The Louisiana Sox 13U (pictured above) from Denham Springs, Louisiana, cemented itself as the top 13-Major team in the country as they captured one of the biggest youth baseball tournaments of the year, the Wilson DeMarini Elite World Series yesterday in Viera, Florida. The Sox, ranked No.1 in our last lookback at USSSA points standings, went 7-0-1 throughout the week of competition and outscored opponents nearly by double – 64-33.
The 16 teams that made the field had to qualify for this event based on performance in Major tournaments earlier this season. As a result, the field was stacked with top-quality squads that came from nine different states from California to South Carolina. The teams would compete on a 60/90 foot diamond and use drop 5 baseball bats. They were grouped into two pools of eight to compete in a five- game round robin style first stage. After that, half of the field would advance (based on record and average runs allowed) into a single elimination bracket competition.
The Sox opened its slate against Canes Baseball SCBA (SC) who entered the game with a 37-18 overall record. The boys from Louisiana rode strong pitching from starter Kade Anderson who threw 4.2 strong frames followed by Jackson McKenzie who recorded the final four outs in a 5-1 victory. The next game against West Florida Hammerhead Elite was more high-scoring and manager Teddy Mooney had to use five different pitchers to preserve a 9-6 triumph. Terry Dunsford and Jaxson Burch were each used for two innings while McKenzie, Caleb Ougel and Alexander McCranie combined to navigate the final two innings.
The third pool game for the Louisiana Sox against the Midwest Astros (IN) came as a relief. They were able to blank the Astros 11-0 and play a run-rule shortened game which meant only using two pitchers – Derrick Mitchell for 3 innings and Rives Reynolds for one. The next win for the Sox really cemented them as a team to beat, convincingly defeating SETX Mizuno Black 11-4 to go to 4-0 in the Elite World Series. Brodey Walker started on the hill for the Sox and went three innings before giving way to teammates Cooper Burch and Jeffrey Mathews. At this point they were virtually guaranteed a spot in the final 8, which could have been a reason for the next game’s result – a 3 to 3 tie with the 21-4 Columbia Warriors (MO).
Undeterred, the Sox finished in second- place in Pool A with a 4-0-1 overall record, only behind the 5-0 Elite Squad Outlaws from Florida. Both teams had nearly identical average runs allowed marks – 2.4 to 2.8 respectively.
The first foe for the Sox in the single- elimination stage were the Yalobusha Giants from Mississippi. The Giants finished in third place in Pool B with a 3-2 overall record and put up a fight in this game, losing by the narrow score of 5-3. Jackson McKenzie made his third appearance of the tournament on the mound and went the complete 7 innings to be the star of this contest. Somewhat surprisingly, the Midwest Astros made it to the semifinals after a 6-0 victory over YETI Baseball Club. This was a much closer tilt than the first, with the Sox advancing by the slimmest of margins, 10-9.
The finals matched up two of the top teams in the entire country – the Sox against the Elite Squad Outlaws who were 7-0 in Viera up until this point and carrying a 43-7 overall record. The Sox would have too much offense in this game and kept the powerful Outlaws bats at bay just enough behind the combined effort of Kade Anderson (3.2 IP), Brodey Walker (2.1 IP) and Derrick Mitchell (1 IP).
This was the Sox’s third- consecutive USSSA tournament championship, but by far the biggest prize. They now sport a 53-7-2 overall record, including a superb 33-4-1 In Class mark.
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