.