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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/13/2018

Team Elite wins 16u WWBA

Nate Schweers     
Photo: Team Elite Prime (Perfect Game)

EMERSON, Ga. – Team Elite Prime capped off their dominant run at the 16u WWBA National Championship on Friday with a 5-2 win over MWE. Team Elite Prime played exceptional baseball all week long, and in the end was just too much for the rest of the tournament field.

In Friday’s championship game, Team Elite Prime struck quickly in the first inning to jump ahead. After they were able to load the bases, Kellum Clark delivered a two-run double, and Vince Smith followed it up with a run-scoring groundout to take a 3-0 lead.

Team Elite went right back to work in the bottom of the second adding their fourth run of the game on a single up the middle from Trejyn Fletcher. Ethan Long was able score on a passed ball just two batters later, and that was more than enough for a Team Elite pitching staff that was one of the deepest in the tournament.

“All week it has been our pitching; they have really been carrying our team,” said Fletcher, who was the tournament MVP. “They [other teams] have gotten some runs here and there on some walks, but our pitchers have been amazing this week.”

While Fletcher also spent some time on the mound this week, his main influence was at the plate. Fletcher went 12-for-29 on the week with two home runs and seven RBI. The Vanderbilt commit put his stamp on the MVP run with a 2-for-3 performance in the championship game that included a hard-hit triple to the left field gap.

“I was just seeing the ball really well. There were some at-bats that I got anxious and got ahead of myself a little bit, but with the players we have on this time its always a friendly competition between all of us and they help me to be better.”

Though Fletcher is a primary outfielder, he is also one of the many hard-throwing pitchers on this Team Elite pitching staff. Players like Alex McFarlane, Liam Norris and Grant Taylor dominated all week, and were nearly unhittable for any team that had to step in the box.

Team Elite Prime was dominant in all facets of the game over the course of this year’s 16u WWBA National Championship. They outscored their opponents 89-28 this week, and tossed two shutouts in the process. This Team Elite group had 16 Division I commits on their roster, and they certainly played to expectations.

“We’ve done a great job of assembling a good group here,” said head coach Jeremy Brotherton. “The energy that they continued to bring out was just phenomenal. We fed off that, we scored runs early, and the pitching did everything we asked.”

Another standout performer in Friday’s championship game was Kellum Clark. Clark was 3-for-3 at the plate with a pair of doubles, and he came in to close out the final three outs for Team Elite Prime on the mound. Clark is ranked as the 16th-best prospect in the 2020 class, and the Mississippi State commit couldn't be prouder of his teammates’ focus all week.

“The thing about our team is not only that we never gave up, but some people didn't get as many at-bats as they wanted to but we all were locked in on one goal,” said Clark. “If it weren’t for everybody on this team being locked in on that goal, I don't think we would’ve won it. Our team is special.”

This won’t be the last time this group is playing in big games at WWBA events, as they are arguably one of the best teams you will find at the prep level. While the Team Elite program is historically one of the best, this is their first WWBA championship of the summer.

“I love every single one of my teammates,” said Clark. “They’re all good guys, and I would love for us to be back next year and defend our title.”

The MV-Pitcher of the tournament was MWE’s Trevor Martin. The Oklahoma State commit struck out 24 batters in 13 innings this week without allowing an earned run.


2018 17u WWBA National Championship runner-up: MWE 16u



2018 17u WWBA National Championship MVP: Trejyn Fletcher



2018 17u WWBA National Championship MV-Pitcher: Trevor Martin
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