12u End of Season Rankings Recap 2019-2020

The 12u age group was an extremely competitive age group at the top with 4 teams ranked in the top 26 of Perfect Game's national 12u rankings, and 5 total teams in the top 100. Led by national #7, Rawlings Prospects NC, Dirtbags Black (#13), SBA Futures (#23), Canes Baseball NC - Foster (#26), and the NCDB Rivercats (#93) all made an appearance in PG's national rankings. Although we had the teams in a slightly different order, there was no doubt the Rawlings Prospects were the top dog in this age group this past year. Here we recap an extremely competitive 12u age group in North Carolina.

1. Rawlings Prospects NC
   The Rawlings Prospects put together a remarkable season on their way to the #1 ranking in our 12u state rankings. They finished the year with an overall record of 52-12-1, and finished 7th in the country in Perfect Game's 12u national rankings. They made an impressive run in the Perfect Game National World Series, losing to eventual champion and national #1 Texas Canes Elite in the semifinals. They also won USSSA Super NITs in back-to-back weekends this spring/summer. They posted an astounding 15 wins against teams in PG's 12u national rankings, including wins over #5 Twelve Blue (TX), #8 East Cobb Astros Orange (GA), #9 Motor City Hit Dogs (MI; x2), #13 Dirtbags Black, #17 Line Drive Black (GA), #23 SBA Futures (x4), #26 Canes Baseball NC - Foster, #43 Five Star National (GA), #49 Georgia Bandits, #63 MC Bulldogs (FL), and #93 NCDB Rivercats. They also had a win over national honorable mention Five Star Vols (TN) as well as 9 other wins over teams ranked in North Carolina including #5 Mission Baseball Gold, #7 Carolina Rockies - Culler, #8 DPC Academy Gold, #9 Dirtbags East (x3), #11 CBA Copperheads Black, #19 910 Select, and #21 Wendell Knights. Of their 12 losses, 7 came against nationally ranked teams, with two more coming against 12u competition.
2. Canes Baseball NC - Foster
   Canes - Foster have been near the top of rankings in this age group for as long as we have been doing this, and this year was no different. They posted an overall record of 38-5-1 this past year, including a mark of 23-2-1 this spring/summer. They played a bit of an unusual schedule for this group, almost exclusively playing up on the bigger field in the 13u age group this summer. In total, they notched 16 wins over 13u teams, with 3 of their 5 total losses also coming against 13u teams. They had 7 total wins over rationally ranked teams, including #4 FCA Blueclaws (FL), #7 Rawlings Prospects, #23 SBA Futures (x2), #73 Canes Baseball SC - Staats (x2), and #93 NCDB Rivercats. The Canes also had 3 other wins over teams ranked in North Carolina including #8 DPC Academy Gold and #21 Wendell Knights (x2). In addition to 3 losses against 13u teams, their two other losses came at the hands of nationally ranked 12u teams. Their outstanding season earned the Canes the #26 spot in PG's national rankings. For the year, the Canes finished with a 1-1-1 record against #1 Rawlings Prospects NC indicating how close these two teams were.
3. Dirtbags Black
   The Dirtbags finished the year with an overall record of 39-11-2, including a record of 23-6-1 this spring/summer. Similar to the Rawlings Prospects, the Dirtbags played a largely national scheduled, notching 10 wins over nationally ranked opponents including wins over #9 Motor City Hit Dogs (MI), #14 I AM Baseball (FL), #23 SBA Futures (x3), #28 Jupiter Hammerheads (FL), #39 Dykstra Baseball (CA), #46 NorEast Clippers (NY), and #85 Bombsquad (FL). They also had two wins over national honor roll member King Sluggers (FL). In addition to wins over nationally ranked opponents, the Dirtbags also had 6 total wins over teams ranked in North Carolina including #5 Mission Baseball Gold, #7 Carolina Rockies - Culler, #12 Luckies Platinum, #22 MPC, and #23 Athlete's Advantage Yard Goats. Of their 11 losses, 8 came against nationally ranked opponents. They finished runner-up at the Perfect Game Fall National World Series and won their pool at the PG National World Series this summer. This incredible season earned the Dirtbags the #13 ranking in PG's national rankings.
4. NCDB Rivercats
   The Rivercats finished with an overall record of 35-16-2 this past year. They were ranked 93rd in PG's end-of-summer 12u national rankings after a strong showing this spring/summer. This included 4 wins over nationally ranked opponents including #7 Rawlings Prospects NC, #13 Dirtbags Black, #38 Traction Canes Black (LA), and #61 Comanche Baseball. They also had a win over national honorable mention awardee East Coast Snipers (SC) as well as 8 other wins over ranked teams in North Carolina including #7 Carolina Rockies - Culler, #8 DPC Academy Gold (x2), #9 Dirtbags East (x2), #12 Luckies Platinum (x2), and #22 MPC. Impressively, the Rivercats had 9 wins over teams in our final top 12 in the 12u age group in NC. Of their losses, 6 came against nationally ranked opponents with another 5 coming against teams ranked in the top 11 in NC. They finished the year with a 1-1 record against #1 Rawlings Prospects NC, an 0-1 record against #2 Canes Baseball NC - Foster, and a 1-0-1 record against #3 Dirtbags Black. Additionally, the Rivercats posted a record of 6-3 playing up at the 13u age group this summer.
5. Mission Baseball Gold
   Mission Baseball Gold was one of the top performers in North Carolina all year. They finished with an overall record of 44-10-1 this year, including a mark of 26-5-1 this spring/summer. Among those 44 wins, Mission scored 3 wins over nationally ranked teams (#7 Rawlings Prospects and #23 SBA Futures [x2]). They also had 8 other wins against ranked teams in North Carolina including #10 CBC, #11 CBA Copperheads Black, #13 SBA Senators (x3), #15 Carolina Regulators, #22 MPC, and #24 Athletes Lab. Of their losses, 4 came against nationally ranked opponents with another to an opponent ranked in the top 10 in North Carolina. We had some difficulty separating the Rivercats and Mission Baseball as both teams had excellent years, however the number of results the Rivercats had against state and nationally ranked competition won out in our assessment.