11u End of Fall Recap 2019

There was perhaps no bigger debate for the #1 spot in an age group than in the 11u age group. 3 teams - the SBA Futures, Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro, and the SBA Nationals - made strong cases for the #1 spot. In the end, we chose the Futures for our #1 team, but this will be a debate that continues into 2020. Here we recap the Fall 2020 season in the 11u age group.

 

  1. SBA Futures
    The SBA Futures finished the fall season with an overall record of 15-3. They had wins over #7 Rock Solid Red and our #4 team in South Carolina, Carolina Yard Dawgs Elite. In addition, the Futures had impressive wins over two ranked 12u teams in NC #8 MPC and SC 12u #6 Carolina Cannons as well as 5 other wins over 12u teams. Of their 3 losses, all came against ranked 12u competition including #3 Dirtbags Black, #4 SBA Futures, and #9 CBA Copperheads Black. They've been as impressive as any team in any age group over the past seasons, but there is definitely some controversy over who the top team in this age group actually is. Here's our rationale currently: Since becoming a kid pitch team, the Futures have lost one game against in-state competition within this age group...ever (in the spring of 2019 against the SBA Nationals). To put it more succinctly, across their 9u, 10u, and fall 11u season, the Futures have lost 1 game against an in-state opponent in their age group. And while we don't tend to weigh past season/age group performance in our rankings, they've never lost to Park Sharon - Pirro. As long as the Futures keep performing at the level they are performing at, we can't move them from the #1 spot until some in-state teams start beating them. While Park Sharon and our #3 team, the SBA Nationals, have closed the gap considerably over the past 18 months, head-to-head competition is going to be what helps separate these 3 teams.
  2. Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro
    As impressive as #1 SBA Futures were this fall, it's hard not to feel #2 Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro were not equally impressive, if not more so. They finished the fall with an overall record of 21-2. They played against perhaps the best overall schedule of any team in this age group, scoring wins over the #1, 2, and 3 teams in South Carolina (#1 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley [x2], #2 Grey Sox, and #3 Gameday Shockwave [x2]). In addition, they had 9 wins over ranked teams from North Carolina including wins over #4 Five Star Carolina - Jones (x2), #5 West Raleigh Blue (x2), #8 Dirtbags Black (x2), #9 Carolina Blue Trifecta, and #12 SBA Americans (x2). They also had wins over Remix RipCity and the Beehive Allstars (AL), who finished 43rd and 73rd, respectively, in Perfect Game's national top 100 last year. Their only losses came against Five Star - Jones and West Raleigh Blue, giving them a total of 18 games against state or nationally ranked opponents. With that kind of resume, it's hard to feel good about not ranking the Nationals #1 but we hope to see these guys go head-to-head this spring.
  3. SBA Nationals
    The Nationals are right behind our top two in this age group. They finished the fall with a 12-2 overall record. They notched 3 wins over ranked teams from North Carolina including a win over #4 Carolina Five Star - Jones, a win over #14 LBC Thunder, and a win over #15 Carolina Bearcats. They also had two wins over South Carolina #1 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley and 5 wins against 12u teams. In addition, their only losses of the fall season came against 12u #3 Dirtbags Black and 12u #8 MPC. As noted above, we really hope to see the top 3 teams in this age group have some head-to-head battles, because they are all excellent teams and the class of the 11u age group right now.
  4. Five Star Carolina - Jones
    At first glance it might seem odd to have a team with an 8-7 record come in at #4. However one look at the Five Star's schedule is all that is needed to see why this group should be considered among the best 11u teams in North Carolina. Every single game they played this fall came against a ranked team or a 12u team - a feat no other team in this age group can claim. In total, they notched 2 wins over 12u teams 6 wins over ranked 11u teams (#2 Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro, #8 Dirtbags Black (x3), and #9 Carolina Blue Trifecta (x2). Of their 7 losses, all came against ranked teams (SC #1 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley, #2 Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro, #3 SBA Nationals, #5 West Raleigh Blue, #9 Carolina Blue Trifecta, and #12 SBA Americans.
  5. West Raleigh Blue
    West Raleigh finished the fall with an overall record of 9-4. They had a total of 6 wins over ranked teams, including wins over #2 Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro, #4 Five Star Carolina - Jones, #12 SBA Americans, #16 Athlete's Lab, and SC #9 SC Warhawks - Drake. All 4 of their losses came against ranked opponents including Park Sharon - Pirro (x2), #8 Dirtbags Black, and SC #1 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley. Currently West Raleigh is just behind our top 4, although they and Five Star - Jones aren't separated by much. It will be a shame waiting until the summer to see these guys in action against the best travel ball teams again.

 

 

  1. Coastal Cyclones
    The Coastal Cyclones finished the fall with an overall record of 11-1. 7 of their 11 wins came against 12u competition with another coming against #7 Rock Solid Red. In addition, their only loss came against a 12u team. The only thing keeping the Cyclones moving up higher in our rankings was a lack of games against other top 11u competition relative to the teams ranked above them.
  2. Rock Solid Red
    Rock Solid Red posted a record of 14-4 this fall. They played a total of 10 games against 12u teams, scoring 8 total wins against two losses. Their other two losses came against #1 SBA Futures, in a game in which they gave up 6 runs in the top of the last inning to lose 9-4, and against #6 Coastal Cyclones.
  3. Dirtbags Black
    The Dirtbags might be another surprise to some this high in rankings after they finished with a 10-13 overall record this fall. Similar to several other teams in this age group, despite their less than stellar record, their competition level was excellent and suggested to us they belong among the top teams in the state. They scored 3 wins over 12u teams as well as wins over #5 West Raleigh Blue, #10 Greenville Athletics - Scott, and two wins over #20 East Carolina Tribe - Brannan. In addition, of their 13 losses, 3 came against 12u teams, another came against SC #1 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley, two came against #2 Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro, 3 came against #4 Five Star Carolina - Jones, and two more came at the hands of East Carolina Tribe - Brannan. In total, the Dirtbags played a total of 17 games against ranked teams and/or 12u competition.
  4. Carolina Blue Trifecta
    Carolina Blue Trifecta finished off the fall with an overall record of 15-7. Carolina Blue had 3 wins over ranked NC teams (#4 Five Star Carolina - Jones, #12 SBA Americans, and #15 Carolina Bearcats), a win over SC #2 Grey Sox, and a win over nationally ranked Remix Rip City (GA). They also had losses against Park Sharon - Pirro, Five Star - Jones (x2), the #1 team in SC Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley, and Remix Rip City.
  5. Greenville Athletics - Scott
    Greenville Athletics posted a 9-3 overall record this fall. Among their wins, Greenville Athletics scored victories over #8 Dirtbags Black and #20 East Carolina Tribe - Brannan. They also had losses to SC #1 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley and Dirtbags Black this fall season for a total of 4 of their 12 games against ranked opponents.

 

 

  1. Summerfield Stars
    The Summerfield Stars finished the fall with an overall record of 17-5-1. They highlighted their fall with a win over #13 Carolina Rockies - Stanton as well as one win against 12u  competition. Two of their losses came against 12u teams and they also had a loss against #12 SBA Americans in addition to a tie against a 12u team.
  2. SBA Americans
    The Americans posted a 12-5 record overall this fall season. This included 4 wins over ranked teams including wins over #4 Five Star Carolina - Jones, #9 Carolina Blue Trifecta, #11 Summerfield Stars, and #16 Athlete's Lab. 4 of their 5 losses came against ranked teams as well, including losses to #2 Park Sharon Nationals - Pirro, #5 West Raleigh Blue, and Carolina Blue Trifecta. The Americans were a very competitive team this fall, and we'd expect them to continue to climb the rankings in 2020.
  3. Carolina Rockies - Stanton
    The Rockies finished the season with an outstanding 20-4 record. We weren't able to move the Rockies much higher in our rankings, however, because they did not have any wins over ranked NC teams this fall. They did have a win over our #6 team in South Carolina, PRO Prodigy, as well as a win over Mountain Region #4 Venom Stars. They also had losses to both the #11 Summerfield Stars and SC #2 Grey Sox.
  4. LBC Thunder
    The Thunder went 21-5 overall this fall. They notched 3 wins over ranked teams including two wins over #15 Carolina Bearcats and a win over #19 Roberson RAMblers. Of their 5 losses, one came against the Bearcats with another coming against SC #1 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley.
  5. Carolina Bearcats
    The Bearcats played a total of 36 games this fall, going an outstanding 26-10 overall. They had a win over #14 LBC Thunder to highlight their fall season. Of their 10 losses, two against SC #1 Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley, #9 Carolina Blue Trifecta, #12 SBA Americans, and #14 LBC Thunder (x2).

 

 

  1. Athletes Lab
    Athletes Lab finished the fall with an overall record of 20-5. Although they did not have any wins over ranked teams from North Carolina, Athletes Lab had 4 wins over ranked teams from South Carolina including #2 Grey Sox, #4 Carolina Yard Dawgs Elite, #6 PRO Prodigy, and #7 Greenville Warriors. Of their 5 losses, two came against the Grey Sox and another came at the hands of #5 West Raleigh Blue.
  2. Garner Royals
    The Royals went an impressive 21-4 overall this fall. They had two wins over #18 Smash Baseball and two wins over 12u teams to highlight their fall. They also had one loss against a ranked team (Smash Baseball). This is a team that could also move up the rankings in 2020 with some more games against the top competition.
  3. Smash Baseball
    The Smash finished with an overall record of 13-4 this fall. They played a total of 3 games against ranked opponents, going 1-2 against #17 Garner Royals overall this fall.
  4. Roberson RAMblers
    The RAMblers were an impressive 20-3-1 this fall season. Their biggest win of the fall came against SC #7 Greenville Warriors, but they also had a 2-1 record against Mountain Region #5 Haywood Havoc. In addition to their loss against the Havoc, the RAMblers also had a loss against SC #6 PRO Prodigy.
  5. East Carolina Tribe - Brannan
    The Tribe finished with an overall record of 6-10 this fall. This may not seem to be the record of one of the top 20 teams in North Carolina, however the Tribe posted a number of nice wins to support their inclusion in the rankings. They had two wins over #8 Dirtbags Black. The Tribe also posted a 6-5 record against 11u competition this fall, with 4 of their losses coming against 12u teams. In addition, they had losses against #5 West Raleigh Blue, Dirtbags Black, and #10 Greenville Athletics - Scott.