MVP Banditos North ride big performances to Freshman championship

FORT MYERS, Fla. – An early two-run hole didn’t deter MVP Banditos North, as tournament MVP Kobe Benson (2021, Boca Raton, Fla.) drove in a pair of runs and starter Brady Strelitz (2021, Boca Raton, Fla.) settled in and fired a complete game as the Banditos defeated Hit Factory PRO 6-2 in the championship game of the 2017 WWBA Freshman East Labor Day Classic.

Hit Factory jumped ahead in the top of the first on a double to the gap in right-center off the bat of Charles Stevens (2021, Dunedin, Fla.) to plate the first two runs of the game.

The Banditos answered back with a run in the bottom half on a RBI single from Joesph Phan (2021, Boynton Beach, Fla.), and forged ahead with three runs in the second, all coming with two outs on an RBI double to left -enter from D.J. Glasgow (2021, Parkland, Fla.) and Benson’s two-run single to right on an 0-2 count.

Adding on single runs in the fourth and fifth, the Banditos rode Strelitz the rest of the way. The righthander retired 18 of the last 20 batters he faced to send the Banditos home with the trophy.

“We’ve got a very athletic team, and we’re very good defensively I had a lot of confidence even after falling behind early,” Banditos head coach Todd Moser said. “We made some good adjustments at the plate during the weekend and had a good last two games at the plate.

“These kids have only had six practices together coming from other teams, but they came together and bought in by not trying to do much and put pressure on the other team’s defense.”

Benson batted .533 (8-for-15) for the tournament to take home MVP honors.

Austin Grause (2021, Tampa, Fla.) pitched Hit Factory PRO into the championship game with a sparkling semifinal outing, striking out 10 in 6 1/3 innings. Along with three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings earlier in the week, Grause was awarded Most Valuable Pitcher for the tournament.


2017 WWBA Freshman East Labor Day Classic runner-up: Hit Factory PRO



2017 WWBA Freshman East Labor Day Classic MVP: Kobe Benson



2017 WWBA Freshman East Labor Day Classic MV-Pitcher: Austin Grause





Siege scores early and often to capture 14u title

FORT MYERS, Fla. – In the 14u championship game Team Siege capped off an outstanding weekend – in which they won each pool play game by more than seven runs – by being tested in a 3-0 semifinal victory before cruising to a 13-1 win over SBO in the final.

After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the first, RBI singles from Derek Bermudez (2022, Miramar, Fla.) and Adrian Dominguez (2022, Miami, Fla.) put Team Siege out in front. They would tack on another run via a wild pitch to move ahead 3-1.

After picking up another run in the second, Team Siege would score five times in the third and deliver the knockout blow in the fourth, plating four runs and ending the game thanks to an RBI single from Ethan Colon (2022, Miami, Fla.) to cap off a perfect 6-0 week.

Wilder Puertas (2022, Orange Park, Fla.) had a good showing on the mound for Team Siege, striking out four in 3 1/3 innings of work.

Bermudez earned Most Valuable Player honors for the tournament, displaying his talent on the mound with seven strikeouts in three innings across two outings. At the plate, he batted .471 (8-for-17) with seven RBI and four stolen bases.


2017 WWBA 14u East Labor Day Classic champions: Team Siege



2017 WWBA 14u East Labor Day Classic runner-up: SBO



2017 WWBA 14u East Labor Day Classic MVP: Derek Bermudez



2017 WWBA 14u East Labor Day Classic MV-Pitcher: Elijah De Leon





Ostingers walks off to clam 13u crown

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Makye Hayes’ mad dash from second base on an errant throw plated the winning run, sending Ostingers Baseball Academy to a 6-5 victory over Freeze Blue in the 13u championship game on Sunday.

A back-and-forth affair saw Ostingers hold a 2-0 lead through two innings, before Freeze Blue evened the game up with two runs in the top of the third.

After Ostingers regained the lead with a run in the home half of the third, Freeze Blue would again answer back with an RBI double off the bat of Dominick Meady (2022, Cape Coral, Fla.) to make it a 3-3 game.

After a two-run fifth inning, Ostingers took a 5-3 lead to the seventh inning, needing three outs to close the championship out. However, after a sacrifice fly from Jonathan Kuzmich (2021, Cape Coral, Fla.) drew Freeze Blue to 5-4, Kevin Prado (2022, Cape Coral, Fla.) beat out a chopper to shortstop to allow Freeze Blue to tie the game at five runs apiece.

With two outs in the bottom half of the frame, Hayes (2022, Lithia, Fla.) grounded to shortstop and his speed beat the throw across to give Ostingers a baserunner. After Hayes stole second, Dylan Lapointe (2023, Valrico, Fla.) hit a hard smash down the third base line that was gloved by the Freeze Blue third baseman, but the throw across was not handled on a shot hop. The ball trickled far enough away that allowed Hayes to scamper all the way home ahead of the throw to send his team home with the trophy.

Hayes was named the Most Valuable Player for the event, going 6-for-13 (.462), with seven RBI and six stolen bases.

Alex Philpott (2022, Tampa, Fla.) pitched a strong Sunday morning game, firing five shutout innings with five strikeouts, and his performance stood over the rest, and was named Most Valuable Pitcher of the tournament.


2017 WWBA 13u East Labor Day Classic champions: Ostingers Baseball Academy 13u



2017 WWBA 13u East Labor Day Classic runner-up: Freeze Blue



2017 WWBA 13u East Labor Day Classic MVP: Makye Hayes



2017 WWBA 13u East Labor Day Classic MV-Pitcher: Alex Philpott