Squad prevails at Under World

FORT MYERS, Fla. – This was one tough row to hoe. By the time the Elite Squad and the Florida Burn 2019 Platinum – two teams representing two of the top travel programs not only in Florida but in the U.S. – took the field for the championship game at the Perfect Game WWBA Underclass World Championship, they had already run the equivalent of a baseball marathon.The playoff field at the 206-team PG national championship tournament included 64 teams, which made it necessary for teams to play three five inning games on Sunday, and a five-inning quarterfinal game and a seven-inning semifinal game on Monday just to reach the seven-inning championship game.

When the Squad and the Burn showed up at Field 2 at the Lee County Player Development Complex for that title tilt early Monday afternoon, they had already played 27 innings in roughly 30 hours and were staring down the barrel at seven more. Both were up to the challenge, but at the end of this epic journey it was the Squad that prevailed.

Gavin Casas was 3-for-3 with a double, triple and three runs scored, 2020 right-hander Jordan Carrion tossed a complete game three-hitter and the No. 42-seeded Elite Squad outlasted the No. 16 Burn 2019 Platinum, 4-1, on a hot and steamy – but rain-free – fall afternoon at the old 5-Plex.

The victory pushed the Elite Squad’s record to 8-1-0 over the course of this five-day event while the Burn 2019 Platinum lost for the first time and also finished 8-1-0. This was the story of two teams that everyone knew were worthy of duking it out for the title and they didn’t disappoint.

“Their effort was unbelievable,” Elite Squad Baseball president and underclass head coach Richie Palmer said of his players. “I’m not going to sit here and say we were the most talented team in the tournament – there are a lot of good teams here – but do I think we can play with anybody? Absolutely.”

The Burn 2019 Platinum averaged nearly six runs per game in their five playoff wins before the championship but could never figure Carrion out on this day. They scored their only run in the bottom of the second on the strength of a Charlie Vari one-out single, a walk, a wild pitch and a throwing error.

The Elite Squad lost their last game of pool-play but had already clinched the pool championship so the loss only affected their seeding, and that No. 42 seed didn’t really do anything to slow them down.

Once in bracket-play they outscored their six opponents by a combined 34-6, which included a 1-0 win over 5 Star National Dobbs in the round-of-32 and a 13-2 win over L&M Baseball in the round-of-16. 2019 left-hander Ryan Cabarcas – a Florida commit ranked No. 125 nationally – pitched a five-inning no-hitter in the win over 5 Star National, striking out three and walking four.

”We lost that last pool-play game and I told them, ‘Listen, I know you guys and I know the way you’re capable of playing, and I know the way that you are going to respond,” Palmer said. “And if you respond the way that I think (you will) and you start believing and you start playing with heart, we’re going to win this thing. I’m not a fortune teller but sometimes it just happens. … You keep saying it until it becomes a reality.”

Casas is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound 16-year-old 2020 corner-infielder from Pembroke Pines, Fla., who is ranked No. 49 nationally in his class and is yet to commit to a college; he is the brother of 2017 PG All-American Triston Casas. Gavin Casas went 9-for-22 (.409) with three doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBI in the nine games and was named the Most Valuable Player.

“We just try to stay with our own game,” Casas said of the championship run. “We know that all the other players here are talented and they can play. This is what we play for and it means the world to me (to put on the Elite Squad jersey). Richie Palmer and the whole organization is great. They’ve given me every opportunity to succeed and I’m just grateful for it.”

The Burn 2019 Platinum were unbeatable until reaching the championship game, outscoring their five previous playoff foes by a combined 29-5. Josh Rivera, a 2019 third baseman and Florida recruit ranked 119 nationally, hit .421 (8-for-19) with two doubles, eight RBI and three stolen bases to lead the Burn.

Four quarterfinal and a pair of semifinal games preceded the championship game Monday morning at the Lee County Player Development Complex.

In the seven-inning semifinals, the Burn 2019 Platinum buried the No. 20 MLB Breakthrough Series (7-1-0), 12-2 in five innings and the Elite Squad snuck past the No. 43 Scorpions 2017 Prime (5-1-2), 2-0.

The Burn pushed across eight runs in the bottom of the fourth to move into run-rule territory. They used five hits and nine walks to score their 12 runs; Josh Rivera doubled and had three RBI.

2019 right-hander Skylar Gonzalez flirted with a no-hitter through 5 2/3 innings and finished with a six-inning, seven strikeout one-hitter to pace the Elite Squad. 2019 lefty Brandon Bruno needed only 14 pitches in a 1-2-3, one-strikeout top of the seventh to close the victory. Ryan Keenan and Gerardo Rodriguez, hitting eighth and ninth in the order, each drove in runs in the bottom of the fourth.

It was the second appearance of the tournament for the 6-foot-2, 160-pound Gonzalez, who calls Fort Lauderdale home. He finished 2-0 in nine innings of work, and didn’t allow a run on five hits while striking out 10 and walking but three; Gonzalez was named the Most Valuable Pitcher.

In five-inning quarterfinal play, the Burn 2019 Platinum blanked No. 57 Team GA/MBA Gold (5-2-0), 2-0; the MLB Breakthrough Series shutdown the No. 60 East Cobb Astros (5-2-0), 5-0; the Elite Squad got past the No. 15 Scorpions South 2019 (6-1-0), 6-1 and the Scorpions 2019 Prime escaped the No. 3 Team Elite 17u Prime, 8-6 in six innings. There were noteworthy pitching performances in three of the four games.

Florida Burn 2019 right-hander Danny Rodriguez threw five, two-hit shutout innings with six strikeouts and two walks in the win over Team GA/MBA Gold. 2019 left-hander Aryonis Harrison and 2019 righty Sanson Faltine III combined an eight-strikeout two-hitter for the Breakthrough; Faltine struck-out six in his three innings but also gave up the two hits.

2019 right-hander Chandler Freeman threw four innings of two-hit, seven strikeout ball in the Elite Squad’s win; 2019 lefty Ethan Kramer came in and struck-out the side in a 1-2-3 fifth.

Before the tournament began, Palmer told his young team that they weren’t going to be able to win this PG national championship on talent alone; it was going to take a lot of heart. He kept telling them to keep on pushing, through the heat and the fatigue and the never-ending grind. On Monday morning , his message was even more direct.

“I just asked them just to not tell themselves that they’re tired, to not give-in” Palmer said. “I knew that they were but we wouldn’t say that. … That’s a tribute to them. Not once did they ever give up in this tournament, and even during the summer this group was resilient. It’s just a fun group to be part of because you’re never out of it, and they really want to win.

2017 WWBA Underclass World Championship runner-up: Florida Burn 2019 Platinum