It should be another great weekend of Top Gun baseball as the official tournaments get kicked off this weekend. Lots of great teams in action, so there should be some great baseball played across the state. Here’s a brief rundown of this weekend’s action.
Carrabus/Stanly Count
8u
There will be a handful of new teams including some 7u teams in this 8 team Saturday-only field. We’d expect the Tega Cay Titans (SC) to be tough competition on Saturday, and they’ll face the Anson Raptors and the Belmont Bandits. Many of these same teams will be in action again on Sunday.
9u
The Stanly County Renegades, Anson Baseball, and Inferno Baseball 8u will all go head-to-head in this three team field on Saturday. On Sunday, #15 Union County Crush – Walker will be in action and they’ll face Copperheads – Duke and the Carolina Combat.
10u
The 10u age group does not have any of our top 20 teams in the field on Saturday. It should be a good opportunity for these teams to shake off some winter rust. Many of these teams have faced on another before, so there should be some familiarity. CSA-Carrabus Chargers, the Panthers, and the Carolina Spinners look to be some of the top teams in the field. The Chargers will face Team Carolina and the Spinners, the Panthers will take on Bonecrushers and Team Carolina, and the Spinners will meet up with Crush – Homewood in addition to the Chargers. Many of these same teams will be in action again on Sunday.
11u
The Black Mambas and Carolina Fury – Matthews will play a double-header on Saturday in the 11u age group. Sunday will feature a larger division with 7 teams in action, including the Black Mambas. Dirtbags Gold will also be in action and will take on the Black Mambas and the Carrabus Knights.
12u
The 12u age group will only be in action on Sunday. #7 Carolina Chaos will be in action and will face the Harrisburg Hammerheads and Brohamer Baseball on Sunday. The Pro-Fit Spartans will also be in the 12u field and will go up against the Hammerheads and Crush – Devore on Sunday.
Cary
11u
Although none of our top 20 are in the 11u age group in Cary, there still should be some good competition in this 4 team field. The CB Kings will face the Riptide and the Carolina Pirates on Saturday. The South Wake Storm are also in the field and will also face the Riptide and the Pirates.
12u
The 12u age group will be a 5-team round robin format over two days, with each team playing one another once. The #14 Sanford Cobras will be the top-ranked team in the field, but they’ll face stiff competition with the New Bern Flames, Area Stars – Pete, CB Elite, and Rock Solid Red all in the field.
13u
Similar to the 12u age group, the 13u age group will be a 5-team round robin format over two days, with each team playing one another once. The Carolina Rattlers, Riptide, Holly Springs Rage, Carolina Makos, and South Wake Storm Red will all be in the 13u field this weekend. Of note, 13 #16 Carolina Naturals will be playing up in the 14u division this weekend.
Charlotte
9u
None of our top 20 will be in the Charlotte field this weekend. This should be a competitive division with both LKN Hurricanes – Mann and LKN Hurricanes – Phillips in action in Charlotte. Hurricanes – Mann will take on Storm and the OTK Saints, while Hurricanes – Phillips will face the OTK Saints and Rinaman 9u.
10u
None of our 10u top 20 are in the 10u field this weekend. The Belmont Bandits will look to continue the strong start to their spring season this weekend. They’ll start their weekend against Aces – Hartsell and the LKN Hurricanes.
11u
The 11u age group features a large, 12-team field with several of our top 20 in action. #13 Lake Norman Hurricanes, #14 Vision Bandits, and #15 Weddington Warriors are our top teams in this field. The Hurricanes will face an excellent Team USA Diamond King team and the Vision Bandits on Saturday. The Bandits will also take on the MCOC Miners on Saturday in addition to the Hurricanes. The Warriors will go up against the SBA Canes – Walker and the On Deck O’s on Saturday.
12u
Much like the 11u field, the 12u age group is a large, 10-team field. None of our top 20 teams are in the 12 field this weekend. The Piedmont Pirates will be a team to watch this spring. They’ll face the Mooresville Biscuits and the Belmont Bandits on Saturday. Carolina Prime 2024 should also be one of the top contenders in this field. They are matched up against Copperheads – Shabosky and Team 24 Gamecocks – Wilson.
13u
The 13u age division will be a three team double round robin format. Elite Baseball EBC, the Lake Wylie Warriors, and the Cyclones are the teams in the 13u field this weekend in Charlotte.
Fayetteville
9u
The 9u age group will be a 3-team double round robin format. The Carolina Armor, Cape Fear Elite EPJ, and Robeson Eliminators will be in action this weekend in Fayetteville.
10u
None of our top 20 will be in 10u field this weekend in Fayetteville. The Carolina Titans (SC) look to be the top team in the field and will take on Rock Solid Blue and Caroline Elite on Saturday. We’ll also be keeping an eye on the Area Stars – Stanton who topped 10u #12 Sandhills Stingrays last weekend. The Area Stars will face the Carolina Raiders and Rock Solid Blue on Saturday.
11u
#10 Team Ghost will be the highest ranked team in 11u age group in Fayetteville this weekend. They’ll go up against the NSA Knights and Area Stars – Derick on Saturday. #19 NSA Thunder are also in this field. They’ll look to bounce back 0-4 weekend at the Free Umpire Training scrimmages last weekend. They’ll face the Raptors and the Diamond Dawgs on Saturday.
12u
None of our top 20 12u teams are in the field in Fayetteville this weekend. This should make for some good competition and a fairly wide open age division. The Carolina Wildcards had a tough weekend at the Umpire Training scrimmages, but will look to bounce back this weekend. They’ll face the NSA Phantoms and the Burgaw Nationals on Saturday. We could also see the Nationals or the Carolina Sluggers making some noise this weekend. The Natioanls face the NSA Phantoms in addition to the Wildcards on Saturday, while the Sluggers will go against the Cary Wildcats and the OC Sluggers on Saturday.
Winterville
8u
There will be a 7 team field in Winterville this weekend in the 8u age group. The field is led by #3 Dirtbags Black who will look to build on their successful fall season. They’ll face the East Carolina Bombers and Greenville Athletics on Saturday. Dirtbags East, who were in and out of the top 10 in the fall, are also in the field and will face the Carolina Stingers and the Carolina Freedom on Saturday.
9u
The 9u field in Winterville will be excellent for early March, and includes #7 Greenville Athletics – Scott, #17 Rock Solid Red, and #18 Smash Baseball, in addition to Dirtbags East. On Saturday, Greenville Athletics will face Dirtbags East and Rock Solid Red, and Smash will also go against Dirtbags East and Rock Solid Red. This should be a great weekend and tell us a lot early in the season about where these teams stack up.
11u
#18 Carolina Pilots will look to build on the strong start to their spring. They’ll face the SP Vipers, who are also a contender for a top 20 ranking, and the Carolina Titans Blue. Dirtbags East could also make some noise this weekend going against #20 Rock Solid Red and Greenville Athletics. Rock Solid will also square off against Greenville Athletics on Saturday. Of note, 10u #6 Dirtbags East will be playing up in the D3 11u tournament. They’ll face the Carolina Storm and the Carolina Armor on Saturday.
13u
#6 Diamond Thieves will be the headliner in the 13u age group. They’ll face PITT413 and the Clayton Cyclones on Saturday. The 12u Carolina Titans Blue will be playing up in the 13u division. They’ll face the Pamlico River Rats and Heat Baseball on Saturday.