The 12u age group saw a match up of two of the best teams in the Southeast United States in the finals with Canes Baseball NC - Pirro going up against the SBA Nationals. There were several other outstanding games this weekend across the four USSSA sites. Here we briefly recap the weekend of games at the USSSA sites around North Carolina.
8u
The LDA Bombers (VA) came down to Morganton from Abdingdon, Virginia, and took care of business, going 4-0 for the weekend. They defeated the McDowell Titans 17-11 in the finals. The Titans finished the weekend with a 3-1 record.
9u
In Charlotte, the Carolina Reds (SC), SBA Rowan, and Dirtbags Black all went undefeated in pool play on Saturday. In the Red Championship bracket, the Reds rolled into the finals with a 15-0 win over the Weddington Warriors while SBA Rowan edged Dirtbags Black 9-8. In the finals, the Reds finished off a 4-0 weekend with a 5-3 win over SBA Rowan.
In Morganton, the LDA Bombers (VA), Forest City Bombers, and Dirty Birds all finished 2-0 in pool play. In the Gold bracket play-in games, Athletes Lab took out the Dirty Birds while Equip rolled to a win over Athletes Lab - Townsend. Athletes Lab blasted their way to a 17-3 win over the Forest City Bombers in the first semifinal, while the LDA Bombers notched an 11-1 win over Equip in the other semifinal. In the finals, the LDA Bombers finished off a 4-0 weekend with a 13-6 win over Athletes Lab.
10u
In Charlotte, several of the best teams in the 10u age group were in action this past weekend. The SBA Nationals and SBA Rowan Prospects both went 2-0 on Saturday while the Carolina Revolution and Mission Baseball - Smith both went 1-1 in pool play. In the bracket play semifinals on Sunday, the Nationals edged Mission - Smith 7-6 while the SBA Rowan Prospects blanked the Revolution 6-0. In the finals, the SBA Nationals scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to score a walk off 5-4 win over SBA Rowan.
In Morganton, Equip 323 was the lone undefeated team in pool play, going 2-0 on Saturday to earn the top seed for Sunday. Equip finished off the weekend 4-0, scoring a 15-2 win over the RBA Heels and a 13-5 win over the LDA Bombers on Sunday.
In Greensboro, PG Elite went 3-0 in the Sunday-only event, scoring wins over the Davidson Crush, the Walk Off Warriors, and the Triad Warriors. In Fayetteville, the Carolina Naturals posted a 4-0 record for the weekend with wins over Area Stars Blue and the NSA Braves on Saturday followed by 2 more wins over the Area Stars and Braves on Sunday.
11u
In a loaded event in Charlotte, the SBA Americans and Five Star Carolina - Young both went 2-0 in pool play on Saturday. They were followed by the 5 Star Shockers, the SBA Nationals, the Triple Crown Lookouts, and the SBA Senators who all went 1-1 in pool play. In the American bracket play-in games on Sunday, the Nationals took out Triple Crown, 5 Star Shockers edged the SBA Senators, and Five Star - Young rolled past the SBA Prospects. In the semifinals, the Nationals notched a 12-10 win over the Americans while Five Star - Young scored a 7-5 win over the Shockers. In the finals, the Nationals finished off a 3-0 Sunday with an 11-0 win over Five Star Carolina - Young.
In Morganton, WNC Linedrive went 2-0 in pool play, including an 8-5 win over Five Star Heat - Gardiner, who finished 1-1 in pool play. These two would match up again in the finals on Sunday, with Five Star - Gardiner getting revenge with a 6-0 win over WNC Linedrive to take home the title on Sunday.
In Greensboro, the Burlington Black Sox finished the Sunday-only event 3-0 with a 15-0 win over 4G3 Training Facility, a 12-1 win over 4G3 Training Facility, and a 7-6 win over Proehlific Power in the finals. In Fayetteville, Caroline Elite 11 (SC) went 4-0 for the weekend, scoring wins over Next Level 11 and Rock Solid Blue on Saturday, followed by wins over the same teams again on Sunday.
12u
In Charlotte, one of the most anticipated match ups of the early fall season took place as Canes Baseball NC - Pirro and the SBA Nationals rolled through the competition to set up a finals game between two of the best teams in the Southeastern United States in the 12u age group. This one was all Canes as they blanked the Nationals 8-0 on their way to an undefeated weekend in which the Canes outscored opponents 62-4 across 4 games.
In Morganton, notched an undefeated 4-0 weekend, highlighted by a 10-5 win over the Hickory Hurricanes in the finals. In Fayetteville, the Roberson Eliminators went 2-0 in this one-day event, scoring wins over Next Level 12 and the NSA Bombers. Area Stars White also went 2-0 this weekend with wins over Next Level 12 and Rock Solid White.
13u
In Charlotte, Five Star Copperheads Black was the only 2-0 team in this Sunday-only event, scoring wins over Mission Baseball Navy and Five Star Heat. The Heat finished the day 1-1 with a win over Mission Baseball Gold in their other gam. Mission Gold also finished 1-1 for the day on Sunday. In Morganton, County Line Express was the big winner, going 4-0 for the weekend including a 9-2 win over Athletes Lab National in the finals on Sunday. For the weekend, the Express outscored opponents 22-9 in their 4 games.
In Greensboro, both TPA Nationals Grey and TPA Nationals Black went 2-0 on Saturday with Grey notching wins over the Alamance Patriots and Rogue Black, and TPA Nationals Black defeating Proehlific Power Premier and Rogue Black. In bracket play, Proehlific Power topped TPA Black 2-1 in the semifinals to reach a finals match up against TPA Nationals Grey. In a tight contest, TPA Nationals Grey edged Proehlific Power Premier 2-0 to finish 4-0 for the weekend. Across their 3 games, TPA Nationals Grey did not allow a single run.