Play9 Sports – June 13-16 Recap – Elite Series / 18u NC
Inevitable A’s 18u
Despite two losses, the Inevitable A’s at last week’s 18u Midwest Premier National
Championship were… inevitable. The A’s finished with a record of 4-2 over the weekend and
found their stride to eventually take home the Midwest Premier trophy. The A’s got going fast as
the tournament went along. They tore the cover off the baseball as their torrid offense helped to
carry them over the top. In the semi-final game, they took over the game after being tied going
into the third inning. They used a 6-run inning to take the lead for good and win the semi-final
11-8. The offensive clinic for the A’s was far from over, however. They took on the St. Louis
Naturals in the Championship, and collected almost 20 runs in a 19-1 victory to claim the title.
The A’s averaged nine runs per game, and tallied 54 runs for the tournament. Brodie Short and
Connor Mendell shared the honor of hitting multiple home-runs throughout the tournament. The
A’s also got a lot of help from their pitchers, as they allowed just 14 runs all weekend to
complement their red-hot offense.
Player Highlight – Connor Mendell
At 6’0 180-lbs Connor Mendell was a force at the dish this weekend. The Fort Zumwalk South (HS) Grad showed incredible composure in both the field and at the plate. Mendell is a primary catcher displaying the range to play at second. At the plate, he flashes an ability to access above-average pull side power. This past weekend, Mendell went 5-11 with three homers. He maxed out with a bat speed of 72.9 MPH and exit velocity of 97.3 MPH. The load in his swing allows him to punish pitches inside, especially with his quick hand speed. Connor is currently committed to play college baseball at Northern Illinois University under head coach Ryan Copeland. Connors ability to consistently drive the baseball should transition well into college at a quick pace. On the other side of the diamond, Mendell has the speed to play up the middle, a time of 6.7 on his 60.
STL Legacy 15u Kessler
One of the most impressive performances of the summer so far came from Legacy Kessler,
competing in the 16u Elite Series. Kessler started the weekend with a loss, but never looked
back afterwards. They won their next six games, using a combination of dynamic hitting and
some shutdown pitching performances. In seven games, Kessler posted 60 runs, which is good
for an average of 8.5 runs per game. The team collected 55 hits, and it wasn’t just the offense
that got the job done. Kessler was boosted by some outstanding pitching performances. Max
Simokaitis threw five no-hit innings in 52 pitches on Sunday. Cole Chambers added a complete
game on Saturday with nine strikeouts and only three hits allowed. Kessler came into the final
day needing to win three games, and won them all. Their triumph was capped by an 8-0 win in
the championship game against GBA-Eisen. That Sunday featured temperatures of 96 degrees,
so Legacy Kessler was on fire last weekend, both literally and figuratively. As a toast to their
all-around strong team play, the entire team was named tournament MVP, a testament to how
strong the group as a whole came together and won.
GBA 16/17u Schaeffer
GBA Schaeffer were the kings of last weekend’s Elite Series for 17 and 18u. The team went
undefeated on the weekend, winning all six games en route to their conquering of the Elite
Series. Their dominant run started Thursday with two wins, including a 13-3 victory over the
Midwest Rebels to cap off Day 1. Their next two wins continued their streak of dominance,
winning by scores of 9-1 and 13-1 respectively. GBA had to overcome some adversity on
Sunday, as they came from behind to tie the game in the fifth inning against the St. Louis
Naturals, courtesy of an RBI single from Reed Hunter. GBA would take the lead for good in the
sixth, bringing home four runs to move into the championship game. They continued their
winning ways all the way through, defeating PSA Manis 6-4 in Sunday’s final. Jack Kirgan
earned the win for GBA, pitching two flawless no-hit innings. GBA finished with 45 runs on the weekend, while also notching 42 hits.