The first big event of the fall season took placed this past weekend with the Perfect Game Coastal Fall Elite Championship. Team from 10u-12u competed, with some of the very best teams in North Carolina in action. We witnessed some great competition including one of the most anticipated match ups in a long time with 12u Canes Baseball NC - Pirro and the SBA Futures going at it. It turned out to be a great weekend for Showcase Baseball Academy, with their teams taking titles at 10u, 11u, and 12u. Here we recap the PG Coastal Fall Elite Championship from this past weekend.
10u
8 total teams battled it out in the 10u division in Huntersville this past weekend, including teams who finished #2 (SBA Futures), #3 (Five Star Carolina - Secrist), #9 (Spartans - Mullins), #11 (West Raleigh Blue), #16 (Canes Baseball NC - Tyson), #17 (MARA Cobras), and #18 (Leland Lugnits) in our final 9u rankings in 2019-2020. The event was structured as a 3-game pool play event, with teams split into 2 pools. The top record in each pool then played in a championship game on Sunday. In pool A, the SBA Futures rolled into the finals after wins over Luckies Blaze (7-3), Canes Baseball NC - Tyson (7-6), and West Raleigh Blue (15-3). In pool B, the MARA Cobras went 3-0 on their way to the title game with a 7-1 win over Spartans - Mullins, a 5-0 win over Five Star Carolina - Secrist, and a 13-12 win over the Lugnuts. In the finals, it was all SBA as they rolled to an 8-1 win over the Cobras to take home the 10u title in Huntersville.
11u
9 teams competed in the 11u division in Huntersville this past weekend. This included teams ranked #1 (SBA Futures), #2 (Dirtbags Black), #3 (Rawlings Prospects NC - Piscorik), #4 (LBC Swarm), #6 (NCDB Rivercats Sandlot), #7 (SBA Nationals), #8 (Carolina Rockies - Sullivan), #14 (Sandhills Scrappers), and #23 (West Raleigh Blue) in our final 2019-2020 rankings for this age group. In pool A, the SBA Futures went 2-0 with wins over Carolina Rockies - Sullivan and West Raleigh Blue. In pool B, the SBA Nationals finished in the #1 spot, after all 3 teams went 1-1. The Nationals fell 6-0 against Dirtbags Black before scoring a 6-2 win over the NCDB Rivercats. The Rivercats topped the Dirtbags in their other pool play game. This earned the Rivercats a spot in the 5-team championship bracket, in addition to the Nationals. In pool C, the Rawlings Prospects earned the #2 seed in the championship bracket after they posted an 11-3 win over the Sandhills Scrappers and a a 3-1 win over the LBC Swarm. The Scrappers earned the 5th and final spot in the championship bracket with a 9-3 win over the Swarm.
In the #4/5 play-in game, the Rivercats punched their ticket to the semifinals with a 7-2 win over the Scrappers. In the semifinals, the SBA Futures rolled to a 12-0 win over the Rivercats while the Nationals edged the Rawlings Prospects in a tight 2-1 contest to set up an all-SBA Finals. In a great finals match up, the Futures fell behind 4-0 in the first inning. Batting in the home-half, the Futures added 2 in the 2nd, and 2 more in the 5th inning to tie the game at 4. They held the Nationals scoreless in the top of the 6th inning and won the game in unfortunate fashion on a walk off hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded to edge the Nationals 5-4 in a great early fall season game.
12u
18 teams made entered the fray this weekend in the 12u age group in Huntersville. This included teams who finished #2 (Canes Baseball NC - Pirro), #3 (SBA Futures), #4 (Five Star Carolina Elite), #5 (Carolina Blue Trifecta), #7 (West Raleigh Blue), #11 (Rock Solid Red), #12 (Carolina Rockies - Stanton), #15 (LBC Thunder), #20 (Pfafftown Raiders), and #21 (MARA Thunder) in our 2019-2020 rankings for this age group. Team were divided into 6 pools, with the 6 pool champions and 2 wild-card teams earning spots in the championship bracket. In pool A, Canes Baseball NC - Pirro earned the #1 seed for bracket play with a 9-1 win over Warriors Baseball and a 17-0 win over the Carolina Yarddawgs (SC). Warriors Baseball was able to secure a wild card spot in the championship bracket with a 7-3 win over the Carolina Yarddawgs in their other pool play game. In pool B, the SBA Futures earned the #2 seed with a 5-2 win over Diamond Deacons 2027 and a 12-0 win over Pfafftown Raiders 2027. Five Star Carolina Elite went 2-0 in pool C with a 10-2 win over Carolina Rockies - Sullivan and a 10-2 win over Jr Mavz Red (SC). In pool C, Carolina High Speed went 2-0, edging Carolina Blue Trifecta 5-4 and rolling to a 14-3 win over the Summerfield Stars. Carolina Blue Trifecta earned the 8th and final spot in the championship bracket with a 7-4 win over the Summerfield Stars in their other pool play game. In pool E, Rock Solid Red earned the top spot after going 1-0-1 in pool play. They defeated the MARA Thunder 10-3 before tying Canes Baseball NC - Wiggins 1-1. West Raleigh earned the crown in pool F, going 2-0 with a 12-3 win over Park Sharon Nationals - Garcia and an 8-0 win over the LBC Thunder.
In the quarterfinals on Sunday, Canes - Pirro topped Carolina Blue Trifecta 4-2, Carolina High Speed knocked off Five Star Carolina Elite 10-6, Rock Solid Red got past West Raleigh Blue 8-5, and the SBA Futures blanked Warriors Baseball 5-0. In the semifinals, Canes - Pirro pulled away from Carolina High Speed for an 11-5 win while the SBA Futures rode steady pitching and defense to a 6-2 win over Rock Solid Red. In the finals, SBA Futures plated a run in the top of the 4th inning and that was all they needed to score a nail-biting 1-0 win over Canes - Pirro in a game that ended with Canes - Pirro having the bases loaded in the bottom of the last inning.