2,090 MLB PLAYERS | 14,476 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story  | 6/7/2022

BCS Tickets Punched at Qualifier

Riley Sheppard     
Photo: South Florida Giants 2024 (Perfect Game)
16U BCS National Championship Qualifier

South Florida Giants 2024’s journey to punching a ticket to the 2022 BCS National Championship began long before their 14-3 victory over Lakewood Ranch.



“When they’re all doing what they’re supposed to be doing there’s nobody that can stop them,” Giants Coach Marcus Mooney said in a postgame interview. “We got down 3-0 and nobody even batted an eye.”

As Mooney stated, his team found themselves down early after a three-run first inning from Lakewood Ranch. But the Giants are used to overcoming adversity.

Last weekend at the East Memorial Day Classic, the team fell in the first round of the playoffs to eventual champion Elite Squad 16U by a score of 9-7. And in their first game this weekend, the Giants dropped another close game to 5 Star Tampa Black 4-3.

“We shouldn’t have lost that game,” Giants infielder Joseph Calise said. “But we realized that, and then we came back, bounced back and won.”

Two pitches in the top of the third inning is all it took for the Giants to score their first run of the ballgame, and start their comeback.

A leadoff double by Kyle Latham followed by a Cooper Pitman single brought the ballgame within two runs. The one-run third inning would end up being the lowest scoring frame the Giants had the rest of the way.

They followed that up with a six-run fourth inning in which 11 Giants came to bat, including RBI singles from Calise and Juan Gonzalez that brought in four of those runs. A two-run fifth inning and six-run sixth inning put the icing on the cake on a dominant championship win for the Giants.

Following the game, Calise was named the Co-MVP of the BCS National Qualifier in Fort Myers. The 6-foot infielder out of Lake Worth, Fla. batted .428, with two doubles and four RBI over five games. Pitman shared MVP honors with Calise, having hit .857 for the tournament.

“The first time I saw [Calise], I was like ‘This guy's gonna be a Big Leaguer, he’s gonna go to whatever school he wants to go to',” Mooney said.

Lakewood Ranch's Jack Muller was named MV-Pitcher of the event for his seven-inning, one earned run performance against FTB Rawlings 2024.

Following their tournament opening loss, the Giants would go on to outscore their next four opponents 38-10. Now claiming an automatic bid to the BCS National Championship, there is no telling what this team can do.



18U BCS National Championship Qualifier

In the 18U division, Jcs Sluggers came away with a narrow 5-3 victory over Fgcp Black to be crowned champions.

Jeremy Luperon threw six innings on the mound for the Sluggers. The uncommitted 2022 graduate threw 87 total pitches, while allowing three runs and five hits before 2025 prospect Alan Palomino closed things out in the seventh inning.

A six-pitch walk from leadoff man Luis Morera in the top of the first proved to be vital. After Morera stole second in the next at-bat, a first-pitch single to left field from Lio Gamboa was all that was needed to tack on the first run of the game.

The Sluggers broke the door wide open in the top of the second, bringing home three more runs to extend their lead to 4-0.

St. Thomas University commit Jerandy Carballosa contributed to those three runs, singling out to right field to drive in Morera for his second run of the afternoon.

Fgcp would not go down without a fight however, bringing the game within one after scoring three runs of their own in the top half of the third inning. Reilly Kinney and Torin Glover made their way home after a fielder's choice at shortstop, followed by a Carlito De Jesus double that brought in Farah Castillo.

However, the Jcs pitchers did not allow another run the rest of the way and added on some extra cushion in the top of the fifth to walk away as champions.

Fgcp's De Jesus was named the MVP of the event after hitting .357 and driving in six runs. Jcs' Kevin Gonzalez took home MV-Pitcher honors for his five-inning, eight-strikeout outing against Fgcp 18u Green, in which he didn't allow a run.



17U BCS National Championship Qualifier

MVP Beast 2023 Florida was crowned champions in 17U after taking down Dallas Tigers 17u Beavan 10-2 on Monday.

Despite falling behind 1-0 after two innings, the team rattled off eight runs in the third inning, which proved to be all they needed.

The barrage of third-inning runs began with an Elijah Vasquez (1-for-2, 2 RBI) double with no outs to bring home Jacob Levesque and Jeremy Ortiz. Vasquez made his way home just two batters later courtesy of UCF commit Andrew Williamson (1-for-3, 1 RBI) going for extra bases out to left field.

The Beasts were not done there, rattling off five more runs, with 12 players stepping up to bat during the frame.

Cody Conte got the start pitching for his ball club, allowing one run and two hits in his 3 2/3 innings on the mound. After driving in a run and connecting on two hits behind the plate, Justin Mayes relieved Conte on the mound in the top of the fourth. The lefty, who is ranked in the top-1000 in the class of 2023, threw 1 1/3 innings, allowing one run, one hit and striking out two.

The team posted a 5-0 record over the two-day tournament, with a 9-1 victory over Fep Yellow and 2-1 defeat of FTB Tucci 2023 on Monday morning en route to their championship.

Dallas Tigers' Tanner Sever took home MVP honors, having hit .400 with nine runs scored and a .526 on-base percentage. MVP Beast's Ryland Bozenhard was the MV-Pitcher for his work against FTB Tucci 2023, in which he threw seven innings, struck out eight, and allowed just two hits and one earned run.



15U BCS National Championship Qualifier

The Eagles came away with a decisive 7-1 victory over 5 Star Tampa Gold to be crowned champions in 15U.

The Eagles never looked back after driving in two runs in the top of the first. Two-hole hitter Kyle Patton got things started for his offense after doubling out to left field, and two batters later cleanup man Marvin Montenegro wasted no time bringing him in on a first-pitch fastball. Montenegro stole second base the very next at-bat and made his way home following a fielding error.

Eliazar Jacquez got the start on the mound for the Eagles and would work five innings, allowing just one run in the top of the first, three hits, while striking out six batters. His fastball stayed consistently in the mid-70s, while also complementing it with a low-60s curveball.

The game stayed put at 2-1 until the top of the fourth when the Eagles added onto their lead. His first inning single was not the end of Montenegro’s offensive output, once again singling and making his way home to be one of two Eagles runs that inning.

Jose Cedeno relieved Jacquez in the bottom of the fifth, tossing two no-hit innings to lead his team to victory.

The Eagles finished the weekend 3-0-2, following two ties in their Sunday games, before outscoring their opponents 19-5 over three Monday games.

5 Star's Darian Collins was the MVP of the event, hitting .600 for the weekend with seven runs scored and six driven in, while also contributing a 1.00 ERA over 7 1/3 innings on the mound.
PG Special Events
Travel, Lodging, Entertainment
PG Partners
Recommended
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2024 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.