It was a great end-of-season event for the AAU in Oxford. Although the temperatures were a bit on the cool side, all age groups were able to complete play and there were some strong performances by several teams across the different age groups. Congrats to the new Winter World Series champions, and to all teams in action this past weekend, you’ve earned a few months of rest before the Spring season gets rolling again!
8u
The Youngsville Phantoms were able to top the Granville Rays in a best-of-three series, despite dropping the opening game 10-9. The Phantoms bounced back with a 14-4 victory in game 2. In game 3, the Phantoms again jumped all over the Rays and were able put the Rays away with a 17-7 win.
9u
Our top ranked team in the field, #5 Carolina Titans, got their pool play started in dominating fashion with a 21-1 win over the Carolina Flash. They followed that up with a 12-5 win over MVP Red to finish with the #2 seed and a bye in bracket play. Haywood Havoc earned the #1 seed for bracket play, going 2-0 in pool play with a 14-2 win over the South Granville Red Sox and a 15-3 win over the Carolina Tide. #12 Smash Baseball went 1-1 in pool play with an 8-4 win over the Carolina Flash and an 11-5 loss to MVP Red, who also finished 1-1 in pool play. In bracket play, Rise Lebron (VA) fell to Smash Baseball 13-2, while the Titans edged out MVP Red 9-8 to earn a trip to the semifinals. In the other quarterfinals games, the Carolina Thunder rolled over the North Wake Warriors 10-0 while the Haywood Havoc blasted D1 performance 17-2. In the semifinals, the Titans continued their strong run with another close win, this time by the score of 10-8 over Smash Baseball, while the Haywood Havoc won 10-9 on a walk-off in the bottom of the 7th over the Carolina Thunder. In the finals, the Carolina Titans played up to their ranking with an 8-3 win over the Havoc to secure the 9u title.
10u
AAA
#3 Clayton Fusion were victims of a 15-9 upset at the hands of the #17 Carolina Thunder in their first pool play game. They bounced back in their second pool play game with a 16-2 win over the DC Vipers. The Thunder finished 2-0 in pool play with a 15-12 barnburner against the North Wake Elite, in addition to their win over the Fusion. #11 Youngsville got their weekend off to a rough start going 0-2 in pool play with an 8-5 loss to the Alamance Patriots and a 10-3 loss to #14 Dirtbags Black. The Patriots and the Dirtbags were both 2-0 in pool play, with Alamance scoring a 14-7 win over the North Wake Elite and the Dirtbags topping the DC Vipers 15-7 in their other pool play games. The Dirtbags earned the #1 seed and a bye in bracket play with their 10 runs allowed in pool play. In bracket play, the Fusion edged the Youngsville Heat 7-5, the Carolina Thunder beat the North Wake Elite 10-6, and the Alamance Patriots beat the DC Vipers 6-3. In two great semifinal games, the Fusion edged out Dirtbags Black 4-2, while the Patriots topped snuck past the Thunder 6-5 to reach the finals. In the finals, the Fusion rolled to a 13-4 win and the 10u AAA WWS championship.
AA
In the 10u AA division, four teams went 2-0 in pool play. The Southside Panthers beat D1 Performance 12-3 and edged the TSI Titans Elite (VA) 5-4, the Carolina Titans dominated both the Fuquay Titans (18-4) and the Sanford Buzz (18-4), the Randolph Regulators beat the Carolina Dodgers 12-5 and Rock Solid Blue 22-4, and the Carolina Tide scored a 15-13 win over the Sanford Buzz and a 7-3 win over the Carolina Dodgers. In the quarterfinals, Big Cats Baseball topped the Regulators 6-2, the Carolina Titans rolled over D1 Performance 11-1, TSI Titans Elite (VA) blanked the Carolina Tide 3-0, and the Southside Panthers edged out the Fuquay Titans 3-1. In the semifinals, the Carolina Titans beat Big Cats 9-4 while TSI Titans Elite dominated the Southside Panthers 12-2 in a rematch of their pool play game. In a great finals matchup, the Carolina Titans edged out a 9-8 win over TSI Titans Elite to take home the AA title.
11u
In our preview, we pointed to the SP Vipers as a team that despite their 10-9 record in the fall had several wins over top 20 opponents and could be a team to beat this weekend in the 11u division. Things got off to a slow start for the Vipers as they went 0-2 in pool play with a 9-3 loss to Rock Solid Red and a 15-3 loss to the Carolina Titans. The Titans were 2-0 in pool play with an 11-1 win over Rock Solid Red in addition to their win over the Vipers. The HYAA Hawks were also 2-0 in pool play with a 12-2 win over Heavy Hitters and a 7-4 win over MVP Athletics Black. The Durham Blues were also 2-0 with a 8-6 win over Heavy Hitters and a 9-3 win over Dirtbags Camo. The North Wake Shockwave finished 2-0 in pool play, including a 9-4 win over the GCAA Wildcats Blue and a 10-7 win over Diamond Hawks. FBI Fungo was also 2-0 with a 15-5 win over the Zebulon Cougars and a 16-0 win against the Carolina Braves. In the quarterfinals, Dirtbags Camo blasted the HYAA Hawks 17-4, FBI Fungo edged out the GCAA Wildcats Blue 5-3, the Durham Blues beat the North Wake Shockwave 12-6, and Rock Solid Red beat the Carolina Titans 11-7 in a rematch of their pool play game. In the semifinals, Dirtbags Camo topped FBI Fungo 9-3 while Rock Solid Red edged the Durham Blues 4-3. In the finals, Rock Solid Red rolled all over Dirtbags Camp to win 17-4 and capture the 11u title.
12u
AAA
#9 Carolina Thunder were our top-ranked team in the field and started pool play 1-1 with a 7-2 win over #10 Rawlings Prospects NC and a 12-2 loss to Rock Solid Red. The Prospects went 0-2 in pool play with a 4-1 loss to D1 Performance Blue in addition to their loss to the Thunder. The Carolina Wildcards opened in dominating fashion and earned the #1 seed for bracket play with a 12-1 win over Rock Solid Red and a 13-2 win over PBC, who was 1-1 in pool play with a 13-3 win over D1 Performance Blue in addition to their loss to the Wildcards. On Sunday, Rock Solid Red opened up bracket play with a 3-1 win over the Prospects, while the Carolina Thunder edged out PBC 6-5. In the semifinals, Rock Solid Red topped D1 Performance Blue 6-3 while the Carolina Thunder blanked the Wildcards 5-0. In the finals, it was rematch of their pool play game and again Rock Solid Red came out on top with a 7-1 in over the Carolina Thunder.
AA
The Phoenix Elite opened pool play 2-0 with wins over the Durham Blues (4-2) and the Cary Wildcats (13-8). The Youngsville Punishers also went 2-0 with a 12-0 win over D1 Performance Orange and a 13-2 win over the Cary Wildcats. On Sunday, D1 Performance Orange topped the Cary Wildcats 3-0 to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, #1 seed Youngsville Punishers rolled over D1 Performance Orange 13-3 while the Phoenix Elite topped the Durham Blues 14-4. In the finals, the Punishers used great defense and a 1-hitter by their pitcher to edge Phoenix Elite 2-1 and win the AA championship.
13u
#10 Diamond Thieves were the top ranked team in the 13u field and went 2-0 in pool play with a 6-2 win over the OC Crushers and a 10-3 win over the Richmond Hornets Orange (VA). The Hornets finished 0-2 in pool play with a 23-2 loss to GBI Express Black in addition to their loss to the Diamond Thieves. GBI Express Black was also 2-0 in pool play with a 12-9 win over the OC Crushers, who finished 0-2 in pool play. The Carolina Prospects went 2-0 in pool play with a 4-3 win over the North Wake Bandits and a 14-1 win over D1 Performance. In Gold bracket play, the Diamond Thieves topped GBI Express 9-1 and the Carolina Prospects blanked D1 Performance 12-0 to reach the finals. In the finals, the Diamond Thieves edged out the Carolina Prospects 8-6 to finished the weekend 4-0 and take home the 13u title.