FORT MYERS, Fla. – Distance lightning and other factors stretched the time it took to complete the seven-inning 13u PG Super25 National Championship title game to nearly 4½ hours Thursday afternoon. The day seemed even longer due to the unrelenting heat and humidity that reached into the 90s (degrees and percent) and it was difficult not to feel for the young players out on the field doing the same thing for the seventh straight day in the exact same conditions.
But don’t feel sorry for the EvoShield Canes 13u-Pate squad that made the trip down here from Apex, N.C., a suburb of Raleigh. This group of young teenagers would gladly do it all over again and, what the heck, would probably play another three or four days if the reward was the same.
The No. 4-seeded EvoShield Canes 13u-Pate (6-0-1) withstood the delays, the heat and the humidity and a very strong challenge from Warner Robins, Ga.-based Chain National (5-1-1), and took home the championship at the 13u PG Super25 National Championship with a 12-6 victory over the Chain gang at jetBlue Park.
“This was a fantastic tournament, it really was,” Canes 13u-Pate head coach Rick Pate said at the game’s conclusion. “It was very well-ran, and then to top it off and come into this stadium and play for a national championship, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
The championship game was interrupted by a short lighting delay in the top of the second inning and much longer one in the bottom of the fourth. Those delays – with lightning strikes eight or nine miles away – are frustrating for everyone and it did seem like the pitchers were having trouble finding their rhythm each time play resumed.
It made for a ragged affair at times with the Canes scoring their 12 runs on 10 hits – all singles – helped along by 10 bases on balls and four Chain errors; only five of their 12 runs were earned. They scored single runs in the first, second and fifth innings, two in the sixth, three in the third and four in the seventh. The top of the seventh was almost tedious at times, with the Canes 13u-Pate scoring their four runs on RBI singles from Neal Utrup and Zach Hurand, three walks and an error.
Chain National countered with one in the first, four in the third – the game was tied at five heading into the second, lengthier lightning delay – and one in the bottom of the seventh.
Even with the walks and errors, there were hitting stars in the game, especially on the EvoShield Canes side. Timothy Pate was 1-1 but scored three runs; Blake McCain was 2-for-4 with two runs; Grayson Irwin’s line showed that he was 0-for-0 but he contributed two RBI with sacrifice flies; Will Lee was 2-for-3 with an RBI; Braden Jordan was 1-for-3 and scored two runs; and Payton Green was 0-for-1 but walked and scored twice.
2021 right-hander Timothy Pate – the coach’s son – and 2020 righty Will Lee worked through the lighting delays and combined on a seven-inning eight-hitter, and only one of the six runs they gave up was earned; Lee struck out four in four innings. Chain’s Colton Scott was 2-for-3 with a run scored Daniel Smith singled, drove in three runs and scored one and Bradley Wilson singled and drove in two.
The EvoShield Canes 13u-Pate averaged just over 8 ½ runs in their seven games and hit .379 as a team; 10 of the 12 players on their roster that played in all seven games hit .313 or better. McCain, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound 2020 outfielder/catcher from Raleigh, was named the Most Valuable Player after a tournament in which he went 9-for-22 (.409) with three doubles, five RBI and five runs scored.
He was challenged for MVP honors by teammate Tyler Burgess, who was 12-for-25 (.480) with a double, two triples, four RBI and eight runs scored, but McCain got the nod with his performance in the championship game.
Hurand, a 6-foot, 150-pound 2020 right-hander from Cary, N.C., was named the Most Valuable Pitcher. He worked 9 1/3 innings in two appearances and allowed three earned runs (2.25 ERA) on eight hits with seven strikeouts and four walks.
The Chain gang batted .353 as a team, averaged just over eight runs per game and boasted a lineup in which five of their nine hitters were at .364 or better. Scott was 10-for-20 (.500) with four doubles, eight RBI and seven runs; Dakota Britt went 10-for-23 (.435) with three doubles, two triples, eight RBI and eight runs; and Daniel Smith finished 9-for-22 (.409) with a double, eight runs batted in and seven scored.
Both teams came into Thursday’s with identical 5-0-1 records after having game end in ties during pool-play and picking up a first-round playoff win Tuesday and semifinal wins Wednesday. The Canes 13u-Pate had their first pool-play game of the tournament end in a tie while the Chain gang settled for a tie in its second pool-play game. The Canes 13u-Pate beat the Springdale, Ark.-based Arkansas EXPRESS, 5-3 in the semis while Chain National escaped the Bradenton, Fla.-based Rebels, 5-4, in its semifinal game.
The Canes 13u-Pate actually started pool-play off with a double-header which was a little tough on the guys because despite being from North Carolina, they weren’t at all acclimated to the Florida heat. But they came out and showed guts and determination and were able to get the job done.
“We had some tough games; there are some tough teams in this tournament,” Pate said. “I’m glad the way they held in there, battled the heat, battled a few injuries and some soreness and came out 6-0-1; I’m proud of them. We had the choice to come to the (PG) Super25 or the (USSSA) Elite 32 and we made the right decision by coming to the Perfect Game, absolutely.”