Over 60 teams were in action at the Rocky Mount Top Gun site this past weekend, including several teams who finished in our final top 20 rankings during the 2017-2017 seasons. 10u Dirtbags Black, who finished #3 in our final 9u rankings this past year, as well as 12u Dirtbags East, who finished #16 in our final 11u rankings last year, were both impressive with 4-0 weekends. Here's a recap of the weekend's games in Rocky Mount.
8u
The Cleveland Wildcats Black went 2-0 on Saturday with a 17-2 win over the East Coast Copperheads and a 19-2 win over the Rocky Mount Marshals 2029. The East Carolina Bombers also went 2-0 in pool play with a 14-7 win over the Carolina Crushers and a 14-4 win over the Rocky Mount Marshals 2029. In the #4/5 play-in game the Rocky Mount Marshals 2029 rolled to a 16-1 win over the East Coast Copperheads. In the semifinals, the Carolina Crushers topped the East Carolina Bombers 13-10 and the Cleveland Wildcats Black scored a 10-5 win over the Rocky Mount Marshals 2029. In the finals, the Cleveland Wildcats completed an undefeated weekend with a 12-5 win over the Carolina Crushers.
9u
The Carolina Crushers 2027 went 2-0 in pool play with a 14-7 win over Carolina Rampage Baseball and a 24-5 win over the 252 Gunners. The Carolina Stingers went 1-1 in pool play with a 16-3 win over the 252 Gunners and a 15-7 loss against the Rampage. In the semifinals on Sunday, the Stingers scored a 14-4 win over Carolina Rampage Baseball and the Crushers notched a 15-4 win over the 252 Gunners. In the finals, the Carolina Crushers 2027 scored an 18-3 win over the Carolina Stingers to finish 4-0 for the weekend in Rocky Mount.
10u
Dirtbags Black, who finished #3 in our final 2017-2018 9u rankings, went 2-0 in pool play with a 9-2 win over the Carolina Chargers and a 9-5 win over the Suffolk Surge Elite. The Carolina Titans, who finished #15 in our final 9u rankings last year, also went 2-0 in pool play with an 11-0 win over Carolina Rampage Baseball and a 14-0 win over the Carolina Chargers. In bracket play on Sunday, Dirtbags Black topped the Carolina Freedom 9-5 and the Titans edged the Rampage 12-11 to reach the finals. In the finals, Dirtbags Black scored a 6-4 win over the Titans to secure the 10u title and finish 4-0 for the weekend.
11u
The 11u age group featured 3 teams facing off in a one-day event. In pool play, Carolina Titans - Ambrose went 2-0 with a 12-6 win over Dirtbags East Gold and a 16-7 win over the Clinton Colts. Dirtbags East Gold scored an 11-4 win over the Clinton Colts in the final pool play game. It does not appear the finals between Titans - Ambrose and Dirtbags East Gold were able to be completed as no score was posted.
12u
14 teams battled it out in the 12u division in Rocky Mount this past weekend. Dirtbags East, who finished #16 in our final 2017-2018 11u rankings, went 2-0 in pool play with a 27-0 win over Triangle Sports Hawks Black and an 11-1 win over the Crystal Coast Surge. The Carolina MudDawgs also went 2-0 in pool play with an 11-1 win over the Carolina Generals and an 8-4 win over the Wilson Naturals and earned the #2 seed for bracket play. In the #4/5 Gold bracket play-in game, the Zebulon Cougars notched a 7-5 win over the Perquimans Rivercats. In the #3/6 play-in game, the Carolina Storm edged past the Carolina Shockwave with a 9-8 victory. In the semifinals, Dirtbags East scored an 18-3 win over the Zebulon Cougars and the MudDawgs notched a 6-3 win over the Carolina Storm. In a tightly contested finals match-up, Dirtbags East was able to pull off a 6-5 win over the Carolina MudDawgs.
13u
The NSA Snipers went 2-0 in pool play with a 6-5 win over the Carolina Raiders and a 9-2 win over the Pitt County Diamond Dawgs. The Washington River Rats also went 2-0 in pool play with a 11-10 win over the Akadema Punishers and a 16-4 win over the Clinton Colts and earned the #2 seed for bracket play. In the #4/5 play-in game on Sunday, the #5 seed Carolina Raiders notched a 12-6 win over the Clinton Colts. In the #3/6 play-in game, the #3 seed Pitt County Diamond Dawgs scored a 6-3 win over the Akadema Punishers. In the semifinals, the NSA Snipers scored a 6-2 win over the Raiders while the Diamond Dawgs slugged out a 12-5 win over the #2 seed Washington River Rats. In the finals, the Snipers completed a 4-0 weekend with a 3-0 victory over the River Rats.