9u End of Season Rankings Recap 2017-2018

The 9u age group witnessed perhaps the best season by any team in any age group in North Carolina this year with that of the Park Sharon Nationals. They were dominant from start to finish, and ended their 9u campaign with a championship at the Wilson Demarini USSSA Elite World Series against many of the best teams in the country. Beyond Park Sharon, the spring saw significant change in our rankings, as 10 new teams finished in our top 20 this spring compared to the end-of-fall rankings. Here's some highlights from the teams who made our top 20.

 

  1. Park Sharon Nationals

    There's really no debate here. Park Sharon is as good as it gets in youth baseball in North Carolina. They finished 45-5-1 this spring, and 66-8-1 overall as a 9u team this past year. The Nationals went 4-0 against #2 SBA Canes - Simmons and of their 5 losses this spring, only two came against 9u competition. Amazingly, both those losses came against the East Cobb Astros. The Nationals capped off an unbelievable year with a championship at the USSSA Wilson Demarini Elite World Series in Viera, Florida, in which they defeated some of the very best teams in the entire country. More than any team in any other age group, the Nationals truly are in a class by themselves right now in the 9u age group.

  2. SBA Canes - Simmons

    The Canes were one of the biggest surprises of the spring. Coming into the spring unranked, the Canes started to make big statements early with two wins over ranked teams in late February, and posted an impressive 48-8 record this spring. 4 of their 8 losses came against #1 Park Sharon Nationals. Against one of the toughest 9u schedules in the state, Canes - Simmons scored a win against #3 Dirtbags Black, 3 wins against #4 Carolina Blue Mizuno, 5 wins against #5 SBA Canes - Pitts, a win against #10 Piedmont Panthers, and a win against 10u #17 Carolina Havoc.

  3. Dirtbags Black

    Dirtbags Black turned in one of the more impressive spring runs of any team in the 9u age group. After a 22-6-1 fall had them enter the spring season #2 in the state, they posted a 19-5 record for the spring season (41-11-1 overall) including a tournament championship at the Triple Crown Border Wars. During the spring campaign, they scored a win over #4 Carolina Blue Mizuno, two wins over #6 West Raleigh Blue, a win over #9 Dirtbags East, a win over #12 Coastal Cyclones, two wins over #13 Neuse River Broncos, a win over #14 Smash Baseball, and a win over #17 NCDB Rivercats.

  4. Carolina Blue Mizuno

    Carolina Blue Mizuno was another surprise team this spring, who came into the spring season unranked. They posted a 24-9 record this spring to cement their status amongst the top teams in the state. Along they way, they notched two wins over #5 SBA Canes - Pitts, a win over #10 Piedmont Panthers, a win over #18 East Rowan - Smith, and a win over the East Cobb Astros (GA), who defeated #1 Park Sharon Nationals twice this spring.

 

 

  1. SBA Canes - Pitts

    SBA Canes - Pitts, previously known as the Carolina Arsenal, entered the spring season unranked as well. They took little time making a name for themselves and entered our rankings for the first time on 3/21. They posted a 31-22-2 record this spring, facing some excellent competition along the way, and finished 57-30-2 overall as a 9u team. They finished the spring season with a win over #2 SBA Canes - Simmons, a win over #4 Carolina Blue Mizuno, and a win over Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley (SC), one of the best teams in South Carolina.

  2. West Raleigh Blue

    West Raleigh Blue posted an outstanding 35-4 record across all play between fall and spring, including a 22-2 record this spring. Interestingly, all 4 of their losses came against #3 Dirtbags Black. Among their many wins, West Raleigh scored two wins over #13 Neuse River Broncos, a win over #14 Smash Baseball, and a win over #17 NCDB Rivercats.

  3. Lake Norman Thunder

    The Lake Norman Thunder posted an outstanding 46-13 in Top Gun competition across the fall and spring this past year. In those 46 wins, they scored some impressive victories including two wins over #15 Carolina Titans, 3 wins over #18 East Rowan - Smith, and a win over #19 Stealth Elite Eagles. They also posted two wins over then-unranked, but now #2 SBA Canes - Simmons in the fall season.

  4. Dirtbags East

    The Dirtbags posted a 27-9 record in Top Gun play and as best as we can gather a 34-11 overall over the past year (they did play at the Crystal Coast Wood Bat World Series, but we cannot locate final results from that event). They ended their spring in impressive fashion, going 6-0 and winning the D2 Top Gun Summer World Series, including a win over #15 Carolina Titans in the finals. They also notched a win over #3 Dirtbags Black, a win over #12 Neuse River Broncos, and two wins over #13 Smash Baseball this spring.

 

 

  1. Piedmont Panthers

    The Piedmont Panthers entered the spring as one of the top teams in the state after posting a 23-1 record in the fall. For them, there was no let down in the spring as they rolled to a 23-6 spring record, and 46-7 record overall. Along the way, they notched wins over #4 Carolina Blue Mizuno and #18 East Rowan Smith this spring, and 3 wins over #7 Lake Norman Thunder this past fall.

  2. Five Star Carolina - Hilton

    Five Star Carolina - Hilton posted a record of 35-12-1 overall this past fall and spring. They entered the spring ranked #6 after a 16-5 fall included 4 wins over #14 Southwest Colts. This spring they went 19-7-1, but fell a bit in our rankings as they did not defeat a ranked team this spring. Nevertheless, we still feel Five Star is one of the top 20 teams in the state of North Carolina and overall produced an outstanding 9u season.

  3. Coastal Cyclones

    The Coastal Cyclones have been one of the more impressive teams in the 9u age group, posting a 31-5 record this spring after entering the spring season unranked. Although their level of competition was not the same of some of the teams we have ranked higher, they did score wins over #13 Smash Baseball and Team 24 Gamecocks - Ashley (SC), who as we mentioned before is one of the top teams in South Carolina.

  4. Neuse River Broncos

    The Broncos primarily (if not exclusively) played their games in Top Gun events where they posted a combined 33-20 record between the fall and spring. Of their 10 losses this spring, 4 came at the 10u level. They played a very competitive schedule throughout and scored a win over #3 Dirtbags Black, a win over #8 Dirtbags East, a win over #13 Smash Baseball, and 3 wins over #17 NCDB Rivercats.

 

 

  1. Smash Baseball

    Smash Baseball proved to be one of the more streaky teams in the 9u age group this spring. They entered the spring #18 before dropping from the rankings early in the spring after some tough early losses. They rebounded impressively, however, apparently winning 19 straight games between March 10th and June 2nd. Although they did not perform as they hoped at the Top Gun Summer World Series, Smash still posted a 48-21 overall record and notched a win over #10 Five Star Carolina - Hilton, a win over #11 Coastal Cyclones, a win over #12 Neuse River Broncos, a win over #17 NCDB Rivercats, and a win over #20 HYAA Hawks this spring.

  2. Southwest Colts

    The Southwest Colts notched an impressive 35-4 overall record in AAU play this past year, and as best we can gather 36-7 overall record in travel ball play. Within AAU play, they were undefeated this spring, posting a 19-0 record. The difficulty in ranking a team like the Colts is apparent when you consider that they did not beat a single ranked team this spring, and only posted a single victory over a ranked team when they beat #18 East Rowan - Smith in the fall season. We've previously had the Colts higher in our rankings but decided to drop them a few spots to #14 as we reviewed their overall resume against the rest of the top 9u teams in North Carolina.

  3. Carolina Titans

    The Carolina Titans were a difficult team for us to rank throughout the 9u season. They entered the spring #5 in our rankings, after posting an 18-1 record in the fall, but hadn't faced the same level of competition as some of the rest of the top 10 and were viewed as an enigma. They performed well in the spring season going 21-10-3 and settled in at #15 in our rankings. Their lone win over a ranked team this spring came against #20 HYAA Hawks, but they did score wins over #13 Smash Baseball and #17 NCDB Rivercats in the fall season.

  4. Haywood Havoc

    The Haywood Havoc were another new team to enter our rankings this spring after posting a 29-6 record in the fall. They followed that up with a 26-15 record this spring to finish a combined 55-21 overall as a 9u team. They did not see the same level of competition as many others in our top 20, but did score a win over #9 Piedmont Panthers this spring and a win over #5 SBA Canes - Pitts in the fall season.

 

 

  1. NCDB Rivercats

    The NCDB Rivercats had an up-and-down spring season, but finished exceptionally strong to bounce back into our rankings after falling out of the rankings in mid June. They finished with an overall record of 42-22, and scored tournament wins at the Atlantic Coast Baseball Cap Classic and the 10u AAU Summer World Series going 11-2 across those two tournaments to close out their spring season. They scored a win over #20 HYAA Hawks this spring as well as 3 wins over #13 Smash Baseball and another win over the HYAA Hawks in the fall season.

  2. East Rowan - Smith

    East Rowan - Smith did not play the same volume of games as most of the rest of our top 20, but put up a 21-12-1 record against some impressive competition. Of their 7 losses this spring, 4 came against teams ranked inside our top 10. They also scored a win over the #7 Lake Norman Thunder to solidify their spot in the top 20.

  3. Stealth Elite Eagles

    The Stealth Elite Eagles were another newcomer to our rankings this spring, entering the top 20 for the first time in May. They posted a combined 29-18 record in Top Gun play and were much improved throughout the year, finishing 16-4 in their last 20 Top Gun games. Their run at the end of year was highlighted by a win over #9 Piedmont Panthers.

  4. HYAA Hawks

    The HYAA Hawks flew under the radar for most of the 9u season, but posted an impressive 29-11 record this spring, and 39-16 overall record. Their competition level stepped up this spring and they were able to score wins over #15 Carolina Titans this spring in addition to a win over #18 East Rowan - Smith this past fall.