There was an absolute ton of games at the Top Gun sites this past weekend with over 250 teams in action. Perhaps none bigger than the match-up between 12u #2 East Rowan and #3 Legends Baseball in the finals in Wake County. We also saw Dirtbags teams all over the state competing for titles and even all-Copperheads and all-Mission Vipers finals in some age groups. Here’s a recap of an exciting weekend of Top Gun Baseball.
Charlotte
9u
#12 Mount Holly Lightning got off to a 1-1 start in pool play with a 14-1 win over Elite Baseball EBC and a 7-6 loss to the LKN Hurricanes – Mann. The Hurricanes won their other pool play over East Rowan – Bridges 12-3 to secure the #2 seed for bracket play. East Rowan – Smith earned the top seed for bracket play with a 14-0 win over SBA Canes – Red and a 7-3 win over Force Baseball. In bracket play, Force Baseball earned a 7-6 win over SBA Canes – Red in the play-in game. In the semifinals, East Rowan – Smith notched a 12-9 win over Force Baseball while the Mount Holly Lightning scored a 10-1 win over LKN Hurricanes – Mann. In the finals, East Rowan – Smith utilized great pitching and defense to blank the Lightning 8-0.
10u
American
#14 Mission Vipers Gold went 2-0 in pool play with a 9-8 win over the Stealth Elite Orioles and an 11-1 win over Heat Baseball and earned the #2 seed for Sunday. The Mission Vipers Black also went 2-0 in pool play. They scored a 14-3 win over Heat Baseball and an 8-2 win over the Stealth Elite Orioles, which was good enough for the top seed for bracket play. The Kannapolis Cannons earned the #3 seed after going 1-1 in pool play with a 13-0 win over the Bulldogs and a 14-13 loss to Copperheads – Snell/Heis. In bracket play, the Bulldogs topped the Lake Norman Hammerheads 8-4 in the play-in game to earn their way into the semifinals. In the semifinals, it was Mission Vipers Gold over the Cannons 15-10 and Mission Vipers Black over the Bulldogs 5-3 to set up and all-Mission Vipers finals. In the finals the Vipers Black scored a hard-fought 8-6 win over their Gold counterparts.
National
The Mooresville Legends earned the #1 for Sunday with a 8-2 win over the Muddawgs and a 12-3 win over the Davidson Force. SBA Canes LKN earned the #2 seed with a 7-4 win over the Davie White Sox and a 17-3 win over Spartans – Triplett. Rivals Baseball received the #3 seed for Sunday bracket play, going 2-0 in pool play with a 13-2 win over the Concord Comets and a 6-5 win over the Belmont Bombers. In bracket play, the Legends topped the On Deck O’s 6-4 while SBA Canes LKN edged Rivals 10-9 to set up a title match of the #1 and #2 seeds from bracket play. In the finals, Mooresville was able to power their way to an 11-1 win over the Canes.
11u
American
#7 LKN Attack went 2-0 on Saturday with a 7-4 win over the Stealth Elite Falcons and a 4-3 win over Copperheads – Rowland. This was good enough to earn them the #1 seed for bracket play. Coul Oak Hurricanes earned the #2 seed for bracket play with a 12-6 win over the Carolina Reds and an 8-7 win over the Vision Bandits. The On Deck O’s also went 2-0 in pool play with a 13-11 win over East Rowan and a 5-4 win over Copperheads – Herkey which earned them the #3 seed in pool play. In bracket play, the Vision Bandits scored a 15-2 win over the Stealth Elite Falcons while Copperheads – Rowland scored a 15-1 win over the On Deck O’s in the play-in games. In the semifinals, LKN Attack scored a 4-2 win over the Vision Bandits while the Hurricanes notched a 10-8 win over Copperheads – Rowland. In the finals, the LKN Attack completed a 4-0 weekend with a 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.
National
The Stanly County Titans went 2-0 on Saturday, scoring a 10-1 win over Copperheads – Russ and a 10-1 win over the Hickory Hurricanes, and earned the #1 seed for bracket play. Dirtbags Gold also went 2-0 on Saturday with a 14-10 win over HQ4 Clippers and a 13-1 win over the Triple Crown Lookouts, which earned them the #2 seed. On Sunday, Stanly County scored an 11-4 win over the Triple Crown Lookouts while Dirtbags Gold notched a 15-0 win over Vision Bandits White to reach the finals. In the finals, Dirtbags Gold completed a 4-0 tournament run with a 13-3 win over Stanly County.
12u
American
#8 Majestic Greensboro scored an 11-3 win over #11 SBA LKN Carolina Cobras and a 7-2 win over #12 Venom Stars and earned the #1 seed for bracket play. 5 Star LKN earned the #2 seed with a 9-4 win over the Venom Stars and a 11-2 win over SBA LKN Carolina Cobras. 11u #1 Carolina Blue Sox played up this weekend and went 2-0 in pool play with a 14-12 win over Elite Baseball EBC and a 10-8 win over the Pro-Fit Spartans to earn the #3 seed for Gold bracket play. In bracket play, Majestic notched an 8-3 win over Pro-Fit, while 5 Star LKN scored a 6-5 win over the Blue Sox. In the finals, Majestic completed their 4-0 weekend with an 11-2 win over 5 Star LKN. In the Silver bracket, the Venom Stars won their semifinal against the SBA Canes 13-12 and the Cobras won their semifinal against Elite Baseball by the score of 10-9. The Venom Stars took home the Silver bracket championship with a 10-0 win over the Cobras.
National
Copperheads – Sumner went 2-o on Saturday with an 11-1 win over the Harrisburg Hammerheads and a 12-2 win over the Gold Hill Miners and earned the top seed for bracket play. Copperheads – Shabosky earned the #2 seed with a 13-3 win over the Mooresville Biscuits and a 22-3 win over the Gold Hill Miners. On Sunday, Power Cross earned and 11-10 win over the Mooresville Biscuits and Elite 9 Tomahawks scored a 12-1 win over the Belmont Bandits in the play-in games. In the semifinals, Copperheads – Sumner topped Power Cross 12-4 while Copperheads – Shabosky blanked the Tomahawks 5-0. In the all-Copperheads final, Sumner got the better of Shabosky with a 15-7 win.
13u
Stars Baseball earned the top seed in bracket play going 2-0 on Saturday with a 7-3 win over Fury Baseball and a 12-3 win over the Cyclones. Fury Baseball received the #2 seed after they won over the Triple Crown Lookouts in pool play by the score of 8-3. Copperheads – Barozzino received the #4 seed by going 1-1 in pool play with a 6-5 win over American Baseball and an 11-6 loss to the Stealth Elite Pelicans. In the play-in games, Copperheads – Barozzino scored a 7-2 win over the Lookouts while American Baseball topped the Cyclones 10-1. In the semifinals, American Baseball beat Fury 8-4 while the Copperheads topped Stars 13-1. In the finals, Copperheads was able to edge past American Baseball for a 12-11 win and a 4-1 weekend overall.
Concord/Indian Trial
8u
Kings Mountain Storm earned the top seed in bracket play going 2-0 on Saturday with a 14-5 win over Union County Crush – Gadd and a 9-6 loss to the Carrabus Bandits. East Rowan 7u also went 1-1 on Saturday with a 11-10 loss to the Belmont Bandits and a 19-5 win over the Carrabus Bandits, and received the #2 seed for bracket play. In bracket play, the Carrabus Bandits topped Crush – Gadd 15-10 in the play-in game. In the semifinals, the Carrabus Bandits out-slugged Kings Mountain 20-17 while East Rown 7u topped the Belmont Bandits 14-7. In the finals, East Rowan 7u scored a 12-9 win over the Carrabus Bandits to take home the title playing up a year.
9u
The Stanly County Renegades earned the top seed for bracket play with an 11-3 win over the LKN Hurricanes – Phillips and a 14-4 win over Copperheads – Duke. Bulldogs earned the #2 seed with an 18-6 win over Copperheads – Duke and an 11-3 win over Concord Athletics. The Carrabus Bandits earned the #3 seed by notching a 12-4 win over Inferno Baseball and a 12-8 win over the Kannapolis Krushers. In bracket play, the Renegades topped the DSG Hitmen 16-5 while the Bulldogs blasted the Bandits 20-1. In the finals, the Renegades were able to squeeze past the Bulldogs with a 10-9 win.
10u
Aces – Edwards was looking to bounce back this week, and did they ever. They went 2-0 on Saturday with a 19-4 win over CSA – Carrabus Chargers and a 9-4 win over Union County Crush – Homewood. They followed that up on Sunday with an 8-7 win over the Panthers in the semifinals and a 9-1 win over Crush – Homewood in the finals to finish 4-0 for the weekend, outscoring opponents a combined 45-16.
11u
Grand Slam USA Stars went 4-0 this weekend scoring a 13-4 win over the Carrabus Knights, a 13-2 win over the Carrabus Bandits, and a 10-0 win over the Carolina Heat NC. In the finals, they were matched up against the Carrabus Knights, who went 2-1 in pool play. They were able to complete a 4-0 weekend with a tight 5-3 win over the Knights.
Jacksonsville
10u
The Bomb Squad went 3-1 and won on Runs Against in this 3-team, double round-robin age group. They topped the Jacksonville Generals 9-7 and 12-4, and beat the OC Sluggers 11-6 in addition to suffering a 16-12 loss to the Sluggers. The Sluggers beat Jacksonville 10-5 and 16-7, giving them 37 runs against, compared to 33 for the Bomb Squad.
12u
The Burgaw Nationals scored a 4-0 weekend this past weekend in Jacksonville. They scored a 16-1 win over the OC Sluggers 11u and a 9-8 win over the OC Sluggers on Saturday. They followed that up with a 17-0 win over the OC Sluggers 11u in the semifinals on Sunday, and a 9-3 win over the OC Sluggers in the finals.
Raeford
9u
Area Stars – Roberts went 2-0 on Saturday with a 23-0 win over the Carolina Diamondbacks and a 11-3 win over the NSA Braves. On Sunday, the Area Stars topped the NSA Braves 14-6 in their semifinal, while the SouthWest Ripperz scored a 12-5 win in the other semifinal. In the finals, the Area Stars held out for a 16-15 win to secure their undefeated 4-0 weekend.
11u
The Carolina Cubs went 2-0 on Saturday in dominating fashion with a 16-0 win over the Carolina Stars and an 11-1 win over the South Wake Storm. The Triangle Sports Hawks earned the #2 seed with a 20-0 win over CB Chaos and a 12-6 win over the Diamond Dawgs. On Sunday, the NSA Thunder topped the South Wake Storm 12-2 in one play-in game while the Diamond Dawgs scored a 15-1 win over The Bombers in the other. In the semifinals, the Cubs topped the Thunder 13-10 while the Hawks beat the Diamond Dawgs 11-4. In the finals, the Cubs blasted their way to a 15-0 win over the Hawks.
12u
The Carolina Sluggers went 3-1 in this 3-team double round-robin format. They scored 11-8 and 9-7 wins over the CB Kings, who were playing up an age group, as well as a 10-3 win and a 9-7 loss to the NSA Phantoms.
Snow Hill
9u
The 9u age group was a 5-team, round-robin format tournament. The Wilson Reds ended up taking the crown, going 4-0 over the course of two days. On Saturday, they scored a 19-0 win over CCR and a 15-1 win over the Zebulon Rampage. On Sunday, the Reds defeated the Suffolk Surge Elite (VA) 4-3 and the Wayne County Arsenal – Futures 12-2.
10u
9u #5 Dirtbags Black played up an age group and went 0-2 in pool play with a 25-7 loss to PITT413 and an 8-6 loss to the Wayne County Bomberz. 9u #11 Coach’s Box Broncos went 1-1 in pool play, losing to PITT413 18-4 but scoring a 19-4 win over the Bomberz. This dropped both teams to the Silver bracket. The Cleveland Wildcats went 2-0 in pool play with a 6-4 win over the East Carolina Bombers and a 15-0 win over the New Bern Flames. This earned them the top seed in Gold bracket play. In bracket play, the East Carolina Bombers topped PITT413 12-2 while the Wildcats edged the New Bern Flames 8-7 to reach the finals. In the finals, the Bombers scored a 10-2 win over the Cleveland Wildcats. In silver bracket play, the Dirtbags topped the Bomberz 13-2 while the Broncos scored a 19-2 win over Wayne County to set up and all-9u final. In the Silver bracket finals, the Dirtbags were able to muscle past the Broncos to a 7-3 win.
11u
The Carolina Shockwave went 2-0 in pool play with an 11-1 win over the Carolina Wood Ducks and a 9-0 win over Suffolk Surge Elite to earn the #1 seed for bracket play. The SP Vipers also went 2-o on Saturday with a 16-1 win over the Surge Elite and a 6-1 win over the Carteret County Patriots and earned the #2 seed for bracket play. The Carolina Rage earned the #3 seed with a 12-4 win over the Carolina Storm and a 19-0 win over the Benson Bulls in pool play. In bracket play, the Zebulon Cougars scored an 8-2 win over the Washington River Rats in one play-in game, while the Carolina Rage took a 10-6 win over the Carolina Pirates – Long in the other play-in game. In the semifinals, the Shockwave topped the Cougars 11-7 while the Rage edged out the Vipers 7-5. In the finals, the Rage completed their 5-0 weekend with a 15-0 win over the Shockwave.
12u
The Washington River Rats went 2-0 in pool play, scoring an 8-2 win over the Greene County Rams and an 11-3 win over the Carolina Rage and earned the #2 seed for bracket play. the Wayne County Arsenal earned the top seed in bracket play by scoring an 11-1 win over RBI Raptors Green and a 7-2 win over the Carolina Stingers. In bracket play, the River Rats scored a 9-8 win over the Pitt County Diamond Dawgs in one semifinal, while the Arsenal out-slugged the Trent River Stingrays to secure a 16-12 win in the other semifinal. In the finals, the Washington River Rats notched a 5-2 win over the Arsenal to finish 4-0 for the weekend.
13u
60/90
#5 Diamond Thieves went 2-0 on Saturday with a 10-0 win over Connie Corey Hurricanes and a 5-4 win over Carolina Titans – Ambrose. #7 Greenville Athletics – Jones also went 2-0 on Saturday, scoring a 15-0 over the Wayne County Thunder and a 12-2 win over the Morehead City Mavericks to earn the top seed for bracket play. In bracket play, Greenville Athletics scored a 4-2 win over the Connie Corey Hurricanes in one semifinal, while the Diamond Thieves earned an 8-7 win over the Carolina Titans – Ambrose. In the finals, the Diamond Thieves outlasted Greenville Athletics to secure a 7-4 win.
Wake County
8u
#3 Dirtbags Black opened up pool play on Saturday going 2-0 with a 20-2 win over the Carolina Thunder and a 17-9 win over North Wake Fungo. #6 Carolina Stingers went 1-1 in pool play, suffering a 13-9 loss at the hands of East Coast Elite and scoring a 16-7 win over the JoCo Spartans. The FV Wildcats earned the #2 seed for bracket play by going 2-0 in pool play. They edged East Coast Elite 9-8 in their first pool play game and followed that up with a 19-15 win over the JoCo Spartans. In bracket play, top seeded Dirtbags Black beat the Stingers 9-5 while the FV Wildcats out-slugged East Coast Elite 15-12. In the finals, Dirtbags Black smashed their way to an 18-3 win over the Wildcats.
9u
#13 Smash Baseball, who has been one of the hottest teams at any age group of late, continued their hot play on Saturday, scoring a 16-4 win over the Carolina Freedom and a 17-9 win over the Coastal Cyclones. The Coastal Cyclones won 15-0 in their other pool play game against the Carolina Armor, which was enough to earn the Cyclones the #2 seed or bracket play. In bracket play, the Carolina Armor beat the Cleveland Wildcats 10-8 in the play-in game. In the semifinals, the Coastal Cyclones topped the Carolina Freedom 7-3, while Smash beat the Armor 11-2. In the finals, Smash completed their undefeated tournament run with an 8-3 win over the Cyclones.
10u
D1
The D1 division featured 4 top teams including #7 Dirtbags Platinum, #13 Rock Solid Red, #16 NCDB Rivercats, #20 FV Wildcats, as well as previously ranked Sandhills Stingrays. On Saturday, Dirtbags Platinum went 2-0 scoring a 13-5 win over the FV Wildcats and a 15-8 win over the NCDB Rivercats. The Wildcats edged the Stingrays 9-8 while the Rivercats beat Rock Solid Red 10-7. Rock Solid beat the Stingrays 13-3 in their other pool play game. In the play-in game, the Stingrays were able to roll to a 13-1 win over the Rivercats to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, Dirtbags Platinum beat the Stingrays 5-2 while the FV Wildcats beat Rock Solid 12-7. In the finals, the Dirtbags completed a 4-0 weekend that included 3 wins over top 20 teams with a 4-3 win over the Wildcats.
D2/D3
#4 Alamance Patriots were the team to beat in the D2/D3 field, and they did not disappoint. In pool play, the Patriots went 2-0, blasting a 20-0 win over the Cleveland Wildcats Hustle and a 20-5 win over the Carolina Armor Blue. #12 Richmond Rockies went 1-1 with a 15-14 win over the South Wake Storm and a 10-9 loss to the Carolina Armor Blue. The South Wake Storm earned the #2 seed for bracket play with a 19-5 win over Area Stars – Stanton, in addition to their loss to the Rockies. In the play-in games, the Rockies topped the Armor 10-0 while Area Stars beat the Cleveland Wildcats Hustle 11-1. In the semifinals, the Alamance Patriots edged the Richmond Rockies 11-10 while Area Stars – Stanton beat the South Wake Storm 13-4. In the finals, the Patriors took an 8-2 lead after 3 innings and held on for an 11-10 win.
11u
#11 Cleveland Wildcats Elite went 2-0 on Saturday with a 14-6 win over Hill City Sliders (VA) and a 12-11 win over Hit Doctor (VA). On Sunday, the Wildcats defeated the Riptide 13-3 in one semifinal, while the Sliders topped Hit Doctor 9-3 in the other semifinal. In the finals, the Wildcats topped the Hill City Sliders 11-1 to finish 4-0 for the weekend.
#3 Canes Baseball NC – Hood played up in the 12u D3 division. They went 1-1 in pool play with an 8-5 loss to Gettin Dirty and a 12-1 win over the Carolina Stars. #19 Carolina Pilots also played up and went 2-0 in pool play with a 13-2 win over the Corinth Pirates and a 9-1 win over the Wendell Sharks which earned them the top seed in bracket play. In bracket play, Canes NC – Hood lost 12-11 to the Orange County Crushers in the play-in game. The Pilots were defeated in their semifinal game 15-8 by the Orange County Crushers as well.
12u
D1
#2 East Rowan went 1-1 on Saturday, scoring a 7-3 win over #5 Carolina Rockies but suffering a 10-7 defeat to #15 Sandhills Heat. The Rockies scored a 7-6 win over CB Elite and the Heat notched an 11-0 win over Rawlings Prospects NC in their other pool play games. #3 Legends Baseball went 2-0 in pool play with a 10-5 win over #20 Carolina Titans – Wilson and a 16-0 win over Canes Baseball NC – Harland. The Carolina Titans – Wilson scored an 11-8 win over Archers in their other pool play game on Saturday. In bracket play, the Rockies topped the Rawlings Prospects 14-10 in the play-in game. In the semifinals, Legends topped the Rockies 14-5 while East Rowan edged the Sandhills Heat 12-9 to set up a finals match up between our #2 and #2 teams in the 12u age group. And this one did not disappoint. East Rowan scored 7 runs in the top of the first and was up 9-1 heading into the bottom of the 3rd innings. However Legends stormed back with 10 runs in the 3rd inning to take an 11-9 lead. They never looked back after that, scoring a 16-10 win over East Rowan.
13u
60/90
#2 Knights Prime started their weekend going 2-0 in pool play with a 12-2 win over Warhawks Baseball and a 17-3 win over the Carolina Rage. Rawlings Prospects NC also went 2-0 in pool play, scoring a 10-2 win over the Warhawks and a 13-3 win over Purpose Driven Baseball. The Rage also topped Purpose Driven 12-0 in pool play. In the play-in game on Sunday, the Warhawks edged Purpose Driven 13-12. In the semifinals, Knights Prime beat the Warhawks 10-8 while the Rawlings Prospects scored an 11-3 win over the Rage. In the finals, the Prospects got down 5-2 through 4 innings, but scored 6 runs in the top of 5th and held on for an 8-6 win over the Knights.
Of note, #1 Canes Baseball NC – Gallaher played up in the 14u division and went 3-1. They notched a 4-3 win over GBI Express Blue and an 18-1 win over the West Raleigh Skeeters on Saturday. They were defeated 6-4 by the South Wake Storm in the semifinals on Sunday, but bounced back to score a 10-4 win over the Heritage Hawks in the consolation finals.