2012 WORLD CLASSICS RESULTS
Southaven, Mississippi
National
Classic Championship Series
Snowden Grove Park
DIVISION
11 & Under Division National Classics Championship Series
Southaven, Mississippi
WINNER: DSP Angels – Southaven, MS
RUNNER-UP: Hurricanes Baseball – Olive Branch, MS
Final Game Score: DSP Angels 16 vs. Hurricanes Baseball 4
FRESHMAN DIVISION
12 & Under Division National Classics Championship Series
Southaven, Mississippi
WINNER: Central Florida Gators – Orange Park, Florida
RUNNER-UP: Oxford Rebels – Oxford, Mississippi
Final Game Score: Central Florida Gators 13 vs. Oxford Rebels 0
Summary of Game: By Chris Van Tuyl
As manager of the 12-and-under Central Florida Gators, Mark Roberts has many duties. And one of those is scheduling.
“The NABF (National Amateur Baseball Federation World Classic) was one of the first tournaments that we put on our schedule (for 2012),” said Roberts. “We definitely weren’t disappointed with the facilities and how they ran the tournament – it was first class.”
The same might be said for the performance of the Gators, who capped an undefeated run through their division at Southaven's Snowden Grove Park with a 13-0 championship-game victor over the Mississippi Rebels on July 6.
Whether or not Central Florida got its fill of the Memphis area, the Gators, with the win, have also qualified for a berth in the fifth annual National Youth Baseball Championship at Gameday Baseball’s First Tennessee Fields in neighboring Cordova. Representing the NABF, the Gators will participate in the 12-team tournament that’s being held August 24-27.
“You’ve got to play a lot of baseball and it was 105 to 108 (degrees) on a couple of those days, so anything can happen,” said Central Florida coach Chuck Isenberg, “but you set a goal at the beginning of the season and it’s rewarding when it pays off.”
The Gators teed off on Mississippi Rebel pitching in the title game, scoring five runs in the first inning and tacking on four more in the second, highlighted by Seth Caddel’s home run. Central Florida also went deep in the third inning, as Aaron Ahn and Grayson Kicklighter connected on back-to-back shots.
“We are a big team and we do have a lot of power,” Isenberg said. “We just absolutely murdered the ball.”
And the stats don’t lie. In their eight ABF contests, the Gators outscored the opposition, 92-25. The only time Central Florida didn’t crack the double-digit plateau on the scoreboard was an 8-4 semifinal victor over the Ohio Heat.
“Winning the tournament was very satisfying and very exciting for all of us,: said Isenberg. “A lot of hard work went into it.”
Pitching-wide, the Gator staff registered identical 13-0 shutout in pool play against the Red Stockings Baseball Club.
“All our kids pitch, which is pretty unusual, and power is our strong suit,” Roberts said. “The Rebels are a very good team. We just started playing well from the beginning and we just stayed hot.”
Primarily from the Orlando and Jacksonville area, the Gators who owned a 77-6 record through mid-July, are also coached by Chad Lytle and Tommy Benn.
“It’s absolutely a special team,” said Roberts. “We’re looking forward to Cordova, that’s for sure.”
DIVISION
13 & Under Division National Classics Championship Series
Southaven, Mississippi
WINNER: Dulins Dodgers – Cordova, TN
RUNNER-UP: Germantown Giants – Germantown, TN
Final Game Score: Dulins Dodgers 10 vs. Germantown Giants 8
DIVISION
18 & Under Division National Classics Championship Series
Southaven, Mississippi
WINNER: Ohio Elite Ratcliff – OH
RUNNER-UP: Ohio Elite Huesman – OH
Final Game Score: Ohio Elite Ratcliff 3 vs. Ohio Elite Huesman 0
Summary of Game: By Chris Van Tuyl
The championship game of the 18U Classics Tournament featured two teams from the same Ohio Elite franchise, but how they entered into the final contest came in different ways.
Throughout pool play, and in the semi-final contest against the Columbus Cobras, the Ohio Elite Ratcliff team stymied the opposition, allowing no more than three runs in their five games. On the other hand, the Ohio Elite Huesman team was rolling offensively into the finals having run-ruled two of its last three opponents scoring at least eight runs in each.
In the battle against the immovable object and unstoppable force, what had to give were the bats of Huesman’s team as Ratcliff’s shutdown their Elite peers taking the championship 3-0.
Wynston McMartin, (New Albany, Ohio) toed the rubber and overpowered OEH with a stead diet of upper-80s fastballs, a change offering and curveball. McMartin’s three-pitch attack shutdown the two-seed for five innings.
McMartin received all the support he would after one inning of work. OER would strike OEH pitcher Kris Popham (Powell, Ohio), who will be attending Wright State in the fall, for two first-inning runs before tacking on a third in the second. OEH would turn to their ace Michael Koltak Upper Arlington, Ohio), to try to keep the game close in hopes of a rally.
Koltak, an Ohio State commit, would do his job, shutting out OER over the final three innings, a day after allowing just one run in seven innings to the same team, but the offense for Huesman’s club never performed in the way they had in their previous five games.
After McMartin set up his team to win, Kevin Kline (Hamler, Ohio), would close the door and complete the shutout. The Toledo signee pitched the final two innings to cap a tournament in which Ratcliff’s team would yield eight total runs.
The tournament featured several talented players from each team, players that are heading to college baseball.
Joining Koltak in heading to Ohio State will be OER members Jacob Bosiokovic, Jacob BRobst and Zach Ratcliff. Koltak’s teammate Zak DeCamp will head to Lake Erie for his college baseball and was one of the toughest outs during the tournament.
All-tournament players for the champions included Reed Schlesner (Miami), Michael Steensen (Akron) and Curtis Olvey (Kent State).
A pair of players headed to Eastern Kentucky in TJ Alas (Columbus Cobras) and Ryan Nowlin (Cincinnati Bulldogs), too, shown well over the three days.
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