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Tournaments  | Story | 9/27/2019

Cangelosi Splits Day 1 in Florida

Photo: CJ Byrdak (Perfect Game)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – There are a lot of teams in Fort Myers, Fla. this weekend for the WWBA Sophomore World Championships that call Florida or Georgia their home.

Cangelosi Sparks 2022 Black is not one of them. The Sparks call Lockport, Ill. home. The team spends most of its time winning a bunch of games and tournaments back home in the Midwest, including the Midwest Freshman Championship a year ago in Iowa.

An early Thursday morning flight and a long day of travel made for an interesting Friday morning game down in Fort Myers, however.

You know that saying that goes something like, “You’re only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher.” It applied here.

A good performance on the mound woke everyone up. CJ Byrdak, Most Valuable Pitcher at this same WWBA Sophomore World Championship a year ago, delivered that performance for the team, and the Sparks won, 8-2.

“It was a little different, coming all the way down here from Illinois,” Byrdak said. “We had a 4:00 am flight [Thursday], got here around noon. So then coming out today and pitching, it was long and tiring, but I felt like I got in a groove.”

Byrdak didn’t give Cangelosi a ton of length – he only pitches 2 2/3 innings due to pitch limit restrictions. But he battled when the team needed him. Two fielding errors caused problems for Byrdak in the top of the second inning, and Cangelosi gave up two runs in the frame – both unearned for Byrdak.

He got a strikeout to end the inning and the damage.

“He didn’t get down,” head coach Tim Byrdak, CJ’s father, said. “We had a couple mishaps there in the second inning, but he was aggressive on the mound and that’s what we like to see out of him.”

Significant damage had been done, however. Not necessarily on the scoreboard; the two-run second inning for Tri State Arsenal only tied the game at 2-2. But the game felt sloppy all of a sudden.

The speed of the game slowed way down. Both teams were playing tight. Opening game at one of the biggest tournaments of the year, with two teams from Illinois and New Jersey. A little tightness is to be expected.

Cangelosi went scoreless in the bottom of the second inning, but Brydak grabbed momentum back when he struck out the first two batters of the third inning, before being lifted to preserve his availability. Noah Schultz, who came in to replace Byrdak, picked up a strikeout to end the inning.

Teams want shutdown innings right after they hang a crooked number on the scoreboard. Tri State Arsenal had one right after they tied the game. Brydak and Schultz’s combined frame, however, in which they struck out the side, felt more important in the moment.

And it turned out to be.

Nate Voss, a Michigan Wolverine commit, started the bottom of the third with a triple over the left fielder’s head that almost cleared the fence. After a hit-by-pitch and walk, Beau Polickey smacked a double down the third base line that scored two and gave the lead back to the Sparks.

Two batters later, Byrdak delivered a two-RBI single to push the lead to 6-2. Cangelosi would add one more in the frame and another in the bottom of the fifth inning to secure the 8-2 win to open up pool play.

Coach Byrdak said he gathered up the guys after the second inning lapse, and felt like the team took what he said to heart.

“We just talked about the pace of the game,” he said. “It looked like after we made a couple errors that we really tried to slow the game down. I just told them they control the pace of the game, and that we could come back and score a couple quick ones. We want to try to control the game as much as we can from the first inning to the last.”

Cangelosi couldn’t get any sort of rally together in Game 2 on Friday. They lost, 3-1, to Team All-American, who is 2-0 in the pool after one day.

It was a matter of not stringing anything together consistently. The Sparks put together quite a few hard-hit baseballs, but seemingly none were back-to-back, and most were right at defenders.

Voss started the seventh inning with a double over the center fielder’s head – his fourth extra-base hit of the day – and came around the score on George Bilecki’s RBI single. But the rally fizzled out after that.

A diving catch in center field robbed Cangelosi of another baserunner and a sliding, over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory at first base ended the game just as Team All American’s starting pitcher, Jake Rupp, hit the pitch max.

Rupp ended up tossing seven innings, giving up six hits and the one earned run, along with four strikeouts.

The six hits were spread out just enough, which is the opposite of what Coach Byrdak got out of his squad in their first game.

“That’s the thing that the kids have to understand,” Brydak said after Game One, regarding his team’s crisp play. “If they play good defense and they get timely hits and that stuff, that helps out with pitching and really helps out in the long run.”




Tournaments | Story | 9/27/2023

Midwest Invitational Scout Notes

Tyler Kotila
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Creighton Tuzzio (2024, Clarinda, Iowa) took the ball in the semi-final game and was able to get on the bump and carve for his team. Tuzzio is a taller 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame with plenty to like in the operation. The right-handed pitcher has a slower and more controlled operation as he works through the delivery. He lifts the leg up around the belt and then works through a three-quarters release with good whip through it. The fastball worked up to 86 mph on the fastball and held in the low- to mid-80s. He creates some angle on it with the taller & projectable frame. It runs arm-side and can be a problem for right-handed hitters. He also showed a low-70s curveball with a bigger 11/5 tilt to it and good depth to miss some bats. The Iowa Western commit threw 5.0 innings, allowing just 1 run, with 4 walks and 6 strikeouts to his credit.   There’s no surprise here, but...
Tournaments | Story | 9/26/2023

WWBA World Championship Pool Preview

Perfect Game Staff
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Pool A Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location Boston Red Sox Scout Connor Lane 500 2024 Tague Davis 59 2024 Boston, MA Cangelosi Sparks Tyler Bell  122 2024 Brady Chambers 500 2024 Lockport, IL Dirtbags National 2024 Dalton Wentz 74 2024 Riley Leatherman 251 2024 Sedalia, NC Florida Burn Colton Schwarz 214 2025 Presley Woodson 500 2025 Sarasota, FL Projected Pool Winner: Dirtbags National 2024 With one of the deepest and most physical lineups in the nation, the Dirtbags National 2024 club have been putting up runs in bunches. No hitter is hotter than Austin Irby, as the ECU commit is While sluggers Dalton Wentz, Will Craddock and Palmer Hornick won’t be in attendance, Lee Sowers, Will Brooks, Jon Young Jr. and spark plug Carter Richardson lead an offense that averages over 7 runs per game. They can cover ground on...
Tournaments | Story | 9/26/2023

Coastal Soph. Fall Invite Scout Notes

Todd Coffey
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Michael Flores (2026, NC) looking great through 4 innings pitched with 11 k’s. Great command and completely missing barrels. #2023WWBACoastalSophmoreFallInvatational pic.twitter.com/Oqd3WD0E05 — PG Coastal Scouting (@PG_Coastal) September 24, 2023 Michael Flores (2026, Mooresville, NC) put on an electric performance to watch for the SBA Futures 2026 in their matchup versus the Carolina Reds. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound, RHP did his job for his team today to keep them in the game. Flores throws with a high leg lift and creates some good motions towards the plate with his whippy action. Flores has a great feel for the zone and pounded strikes at a 66% rate. Flores generated swing and miss after swing and miss and it was clear he was in control out there on the mound. He sat in the 70-mph range to 79-mph range with his fastball with the ability to pinpoint it wherever he pleased....
Tournaments | Story | 9/26/2023

Fall Frenzy Scout Notes

Jason Phillips
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James Sherry (’26, Aiken, S.C.)- the 6-foot-1, 155-pound right-handed pitcher tossed a complete game for Xtreme Xposure Baseball-Bennett in an 8-1 win over 2 Way Athletics 16U. A primary outfielder, Sherry finished with 15 strikeouts and just one walk while controlling the zone at a 65% strike rate. Appearing in only his second PG tournament, Sherry turned in another great pitching performance after being selected to the All-Tournament Team at the 2023 16U PG Southeast Labor Day Classic. Aidan Petrocco (‘24 GA)- singles here into LF to load the bases for @643DPAthletics Primary MIF 2-for-4 w/ run scored on the day. #FallFrenzy @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/Ly7zEuRwyg — Perfect Game Georgia (@PG_Georgia) September 24, 2023 Aidan Petrocco (’24, Johns Creek, Ga.)- the 5-foot-9, 160-pound right-handed hitter for 643 DP Cougars 18U led the 18U Southeast Fall Frenzy...
Tournaments | Story | 9/27/2023

Sophomore WWBA Scout Notes: Day 3-5

Kyler Peterson
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A high speed look at this 2B from Keon Johnson... #WWBAWorlds @PG_Georgia https://t.co/Ejl8GirIgk pic.twitter.com/ate7ro35cp — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) September 24, 2023 Keon Johnson (2026, Macon, Ga.) started off the morning loud, going down to get a pitch down and smoking a double that split the opposite field gap at a 92 mph exit velocity. The shortstop has one of the best hit tools in the class and has tremendous feel for the barrel. The swing is quiet and simple, staying loose through the zone. The ball jumps and the parts really work. At short, Johnson looked silky with good actions, range, and plenty of arm strength across. The game comes easy for the Georgia native, and still just 15, the all-around game is very well-refined for the age.  Jaxson Wood (2026, Hoover, Ala.) finished batting .500 over the tournament, including three extra-base hits. The primary...
Tournaments | Story | 9/25/2023

Deep South Fall Invitational Scout Notes

Alex Dorso
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Patrick Kovacs (2026 Knoxville TN) was dominant in his outing in game two of pool play for Exposure National. The southpaw tossed three scoreless innings allowing two hits while striking out eight. He showed plus command of the fastball dotting it to both sides of the plate while working off the corners at times. Patrick sat 75-78 topping at 79 multiple times throughout. He mixed in a tight breaking ball with two plane movement that he had no problem mixing in any count keeping the opposing hitters off balanced in the box. Coming from a mid 3/4s slot there was some deception within the operation making it tough to pick the fastball up out of the hand. The frame has plenty of athleticism within with plenty of more room for additional strength as he continues to mature. Kovacs should be a fun follow as he continues to progress through high school. Ryan Riojas (‘26 TN) drives this...
Tournaments | Story | 9/24/2023

Sophomore WWBA Scout Notes: Day 3

Troy Sutherland
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Sophomore WWBA Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Extended look at Gunnar Garrison... 7 IP, 1 H, OER, 13 K, 1 BB (70% K) #WWBAWorlds @PG_FourCorners https://t.co/V89oASpD8r pic.twitter.com/tsP1mWCoNz — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) September 21, 2023 Colorado right-hander Gunnar Garrison (2026, Eaton, Colo.) was magnificent in his start for Slammers Anderson 2026’s. The big and physical 6-foot-4, 210-pound arm threw a complete game, seven inning, one-hit shutout, striking out 13 and walking one. The fastball had downhill life to it, sitting in the 85-88 range for the entirety of the game. Garrison held the velocity and reached back for his fastest bullet of the game, at 89, in the seventh inning. Finishing the outing with 70% strikes, he filled up the zone and went right at hitters. He also induced swing-and-miss on a curveball, featuring late...
Tournaments | Story | 9/22/2023

Northeast Qualifier Scout Notes

John McAdams
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Jack Harley (2024, Mendham, NJ) put together a dominant performance at the plate in the WWBA NEQ, leading his team to a coveted Jupiter bid while also earning MVP-honors. The 6-foot-1 left-handed hitter showcased his advanced bat-to-ball skills on several occasions. He batted .643 with two doubles, a home run and six stolen bases. Harley utilizes a repeatable, synced-up stroke with clean separation into launch. He has a great feel for the barrel and creates good strength at impact to all parts of the diamond. The future Hokie recorded a hit in all six of his games and proved to be a reliable bat at the top-of-the-order for Clubhouse 2024 EvoShield. Harley’s build offers a good balance of strength and athleticism, making him a well-rounded prospect with intriguing upside moving forward.  .#VandyBoys commit Aiden O’Connell (‘24, NH) is back on the bump in the #NEQ...
Tournaments | Story | 9/23/2023

Sophomore WWBA Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Vincent Cervino
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Nathan Caldwell (2026, Columbia, S.C.) looked the part in the batter’s box as the Team Elite three-hole hitter had one of the hardest hit balls of the day. There’s really impressive bat speed and the ability to create violence and rotational acceleration through contact. He missiled a single during the game and there looks like there’s going to be pretty significant impact potential long term. He’s a strong kid with good indicators and offensive tools to like. Drew Borkowski (2026, Huntley, Ill.) showed plenty to like in the arm as he got the start in game one on the day for GRB. At 6-foot-1, 170-pounds he’s got a lanky frame with long limbs and plenty of room for physical projection. It’s a quick arm with solid arm speed throughout and he opened up sitting 85-87 mph with the fastball. The fastball showed good sinking life and he used it to get a lot...
College | Story | 9/22/2023

Cape Cod Top 2025 Prospect List

Vincent Cervino
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Earlier this week we debuted our Cape Cod Top 100 Prospect List and mixed amongst the 100 names were some 2025 graduates who will be eligible for the upcoming 2024 MLB Draft. Below, each of the 50 names are eligible in 2025 and those listed with an "^" are continuing their careers at a new school this fall.  Name Pos. Team School Hometown State Adonys Guzman^ C Bourne Arizona Valley Cottage NY Aidan Jimenez RHP Chatham Oregon State Elk Grove CA Anthony Martinez 1B YD UC Irvine Fairfield CA Ben Jacobs LHP Bourne UCLA Huntington Beach CA Bradley Hodges LHP Hyannis Virginia Fleming Island FL Brady Neal C YD LSU Tallahassee FL Brody Donay^ C/1B Hyannis Florida Lakeland FL Caden Bodine C Bourne Coastal Carolina Haddon Heights NJ Cam Leiter^ RHP Orleans Florida State Island Heights FL Cannon Peebles^ C Cotuit Tennessee Mechanicsville VA Drew Faurot^ SS Orleans Florida State Tallahassee FL...
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