It’s here. The first USSSA Select 30 qualifier for the 2018 season in the state of North Carolina is here. These select 30 qualifiers attract some of best fields around with teams coming from all over to compete. Here’s our rundown of the top NC teams who will be in the field this weekend in Charlotte.
8u machine pitch
Our #4 South Charlotte Cardinals will headline this 7 team field. They are matched up against the Tega Cay Titans (SC), who generally produce excellent teams, and Cherryville Baseball. The Cardinals are 11-0 in the fall season and will look to keep their unbeaten record intact. Their top competition this weekend should come from #5 East Rowan, who are 6-0 in USSSA play, 3-1 in Top Gun play, and 4-0 in AAU play this fall. Their only loss came against the Cardinals in a 11-10 loss in early September. East Rowan will play the G-town Pirates and (SC) and Young Guns (SC) in their pool play games. The G-town Pirates are 11-1 this fall in USSSA play, and should also compete for the title here.
9u
The 7-team 9u field is headlined by our the top team in the state, the Park Sharon Nationals. The will face the Carolina Arsenal and #14 Carolina Red Sox – Jones in their pool play games. It’s hard to see Park Sharon losing at this point as they have not yet been scored on by 9u teams this fall, and have competed quite well against a largely 10u schedule. The Arsenal are 15-3 this fall, but they have not played any teams at he caliber of Park Sharon. The Red Sox will also play Ninth Inning Dodgers (GA) in pool play. I’d be shocked if the Nationals don’t win this age group.
10u
The next two weekends will go a long way towards sorting out our 10u rankings with the top two 10u fields of the season this weekend at the Beast of the East and next weekend at the Top Gun Winter World Series. As we’ve said numerous times, #1 Evoshield Canes NC- Gilchrist are as dominate in their age group as any team in the state of North Carolina, but they’ll have their hands full this weekend. They’ll start pool play with the MARA Bolts on Saturday. They also will play Five Star Carolina – Hunter, a team right on the edge of our top 20 all season, and whom the Canes have beaten twice this fall already by a combined 30-0. In addition to our #1 team, the #2 MARA Cobras will also be in the field. The Cobras will also face Five Star Carolina – Hunter and #12 Carolina Havoc in pool play. #5 East Rowan is also in the 10u field and is matched up against #11 Dirtbags Black and #16 Sandhills Stingrays in pool play. #6 Mission Baseball Gold, another top 10 team in this field, is matched up against the Stingrays and The Club Red (GA) for pool play. Dirtbags Black will play The Club Red, in addition to East Rowan, in pool play.
11u
There are both a Majors division and a AAA division in the 11u age group this weekend. Off the heels of an outstanding Top Gun Winter World Series, the Beast of the East features an absolutely loaded field. #1 SBA Canes – Ross is back in action, taking on the Carolina Athletics and #8 Big Game 2025 in pool play. #2 Five Star Carolina – Neyra is also in this field and will face Mission Baseball Black and the Vision Bandits. #4 Mission Baseball Gold will take on the #18 Carolina Astros and the Asheville Braves. #5 Evoshield Canes NC – Hood is also in the field and will face Mission Baseball Black and #13 MARA Cobras in pool play. MARA will also go head-to-head with the Vision Bandits on Saturday. #11 SBA Canes – Erwin are also in this field and will face Carolina Athletics and the Carolina Blue Sox. In addition to 8 of the top 20 teams in the state of NC in the field, Five Star Elite (GA) is an excellent out-of-state team who should compete for the title this weekend. They’ll face the Carolina Astros and the Asheville Braves in pool play.
In the 4-team AAA division, #9 Weddington Warriors will look to continue their recent run of strong play, going up against The Club Green (GA) and CBC Baseball Club in pool play. The Charlotte Nationals are also in the field and will also face The Club Green and CBC Baseball Club in pool play.
12u
Much like the 11u Majors division, the 12u Majors division may be the best 12u tournament in North Carolina this fall. Teams from North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and New Jersey are all in the field. #1 Legends Baseball has been nothing short of dominate this fall, but this will be the best competition they have faced, by far. They’ll start their run to the championship against the Jersey Storm (NJ) and #4 Park Sharon Nationals in pool play. The Nationals will also go against the Carolina Fleet (SC) in pool play. #2 Minion is in this field as well, and will face #10 Carolina Chaos and the Carolina Red Sox, who could claim a spot in our top 20 with a strong weekend, on Saturday. The Chaos will also go up against the Carolina Bruins (SC) in pool play. #5 Carolina Vipers Blue will face #17 WM9 Signature and Team Carolina Demarini (SC) in their pool play games. WM9 Signature will also play the Green Sox (SC), who are 15-1 this fall, in pool play. #15 SBA Canes are also in the field and will go against the MARA Cobras and Team 24 Gamecocks – Brown (SC) on Saturday. Despite all of the NC and SC talent in the field, the best team may perhaps be the Five Star Tigers – Demarini (FL). They’ll play the Jersey Storm and the Carolina Fleet in pool play.
In the AAA division, 8 teams are in the field, although none are in our top 20 in this age group. This should be a competitive division with Carolina Prime 2024 perhaps being the top team in the field. They’ll face Team 24 Gamecocks – Miller (SC) and the Carolina Arsenal in pool play. CBC Baseball Club will face Team 24 Gamecocks – Miller and Weddington Academy. Weddington will also go against 5 Star LKN in pool play.
13u
The 13u Majors field is also absolutely loaded following last week’s Top Gun Winter World Series. #1 Evoshield Canes NC – Gallaher will look to continue their dominate play after winning the WWS last week, and they’ll be up against Iron Horse Baseball (SC) and Charlotte Elite in pool play. #4 Evoshield Canes NC – Haire is also in the field and will play the Harrisburg Storm and Dirtbags – Camo on Saturday. #5 Akadema Knights Gray will face Iron Horse Baseball and Charlotte Elite in pool play. #10 Carolina Havoc – Clonch will play #14 CBC Baseball Club and Team 24 Gamecocks – Zohner in pool play. In addition Carolina Havoc – Clonch, CBC will take on #16 Bomb Squad Elite on Saturday. Bomb Squad will also play SBA Marucci in pool play. #19 Copperheads – Barozzino is in this field as well and will take on the On Deck O’s Orange and the Carolina Vipers Blue in their pool play games. I’d expect to see the Canes NC – Gallaher win the title here, but with this many top 20 teams playing in the same field, anything can happen.