FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a spot on the line to qualify for the 17u Super25 National Championship in two weeks time, four teams have survived pool play to have an opportunity to compete against some of the top competition from around the country.
With 11 teams and two pools in the qualifier, one team made it through unscathed in four games to take the top seed in the SWFL Canes. Consisting of all but one player from Southwest Florida, on Friday and Saturday the Canes took both games and outscored their opponents in the four games 28-17.
In Pool A, the Canes had to erase an early 3-0 deficit in their opening game of pool play and defeated Cigar City Baseball 6-4, and took down Akadema Puerto Rico 8-4 in their second game.
On Saturday, the Canes won a thriller against the previously unbeaten X Team 2-1 on a walk-off squeeze bunt laid down by Danny Stefanacci (2018, Cape Coral, FL) before defeating SWFL Elite 2019 12-8 to complete their four games.
Robert Wegielnik (2018, Fort Myers, Fla.) has been the catalyst offensively in the four games, batting .583 with four doubles and has scored five runs. Noah Rivera (2018, Lehigh Acres, Fla.) has also had a strong showing at the plate, with five hits in 10 at-bats.
Three Canes’ pitchers have worked past the sixth inning, with two tossing complete games. Jose Gil (2020, Estero, Fla.) worked six innings in the Canes’ opening contest, while Owen Canales (2018, Fort Myers, Fla.) and Sean Heery (2018, Lehighton, Pa.) went the distance, leaving the pitching in relatively good standing heading towards the semifinals.
X Team will get a shot at redemption, as they claimed the fourth seed and will match up with the Canes at 8 a.m., on the Brett Field at Terry Park.
A five-inning contest resulted in a 10-7 opening victory Friday against Akadema Puerto Rico saw a seven-run first inning give them plenty of cushion, and the X Team took their second win of the day with a 6-0 win over SWFL Elite 2019.
An eight-run third inning carried X Team past Cigar City Baseball to a 10-3 win Saturday morning, before they fell to the Canes 2-1 in their afternoon contest.
Tyler Zayas (2018, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) has excelled defensively at shortstop and has swung the bat very well, going 6-for-10 with two doubles, two triples and has scored six runs to pace X Team. Dillon Abell (2018, Pompano Beach, Fla.) tossed five scoreless innings in their 6-0 victory over SWFL Elite 2019, and Adrian Parker (2018, Plantation, Fla.) allowed only one run in their 2-1 loss to the Canes to lead the way on the mound.
In Pool B, Florida Prime Time also went through pool play unbeaten with three victories and one tie to take the second seed.
A five-run first inning carried Florida Prime Time to an 8-1 victory over PBA Under Armour in their opening Friday morning game before tying with Puerto Rico Akadema 5-5.
On Saturday, despite only managing two hits, Florida Prime Time defeated JB Baseball Development 4-1, and had a thrilling 7-6 comeback victory over Miami Southridge, by scoring five runs in the final two innings to lock up the second seed.
The Prime Time has had scattered production offensively, but Christopher Mendez (2019, Hialeah, Fla.) had a tremendous performance that aided in the 7-6 win over Miami Southridge by going 3-for-4 with five RBIs, including a two-run home run to left in the sixth inning.
Pitching has played a big part in the Prime Time’s run through pool play, with four complete games. Jose Gonzalez (2017, Hialeah, Fla.) and Giancarlos Gomez (2018, Hialeah, Fla.) have each worked six innings in their starts and both racked up six strikeouts. Anthony Iglesias (2019, Hialeah, Fla.) also threw six innings in their 5-5 tie, while Dylan Valdes went seven innings in their victory over Miami Southridge.
They will take on SWFL Nation 2019, who went 3-1 in pool play to take the third seed in an 8 a.m. matchup at the Stadium at Terry Park.
Another team with a local flavor, SWFL has allowed the fewest runs of any team in the competition at 11, and their pitching staff is a big reason why they are in contention.
A 7-0 shutout of JB Baseball Development started their campaign on Friday, and SWFL backed it up with a 11-2 thrashing of Miami Southridge.
On Saturday morning, SWFL locked up their spot in the semifinals with a 3-2 victory over PBA Under Armour before falling 7-0 to Puerto Rico Akadema.
Tyler Kreissler (2019, Roronda West, Fla.) and Cooper Haskell (2019, Lakeland, Fla.) combined for the shutout in their first game, with Kreissler striking out five in five innings. Matt Paulo (2019, Lake Worth, Fla.) tossed a five-inning complete game and struck out seven and was aided by three RBIs by Jorel Ortega (2019, Lake Worth) and four RBIs from Kalvin Alexander (2019, Lakeland, Fla.) in their 11-2 victory.
William Shea (2019, Fort Myers, Fla.) worked 6 1/3 innings and struck out six and Kasey Ross (2019, Cape Coral) shut the door to close out the 3-2 victory against PBA. Jake McKee (2019, Fort Myers, Fla.) has hits in all four games and has gone 6-for-10 to lead the offense for SWFL.