USSSA was able to get games in at the Charlotte site this past weekend, and there were no shortage of ranked teams in action. In total, 12 ranked teams from North Carolina and 2 from South Carolina took part in the fields in 4 age groups in Charlotte. There were several top 10 and top 20 match ups as well as a big statement by a newcomer in the 9u age group. Here's our recap of last weekend's USSSA games from North Carolina.
Charlotte
9u
The 9u age group featured 6 teams ranked in North Carolina, including #7 5 Star Carolina - Secrist, #10 SBA Spinners, #12 Dirtbags LKN, #14 Mission Baseball - Smith, #23 Union County Crush - Roadcap, and #25 DB Raptors among the 8 teams in the field. Dirtbags LKN and the Carolina Revolution led the way on Saturday with both finishing with 2-0 records. The Dirtbags scored a 10-3 win over #23 Union County Crush - Roadcap and an 8-1 win over Tomberlin Blue Rays - Efird in pool play, while the Revolution notched a 5-1 win over Mission - Smith and a 6-5 win over the SBA Spinners in their pool play games on Saturday. 5 Star - Secrist finished with the 3rd seed for Sunday, going 1-0-1 in pool play with a 5-2 win over Mission - Smith and a 13-13 tie against the SBA Spinners. The 4th and final spot in the Gold bracket went to Union County Crush - Roadcap who topped the DB Raptors 4-3 in their other pool play game.
In the gold bracket semifinals on Sunday, the Revolution got past 5 Star - Secrist by the score of 7-4 and Dirtbags LKN notched a 9-1 win over Crush - Roadcap. In the finals, the Carolina Revolution posted the first big statement of the 9u season since the return of baseball, scoring a 13-8 win over Dirtbags LKN. For the weekend, the Revolution went 4-0 with wins over teams ranked #7, 10,12, and 14 in our NC rankings.
10u
The 10u age division was played as a 1-day event on Sunday between North Carolina #3 Triple Crown Lookouts, #15 Kings Mountain Storm, and South Carolina #2 Team 24 Gamecocks - Clayton. In pool play, the Lookouts and Gamecocks tied one another 4-4, and scored 22-3 and 15-6 wins over Kings Mountain, respectively, to set up a rematch in the finals. In the finals, the Gamecocks took home the rubber match, nothing a 5-1 win over the Triple Crown Lookouts.
11u
The 11u age group featured 11 teams, including #4 Five Star Carolina - Elite (new team, largely made up of players from previous #4 Five Star Carolina - Jones), #17 Athletes Lab, and #19 Union County Crush - Walker. Five Star Elite, Union County Crush, and the LKN Hurricanes led the way in pool play, each going 2-0 on Saturday. Five Star Elite defeated SBA - Callahan 9-0 before topping SBA LKN Mustangs by the score of 11-6. The Union County Crush scored a 6-3 win over Athletes Lab in an "early season" match up of ranked teams, and rolled to an 11-1 win over the Kernersville Cyclones. Athletes Lab defeated the Carolina Combat 9-1 in their other pool play game. The final undefeated team in pool play was the LKN Hurricanes who edged GBG Carolina 9-8 and scored a 1-run 5-4 win over the Bulldogs.
In the bracket play play-in games, the LKN Hurricanes edged the Bulldogs 8-7 and Athletes Lab scored a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hustle. In the semifinals, Five Star Elite defeated the Hurricanes 6-4 and the Union County Crush notched a 5-2 win over Athletes Lab. In the finals, Five Star Carolina - Elite defeated Union County Crush - Walker 13-2 to finish the weekend with a 4-0 record.
12u
North Carolina #7 Carolina Rockies - Culler went 2-0 in pool play in this one-day event, scoring an 8-6 win over the 7th ranked team in South Carolina, Team 24 Gamecocks - Bailey, and a 5-0 win over EventWitness Greenades. Team 24 scored a 24-1 win over the Greenades in their other pool play game to set up a rematch between the Rockies and Team 24. In the finals, Team 24 was able to secure a 9-7 win over the Rockies to take home the 12u title in this one-day event.