As pool play finished at the 9u and the 11u Super 25 National Championship, the kids got to have some fun with the skills competition.
The scene was set on field one at Music City Park for a fastest man competition and a home run derby. Fans packed the stands in what was a great atmosphere. Team pride was on the line, and players came out to support their teammates in the event.
Each team was allowed to pick two players for the fastest man competition and one player for the home run derby. The fastest man competition was set up to where teammates would race each other in a 40-yard dash, and then after every player ran, the times would be calculated to decide a winner.
When all was said and done in the 9u age group, Garrett De La Garza of the Midland Aces grabbed first place and Carson Johnson of the Indiana Nitro took second. Johnson finished with a time of 5.82, while De La Garza narrowly defeated him and took the title with an impressive 5.79 time.
The home run derby is always a spectacle to see, and the 9u players did not disappoint. The event was set up where each player received ten outs to hit as many home runs as they could. Then, the top two scores would advance to a final round to face off against each other. The final round would also allow for ten outs.
Round one saw Robert Coffee of the Indiana Nitro hit the most home runs at seven. Also, there was a tie for second place at six home runs by Jacob Hicks of the Midland Aces and Brycen Sanders of the SC Bulldogs. All three players advanced to the finals.
After hitting the most home runs in round one, Coffee finished in third place with a five-homerun performance in round two. Sanders upped his first round total by one and took second place with seven home runs. Hicks saved most of his power for the finals knocking an impressive 15 home runs to take the title.
The Midland Aces took home both the fastest man and the home run derby crown in what was a great performance by the team.
The 11u fastest man competition was equally as dramatic as the 9u. Jordan Delucia of Molina Baseball edged out Dillon Peden of the Akadema Warriors BBA Black to win the title. Delucia finished with a great time of 5.35, while Peden took second with his time of 5.44
The 11u home run derby was something that everyone at the event will be talking about for a long time. Blaze Jordan of the Dulin Dodgers stole the show with an astounding 40 home runs in round one. His performance left a lot of people speechless. Even more impressive was the fact that he continued to hit the ball with authority after the amount of swings he was puttin in. James Tibbs of the East Cobb Astros 11u put up an impressive round one score of 16 home runs to advance to the finals against Jordan.
In the finale, Tibbs went first hitting three home runs. Jordan, after his marathon performance in round one, only needed four home runs to take the title. He did just that and took home the crown. Tibbs put in a quality performance and took home second place.
Final Standings:
9u Fastest Man Competition:
1st Place: Garrett De La Garza-Midland Aces: 5.79 seconds
2nd Place: Carson Johnson-Indiana Nitro- 5.82 seconds
9u Home Run Derby:
1st Place: Jacob Hicks-Midland Aces: Round 1 (6), Round 2 (15)
2nd Place: Brycen Sanders-SC Bulldogs: Round 1 (6), Round 2 (7)
3rd Place: Robert Coffee-Indiana Nitro: Round 1 (7), Round 2 (5)
11u Fastest Man Competition:
1st Place: Jordan Deluci-Molina Baseball: 5.35 seconds
2nd Place: Dillon Peden-Akadema Warriors BBA Black: 5.44 seconds
11u Home Run Derby:
1st Place: Blaze Jordan-Dulin Dodgers: Round 1 (40), Round 2 (4)
2nd Place: James Tibbs-East Cobb Astros 11u: Round 1 (16), Round 2 (3)