By: Cody Smith
Top Tier Reporter
Week #8 in Top Tier Baseball
Top Tier Tournament Recaps: From 15u-18u
15u Americans, GRB Tournament
The 15u Americans looked to finish their summer season participating at a tournament in Madison, Wisconsin. Although, the weekend didn’t go as planned as the 15u Americans split 2-2 in their pool play games. Starting pitcher John Zimmermann and reliever Charlie Cmiel combined for a complete game shutout against Pro Player. Zimmermann threw five scoreless innings in the 1-0 victory. Additionally, Top Tier was able to get another close victory over the Wisconsin Panthers, 10-8. Sadly, the team wasn’t able to advance into bracket play. Even though Top Tier didn’t finish the season on a high note, the 15u Americans still ended the season with a solid overall record, going 31-17 on the summer season.
15u Nationals, GRB Tournament
The 15u Nationals seemed to cool down in their last tournament of the summer season. Like the other 15u Top Tier teams, the 15u Nationals competed hard to no avail. Scoring was tough to come by as the team wasn’t able to make it out of their pool. However, in their conciliation game, the 15u Nationals were able to end the season on a win, beating the Pro Players, 4-2 on Sunday. Blake Hickey stood out for his stellar defensive play while also managing to help the offense. Hickey went 3-7 with a double and one RBI this past weekend. Additionally, pitcher Ethan Kaiman threw a quality game in his start against the Pro Players. He threw a seven inning complete game giving up two runs on six hits while sitting down four. The 15u Nationals finished the season 21-17-3.
15u Nationals-Navy, Top Collegiate Prospect Invite
The 15u Nationals-Navy went dead even on the weekend, going 2-2 in pool play. Kevin Shoefernacker did well both on the mound and at the plate, as he tossed six strong innings giving up two runs on four hits while securing the win against BNBA, 10-3. At the plate he hit .429 with two extra-base hits including a nice triple. The team also had an impressive win against Rake City, winning 8-4. Even though the team didn’t advance to bracket play, the team still managed to finish their season with a positive record. As the season comes to an end, the 15u Nationals-Navy finished the year 19-18-1. Finally, Frank Magnelli also had himself a great weekend, hitting .400 with three doubles on six hits.
15u Nationals-White, Top Collegiate Prospect Invite
Coach Marik and the boys finished the season playing in Bloomington, Illinois this past weekend. The 15u Nationals-White looked to continue their hot streak during the second-half stretch of the season. Scoring 40 runs during pool play, Top Tier put themselves in perfect position for bracket play. 15u Nationals-White finished pool play a perfect 4-0, securing the No. 1 seed, giving them a bye in bracket play. After multiple rain delays, Top Tier was set to play the Illinois Hawks in the championship game. Both Evan Chatterjee and Jeremiah Powell helped carry the offensive load, each driving in 8 RBI’s throughout the weekend. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t keep their high powered offense going as they fell to the Hawks in their final game of the season. Even though the team didn’t close the season out with a trophy, they still finished on a positive note. After the 15u Nationals-White slow start to the season, the team rallied back to finish the summer on a 11-5 run, giving them about a .500 record for their season.
15u North, GRB Tournament
The 15u North had a tough weekend competing in the same tournament as the 15u Americans. Playing out of state in Madison, Wisconsin Top Tier just didn’t seem to be ready for the competition. Just like the Americans, 15u North weren’t able to make it out of their pool. Even so, Joe Shimamoto competed hard for the North as he threw a complete game in a win against the Cangelosi Sparks, 6-3.
16u Americans, PBR Limited Series
Playing in the 17u PBR Limited Series the Top Tier 16u Americans were the only team competing in Lexington, Kentucky underage. Being the only 16u team, Top Tier was at a huge disadvantage. Even so, it didn’t stop them from making a run in the playoffs. Top Tier 16u Americans finished the weekend positive, going 3-2 before falling in the semi finals. Jack Lochner helped spark the team’s offense, hitting .428 with an OPS (on-base% plus slugging%) of 1.191 while scoring two runs. Additionally, second-basemen Dylan Whitney also had himself a nice weekend, hitting .364 with three RBI’s and two runs scored. Fortunately, the 16u Americans still managed to finish with an elite record for their summer season as they went 28-6-5 on the year.
16u Nationals, Great Lakes Super Select
No doubt the 16u Nationals had themselves the best weekend of any Top Tier team. Sure, they won the Great Lakes Super Select to become tournament champions, but it’s the way they did it that made it that much more impressive. Finishing 3-0 in pool play, the 16u Nationals posted the best run differential in the entire tournament with a +23. On top of that, including the championship game, Top Tier mercy ruled four of the five teams during their championship run. Pitcher Alex James started two games on the bump, picking up victories in both, including a 9-1 win against the White Sox Ace in the championship game. James threw a combined six innings, giving up one earned run on two hits, while sitting down seven. Additionally, the Kra Player of the Week, Kyle Blum, helped drive the offense, hitting .583 with eight RBI’s on seven hits, including one homerun.
16u Nationals-Navy, DSP National Championship’s
Like many Top Tier teams this past weekend, the 16u Nationals-Navy had a down week in Bloomington, Illinois as they weren’t able to advance out of pool play. Right-handed submarine pitcher Luis Salinas threw a solid start against Rake City baseball. He tossed a complete game throwing seven innings while only giving up one earned run in Top Tier’s 9-3 win over Rake City. Additionally, Cam Smith and Matt Kaleta led the way on offense. Smith went 5-9 (.555) with a double and four runs scored. Meanwhile, Kaleta hit .500 on six hits while driving in two runs. The 16u Nationals-Navy ended the season on a positive note, going 20-19-1 this season.
17u Americans, PBR Limited Series
The 17u Americans did it all this past weekend in Lexington, Kentucky. They went 3-0 in pool play after a close 6-5 victory over the Kentucky Prospects where Tyler Snep hit a clutch two-out bases loaded clearing double to beat the Prospects in walk-off fashion. Infielder Kevin Dowling was the 17u Americans best hitter this past weekend, hitting .538 with a double and three RBI’s as well as drawing three walks. In addition, Collin Wilma had a great start on the mound, throwing six solid innings, giving up one run on four hits while striking out six in a 5-1 win over the Knights North. Still, that was as far as Top Tier could go, however, as they fell in the semi finals to the Midland Braves. 17u Americans finished the season with an impressive record, going 28-10-1 on the summer.
17u Nationals, GRB Tournament
The 17u Nationals competed hard in Madison, Wisconsin. Playing in an elite pool bracket, the Nationals struggled to win some close games. Top Tier finished pool play, going 1-1-1 including an 11-11 tie with the 17u Top Tier Nationals-Navy. Infielder Jimmy Carey hit solid on the weekend hitting .400 with three walks and two stolen bases while scoring four times. Furthermore, Logan Riley made two appearances on the bump, tossing eight innings combined giving up zero earned runs with five strike outs. Top Tier didn’t advance much further as they fell in bracket play to the GRB Rays Yellow, in a close one, 4-3. The 17u Nationals finished the season dead even, going 18-18-2 on the year.
17u Nationals-Navy, GRB Tournament
The 16u Nationals-Navy had a rough weekend in Wisconsin. They weren’t able to make it out of their selected pool after competing against some really good teams. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the way the 16u Navy wanted to finish their summer season. Even so, the team had some standout performances on the summer. Tyler Preissing threw 43 innings, gaining five wins while posting a 1.11 ERA on the year. Additionally, Adam Gaydos saw the ball really well at the plate hitting .381 with thirteen RBI’s and two home runs on the summer season.
18u Americans, Off
