USSSA South Carolina Spring Super NIT 8u-10u Recap April 2019

There were dozens of outstanding state and nationally ranked teams in action in Lexington, South Carolina this past weekend. Although there wasn't much North Carolina representation in the 8u-10u age groups, some of the best teams from South Carolina, Virginia, and Georgia came together for a great weekend of baseball. Here we recap the games from the 8u-10u Majors division this past weekend.

8u

South Carolina's top team, the Local Boys, opened up pool play in impressive fashion, going 2-0 with a 9-1 win over SC #5 Blythewood Bombers and a 15-0 win over SC #2 Coastal Bombers. Blythewood finished pool play 1-1 with a 16-1 win over the Carolina Braves (SC) in addition to their loss against the Local Boys, while the Coastal Bombers fell 17-6 against Gameday Shockwave in their other pool play game. SC #3 South Carolina Chaos finished pool play 2-0 and earned the #2 seed for bracket play with a 14-11 win over North Carolina #13 Lugnuts Blue and a 17-6 win over Gameday Shockwave. SC #6 Yellow Jackets finished 1-1 in pool play, scoring a 17-9 win over the Carolina Braves but falling 17-13 against the Young Guns (SC).

In the Gold bracket play-in games, Lugnuts Blue topped the Blue Rays (SC) 13-11 and the Blythewood Bombers notched a 6-2 win over the Carolina Reds to reach the semifinals. In the semifinals, the South Carolina Chaos scored a 10-5 win over Lugnuts Blue while the Local Boys rolled to an 18-6 win over the Blythewood Bombers. In the finals, the Local Boys finished off a 4-0 weekend with a 9-1 win over the South Carolina Chaos. For the weekend, the Local Boys outscored their competition a combined 51-8 over 4 games.

Instant analysis

The Local Boys moved to 14-1 overall this spring, with their only loss coming against the Chaos, and look to be the dominate team in the 8u age group in South Carolina at this point. Several teams were competitive, most notably the Chaos, but it appears the Local Boys are starting to separate themselves a bit in the 8u age group. As we mentioned in the preview for this event, coming into the weekend we did not feel we had a good handle on the 8u age group in South Carolina. This weekend helped sort a few things out, especially near the top of the rankings.

Predicted champion: Local Boys (SC)

Champion: Local Boys

 

 

9u

The 9u Majors division featured 3 of the top 5 teams in South Carolina, including #2 Talon Blue, #4 G-town Pirates, and #5 Greenville Titans (notably, SC #7 Local Boys Red won the 9u Open division this weekend in Lexington). Dingers Athletics - Locke (GA) went 2-0 in pool play with a 14-2 win over the Upstate Young Guns (SC) and a 16-1 win over North Carolina Coastal Region #5 Leland Lugnuts, and earned the top seed in the Gold bracket. Talon Blue went 0-2 in their run through pool play, falling 10-6 against SC # 4 G-town Pirates, and 12-3 against SC #5 Greenville Titans. The Pirates fell 10-9 against Team Halo (GA) in their other pool play game, while the Titans notched a 14-9 win over Team Halo in their second pool play game to finish with the #3 seed for bracket play.

In the quarterfinals on Sunday, the Greenville Titans notched an 8-3 win over the Upstate Young Guns, the MCBA Mariners (GA) scored a 13-10 win over Talon Blue, the G-town Pirates rolled to a 17-8 win over Team Halo, and Dingers Athletics - Locke edged the Leland Lugnuts 8-7. In the semifinals, the teams from Georgia won out with the Mariners blasted their way to an 11-3 win over the Greenville Titans and Dingers Athletics scoring a 12-5 win over the G-town Pirates. In the finals, Dingers Athletics - Locke scored two runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to take a walk-off 9-8 win over the MCBA Mariners.

Instant Analysis

It was a tough weekend for our predicted champion, Talon Blue, who were undefeated this spring coming in. This was, as we noted in our preview, the best competition they had seen all spring and should be a good motivational weekend for Talon to use to get back on track. The teams from Georgia showed up and were impressive (especially Dingers Athletics and the MCBA Mariners). Local Boys Red were able to win the Open division, and signified they might be ready to step up to the Majors division at these bigger events. The G-town Pirates and Greenville Titans both had solid weekends with each scoring a win over Talon Blue.

Predicted champion: Talon Blue (SC)

Champion: Dingers Athletics - Locke (GA)

 

 

10u
10u Virginia #1 Stars Baseball - Colangelo was impressive this weekend against some of the best competition in the Southeastern US.

The 10u Majors division was a stacked division, with 4 of the top 10 teams in South Carolina, Virginia's top team (and #42 nationally), as well as teams ranked 10th, 25th, 46th, and 48th in Perfect Game's National Top 100 10u teams. Stars Baseball - Colangelo (VA) came to Lexington looking to send a message across the Southeast region. They posted a 1-1 record in pool play with a 3-2 win over national #10 East Cobb Astros (GA), but fell 7-3 against national #48 Team Atlantic (GA). East Cobb scored an 11-3 win over the Braves (SC) in their other pool play game, while Team Atlantic finished with the #1 seed for bracket play with an 11-3 win over SC #9 Carolina Yard Dawgs. SC #5 Gameday Shockwave scored the #2 seed with a 12-5 win over SC #3 SCBA Pirates Red and an 11-5 win over SC #2 Grey Sox. The Pirates finished 0-2 in pool play with a 14-5 loss against Showcase Baseball - Parker (GA) in addition to their loss against the Shockwave, while the Grey Sox notched a 14-2 over Showcase Baseball - Parker in their other pool play game. National #25 Kennesaw Generals (GA) finished 2-0 in pool play, scoring a 10-8 win over Yard Dogs Reloaded (GA) and a 16-2 win over Warriors Baseball (SC). National #46 Remix Rip City finished 1-0-1 in pool play, tying Yard Dogs Reloaded 5-5 and topping Warriors Baseball 12-5.

In the bracket play play-in games, Stars Baseball - Colangelo topped SCBA Pirates Red 12-0, the Grey Sox scored an 8-1 win over Yard Dogs Reloaded, the East Cobb Astros blanked the Braves 8-0, Remix Rip City rolled to an 11-2 win over Warriors Baseball, and Showcase Baseball - Parker edged past the Carolina Yard Dawgs 9-7. In the quarterfinals, Stars Baseball got past the Kennesaw Generals with a 5-4 win, Gameday Shockwave notched their own 5-4 win over the Grey Sox, Remix Rip City rolled again with a 14-4 win over the East Cobb Astros, and Team Atlantic notched a 9-5 win over Showcase Baseball - Parker. In the semifinals, Stars Baseball blasted their way into the finals with a 12-1 win over Gameday Shockwave and Remix Rip City scored an 8-2 win over Team Atlantic. In the finals, Stars Baseball - Colangelo finished off an impressive weekend with a 12-3 win over Remix Rip City.

Instant Analysis

Stars Baseball - Colangelo looks to be one of the top teams in this part of the country. They rebounded from a pool play loss to score wins over the 3rd and 5th ranked teams in South Carolina as well as national #25 Kennesaw Generals and #46 Remix Rip City (in addition to their win over national #10 East Cobb in pool play). That's a pretty impressive weekend no matter how you look at it. Gameday Shockwave also had an excellent weekend, posting wins over the #2 (x2) and #3 teams in South Carolina on their way to a 3-1 weekend and a semifinal appearance.

Predicted champion: Stars Baseball - Colangelo (VA)

Champion: Stars Baseball - Colangelo (VA)