FORT
MYERS, Fla. – In a rain-soaked weekend, two powerhouse
organizations met at the 5-Plex Player Development Center to
determine who would win the 2015 WWBA Florida Qualifier.
After
extensive delays in Monday’s playoff action, the Florida Burn 2016
Pennant squared off against the Scorpions 2016 Prime. In a
well-pitched game, the Scorpions and Burn tied 0-0 in five innings of
play before the lack of daylight forced an early end to the game.
The
Burn entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed, while the Scorpions were
the No. 4 seed.
In
the championship game Each side threw one of their best with the Burn
sending out Trevor Holloway, a High Point commit, who tossed four
shutout innings and struck out three. Holloway featured an 87-90 mph
fastball that topped out at 91 and mixed in an impressive breaking
ball.
The
Scorpions sent out Gamecock commit, Carlos A. Cortes. The PG
All-American had a fantastic tournament at the plate and on the mound
and that continued in the championship game. Cortes fired five
shutout innings for his Scorpions allowing just four hits, striking
out four batters.
The
game itself moved very quickly thanks to the top-notch pitching as
noted above. The Burn threatened to score in the bottom of the first
after getting Nikolas Dague aboard on an error and Scott Dubrule
getting him over to third with a single through the left side. Cortes
was able to escape the jam by punching out the next two batters he
faced.
In
the bottom of the third, the Burn had something brewing again after a
leadoff single from Jake Grubbs. Their hopes to scratch across the
game’s first run was stymied by the Scorpions’ defense who turned
a 5-4-3 double play to keep the game scoreless.
The
Scorpions offense started to get going in the fourth. After a quick
first out, Nicholas Baldor ripped a single to center and Nick Derr
followed with a line drive double to left. Baldor attempted to round
third and thanks to a fantastic throw from the left fielder, he was
thrown out at the plate. The game remained tied at 0-0.
In
the top of the fifth, Riley Hogan led off with a single and Pablo
Cedeno worked a two-out walk to get a runner in scoring position and
potentially end the tie. In relief for the Burn, Tyler Dyson struck
out his third batter of the inning to push it to the bottom of the
fifth.
A
possible rally in the bottom of the fifth was halted for the Burn,
this time by an attempted steal. The quick throw down to second
erased the only baserunner of that half inning and any chance at the
game’s only run.
With
the impending evening showers and visibility deteriorating, both
coaches met with the umpires and decided it would be called a tie.
Both teams gathered around the plate for a quick rock-paper-scissors
match to determine the ceremonial champion.
Dague
earned Most Valuable Player honors for the Florida Burn going
7-for-19 (.368) in the tournament with a pair of home runs, a double,
four RBI, six runs scored and two stolen bases. Cortes earned the
Most Valuable Pitcher award after tossing six shutout innings in the
tournament with four strikeouts. He also impressed at the plate going
8-for-17 (.471) with two RBI, seven runs scored and three stolen
bases.
Both
the Burn and the Scorpions will be present at the WWBA World
Championship in Jupiter, Fla. following their impressive finishes.
The
Burn’s semifinal game was a close affair against the Ostingers
Baseball Academy, until the sixth inning when they blew the game open
to win 6-1 and advance. They saw huge performances from Corey Ireson
and Nate Gillen on the mound who combined to throw all seven innings
allowing just one unearned run.
The
other semifinal game was an all-Scorpions affair, with the 2016 Prime
team facing off against their South 2016 Prime squad. The game went a
brisk three hours over the course of 13 grueling innings with the
Scorpions 2016 Prime club advancing with a final score of 7-6.
2015
WWBA Florida Qualifier co-champions: Scorpions 2016 Prime
2015
WWBA Florida Qualifier MVP: Nikolas Dague
2015
WWBA Florida MV-Pitcher: Carlos A. Cortes
