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Tournaments  | Story  | 10/25/2024

CBA Wins the Big One in Jupiter

Hannah Jo Groves     
CBA Marucci took the championship crown in Jupiter, Florida on Monday at the 2024 PG WWBA World Championship in a 4-0 win over East Coast Sox 2025 Scout.

Getting the start for CBA Marucci was Taylor Werth from San Diego, California. Through 5 shutout innings of work, the UC Davis commit struck out 4 batters with fastballs topping out at 92 mph.



“My plan was to use my five pitches and utilize each one for different reasons,” Werth said. “My primary pitch, off-speed, is slider. And I did not throw a single slider. I threw all cutters and curveballs and fastballs, change-ups, no sliders.”

On the mound after Werth was Brock Cross - whose fastball lived in the mid-80s, curveballs in the low-70s and sliders in the mid-70s. Through 34 pitches, Cross struck out 3 batters - the last of which was the final out of the game.

“I kind of blacked out after that last pitch,” Cross laughed. “I just felt pure joy. I don’t think I’ve ever felt something like that before. My whole travel baseball career ended at that moment and it was just unforgettable…I was shaking all the way until we got on the plane.”

Owner and Coach Jon Paino expressed his appreciation for Cross’s efforts throughout the five-day event:

“Brock is primarily a catcher. He’s going to college to catch, but Brock made some sacrifices for the team and gave up a couple of his catching starts because he knew he was going to have to pitch.”

Cross also contributed to the championship game offensively with a run on a ground ball which yieled a double play in the top of the fourth - the third run on the board for his team.

The first two runs came in the top of the third in an at-bat from Ethan Clauss. After one advanced on the throw, Clauss lined an RBI single to right field.

“I was hunting the fastball right off the bat, trying to get my pitch, obviously swinging and fouling that pitch off first pitch and then getting my heater middle - middle in second pitch, drive it up the middle. That’s what I’m looking for…That first run, everything felt great.”

The final run on the board came in the fifth inning off a sacrifice fly ball from University of California, Berkeley commit, Jett Kenady.

“He (Coach Paino) trusted me to get the job done. And I knew as well, like, ‘I have to just do a job here. Anything that needs to be done, you have to do it. ’That’s what was going through my head. Like, ‘don’t check out, put a ball in play and get a job done. ’That’s what I did,” Kenady said.

Another piece that contributed to CBA Marucci’s success came in the form of their catcher.

“An unsung hero is definitely William Bandel, the 2026 catcher. Will always puts in quality at-bats. He carried the bulk of the load behind the plate. I don’t think there’s a better defensive catcher in the 2026 class,” Paino said.

Beyond the talent on this team was their chemistry and a clear, uniting idea given to them by their coach:

“It’s not always the best guys on paper, it’s not always the best team on paper, it’s the toughest guys that succeed in baseball. And what we mean by that is, the guys that persevere through adversity, the guys that make the sacrifices, make curfew and take care of themselves and do all of the things necessary to be a successful athlete in today’s world.”

“Our grit as a whole is second to none,” Clauss said. “I think we wanted it more than the other team every game and that’s what brought us that championship.”

This championship win did not come easy. After a loss in pool play, Paino said the team had to make active decisions not to let that define their event:

“They really made sacrifices as a group and made all the right choices off the field to make sure they were in a position to succeed and get through a three-game day and then a two-game day on Monday.”

“None of us really turned on each other when things weren’t going well in pool play,” Werth said. “We really stayed together and we believed that we were going to go far. There was never a doubt that we could get it done if we just stayed together.”

“I feel like you don’t have to be the most talented kid out there,” Clauss said. “Just playing as hard as you can will get the attention of people that are willing to put effort into you. I think that’s the biggest takeaway.”
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