Now it’s the 10u and 12u age group’s chance to play some of the best competition they’ll see all fall. Many of the top teams from the state of North Carolina as well as teams from South Carolina, Virginia, and even Georgia will be in the tournament this weekend. Much like the 9u, 11u, and 13u tournaments a few weeks ago, this weekend is sure to have some outstanding baseball. And oh yeah, the play-in games are back!
10u
D1
#1 Evoshield Canes NC – Gilchrist will look to bounce back after their first loss this fall against a 10u opponent last weekend at the USSSA Beast of the East when they take on #10 FV Wildcats and #15 East Rowan in pool play. Evoshield is 20-2 this fall and they will be the heavy favorite in this age group, but they’ll have to beat some excellent teams and win as many as 5-6 games to take home the title. The FV Wildcats, who are 9-4-1 this fall, will also take on the SC Jets, an excellent team who is 10-5 this fall in USSSA play. East Rowan will also go against the 11-4 #7 Port City Rebels in pool play. #3 Clayton Fusion is 11-4-1 and will be one of the top teams looking to unseat the Canes and they’ll start their tournament run on Friday night against #18 NCDB Rivercats, who is 6-2 in limited play this fall, and Saturday morning against the Loudoun South Eagles (VA), who are 22-8 this fall. The Rivercats will also play the Loudoun South Eagles in pool play. The Port City Rebels will also face the Virginia Venom in pool play. The Virginia Venom program routinely produces some of the top teams in the state of Virginia, and the 10u team should be no different. #9 Stix are 18-6-1 this fall and will face RBA South Rip City (VA) and the SC Jets in their two pool play games. There will be a play-in for the Gold and Silver brackets, so that should hopefully help separate the top teams, but that also means a potential for 5-6 games to win the championship. This D1 division is Evoshield’s to lose, but there are a lot of great teams in the field, and at 10u anything can happen.
D2
In the D2 tournament, #8 Youngsville Heat will go up against the JG Sluggers and the Blue Ridge Tigers in pool play. JG is 5-8 this fall and the Tigers are 6-3 in limited play. #16 Carolina Red Sox – Snyder and will face the Virginia Stars – Camp and the South Wake Storm. The Virginia Stars are 18-6-1 this fall and should be one of the top competitors in the D2 division. South Wake Storm have been inconsistent this fall but are 13-6 including wins over #17 Wendell Knights and #19 West Raleigh Blue. The 15-7 Wendell Knights are one of the top teams in the D2 field and will play the Carolina Titans and North Wake Elite in pool play. North Wake Elite could also make a run in this field, and already boasts wins over the Youngsville Heat and #18 NCDB Rivercats this fall. They will also go against Carolina Muddawgs in addition to the Wendell Knights.
12u
D1
Just one week after a loaded BoE field that saw an outstanding finals game between our top two teams, Minion and Legends Baseball, these two will be back in the same field for the WWS. Newly minted #1, Minion, who edged out Legends Baseball 9-8 in the BoE finals, will take on the Virginia Stars and Weddington Academy in their pool play games. #2 Legends Baseball will face the Carolina Titans – Wilson and the 15-4 Tidewater Horns in their pool play games. #3 East Rowan is also in the field and will take on the Virginia Stars and the Tidewater Bombers. #8 Sanford Cobras will look for consistency this weekend and will start their tournament with the Wilmington Pirates and the 10-11-2 Loudoun Aces Blue in pool play. #10 Carolina Thunder will start with #16 NCDB Rivercats and the Loudoun Aces Blue in their pool play games. NCDB will also go against Longhorns Baseball (SC) in their other pool play game. #11 WM9 Signature will face the Tidewater Horns and the Wilmington Pirates in their pool play games. The Charlotte Nationals are a bit of dark horse in this field, and will face the Tidewater Bombers and Evoshield Canes VA Black in pool play. In addition to the many outstanding NC teams in the field, several of the main challengers will come from out-of-state. This includes Lynx Academy/Cell Block Baseball from Springfield, GA. Cell Block is 16-1-1 this fall and is one of the top 12u teams in Georgia. They’ll face Carolina Titans Blue and the VA Seminoles in their pool play games. Team Dirty South Venom is also in this field. They are arguably the best 12u team in the state of Virginia and will be tough competition for both Minion and Legends Baseball. They will go against Weddington Academy and Loudoun South Eagles in pool play. The Venom and Legends have played once already this fall with the Legends coming on top with an 11-3 victory. Although I expect either Minion or Legends Baseball to win this division, I think there are several strong contenders that could upset either of the these two favorites.
D2
The D2 field is a huge, 35-team field (for reference, the D1 field consists of 24 teams and the 10u D2 field has 13 teams). With only two pool play games plus a single game play-in, anything can happen in this division and each pool play game could be vitally important. The #15 NSA Snipers are 9-2 this fall and our top rated team in the field and will go against the Heat and the Hill City Sliders in pool play. #18 Sandhills Heat is also in this field and they’ll face the HYAA Hawks and the Virginia Cannons in their pool play games. The Carolina Sluggers could make some noise in this division and they’ll start their tourney run with the Carolina Titans and the Carolina Rattlers, who are another team that has a shot in this division. The Rattlers will take on CDP – Pete in their other pool play game. In a 35-team field, it is nearly impossible to pick a favorite.