Summer Tournament Wrap

The memorable summer tournament circuit started off with a pair of thrilling WWBA East Memorial Day Championship matchups between two of the most reputable organizations in travel baseball. The Florida Burn met Elite Squad baseball in both championship matchups. It was Florida Burn 2016 Pennant that took home the 16u title, defeating Elite Squad 16u Prime. Weather got the best of the Elite Squad 17u Prime and Florida Burn 2015 Pennant matchup and that game was called with the two named co-champions.

The Memorial Day weekend tournament set the tone for the Elite Squad organization, which finished third or better in eight events this summer. The 17u Prime club finished second in the WWBA 17u National Championship, while the 16u Prime club got their title at the 16u BCS Finals. Elite Squad 15u Slugger took home the 15u Florida State Championship title, Elite Squad 17u Slugger finished second in the 17u Florida State Championship, Elite Squad Baseball took home second place in the 16u Perfect Game World Series, while Elite Squad 14u finished third in the 15u Florida State Championship. In all, the Elite Squad organization showed a lot of promise at their 14u-17u age groups.

The 16u Florida Burn team enjoyed continued success well past their Memorial Day title, finishing third in the 16u Perfect Game World Series and the 16u BCS Finals. The program finished with four Top 3 spots this summer, all in Fort Myers, Fla.-based tournaments.

East Cobb continued to add to their already-rich organization history, with an incredible 11 finishes in the Top 3 in tournaments, the most of any organization. It was the old kids who enjoyed the organization’s summer spotlight. The East Cobb Astros 18u team won the Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, finished second in the 17u/18u PG/Evoshield Classic, and third in the 18u BCS Finals. The organization did well at nearly every age level, as well. The East Cobb Astros finished third in the 13u BCS Finals, the 14u Astros took home second place in the 14u BCS Finals, the 16u Astros finished second in the 17u BCS Finals, the Astros TECB got third in the 16u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, and the East Cobb Braves 16 also settled for third place in the 16u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational. The East Cobb Bulldogs 17u hoisted the 17u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational trophy, while the East Cobb Twins finished third in the WWBA 17u National Championship Qualifier, and East Cobb Baseball also finished third in the WWBA 17u National Championship.

The Team Elite organization made their presence felt on the summer circuit with eight Top 3 tournament finishes. It was the Team Elite Roadrunners who represented the strongest, winning the 16u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational and finishing second in the WWBA 16u National Championship. Team Elite South finished third in the 14u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, Team Elite Prime took second in the 15u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, the 16u Team Elite Prime finished runner-up in the 16u BCS Finals, the 17u Prime club took home a third place finish in the 17u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, and the 18u finished second in the 18u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational and third in the WWBA 18u National Championship.

A year after the Orlando Scorpions organization enjoyed unparalleled tournament success, they returned to similar form in the 2014 circuit and took home seven Top 3 tournament finishes. Most of the success belonged to the new Scorpions Panhandle. The Scorpions Panhandle 2015 team brought home third place trophies from the WWBA 17u National Championship Qualifier and the 17u Florida State Championship. The 2017 Panhandle club finished second in the 15u BCS Finals, while the Scorpions Prime 2017 took third in the very same tournament. The Scorpions South Underclass captured the organization’s only title of the summer, winning the 16u Florida State Championship. The Scorpions 2016 Prime finished third in the WWBA 16u National Championship, while Scorpions Orlando 2015 Purple also took third, in the 17u BCS Finals.

Just a year ago, a pair of 16u Evoshield Canes teams met in the WWBA 16u National Championship. The same thing almost happened once again this year at the 17u age level, with most of the same players from the two clubs. The Evoshield Canes South 17u fell to the Evoshield Canes 17u team in the semifinals of the WWBA 17u National Championship, taking a respectable third place. The 17u Canes team went on to win that tournament and finish second in the highly competitive 17u Perfect Game World Series. The Evoshield Canes finished third in the 15u and 16u Perfect Game World Series tournament, giving the organization five Top 3 tournament finishes.

You could make a strong argument for the 6-4-3 DP Tigers 14u as having the most successful summer in Perfect Game tournaments as a team. They won the 15u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, finished second in the WWBA 14u National Championship, and finished third in the 14u/15u PG/Evoshield Classic. The 6-4-3 DP Cougars Montgomery ended up winning the 14u/15u PG/Evoshield Classic and the 6-4-3 DP Jaguars took third place in the 14u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational.

A lot of people were saying watch out for the Upstate Mavericks, who enjoyed a successful 2014 summer, particularly at the 14u age level. They took home the WWBA 14u National Championship title and finished second in the 14u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational. A lot of their success can be traced back to Jamison Patterson, who took home the tournament MVP in both events, a rare feat. The 17u team finished second in the 17u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational and the 16u team took third in the WWBA 16u East Memorial Day Classic.

The Home Plate Chilidogs organization placed in the Top 3 in four Perfect Game tournaments this summer, with strong support from HP Maldonado in the 17u age group. HP Maldonado took first place in the WWBA 17u National Championship Qualifier and the 17u/18u PG/Evoshield Classic. Home Plate Vandy took runner-up in the 12u BCS Finals, while Home Plate Dyal finished third in the WWBA 14u National Championship.

Arguably the most successful team of the summer, the Georgia Jackets 15u, finished the summer with not one, not two, but three tournament titles. They won the 15u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, the WWBA 15u National Championship, and the 15u BCS Finals. A lot of it due to exceptional pitching from Weston Bizzle, who was named the Most Valuable Pitcher and the 15u BCS Finals and tossed a perfect game during another title run. Teammate Will Lumpkin also played a huge role in the team’s success, claiming a pair of tournament MVP awards.

The MBA Pride Elite enjoyed huge success at the 16u level this summer, despite being a 15u team. They won the WWBA 16u National Championship Qualifier, finished second in the 16u Perfect Game-East Cobb Invitational, and took third in the 16u BCS Finals.

The reputable Houston Banditos took home a few trophies of their own. The 17u age level won the 17u Perfect Game World Series, the 13u Banditos Black hoisted the 13u BCS Finals trophy, and the Houston Banditos Black finished third in the WWBA 16u National Championship.

At the 14u age level, the Miami Suns enjoyed much success in a pair of Fort Myers tournaments, winning the 14u Florida State Championship and coming in second in the 14u Perfect Game World Series. Pitcher Jordan Rodriguez took home the Most Valuable Pitcher award in back-to-back weeks to close out an exceptional summer.

Below, you can see the tournament results for all the Perfect Game tournaments dating back to the Memorial Day weekend tournaments.