Appearing in their final 9U tournament, the Shockers participated this past week in the Global USSSA Baseball World Series in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and finished third.
The series fielded top teams from South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina, Florida, Kentucky, and Ohio. The Shockers won 6 games and only had 1 loss.
The Shockers got off to an amazingly hot start by going 5-0 through the first three days of play. The wins were highlighted by Jonathan Gordon’s (“The Hammer”) back-to-back home runs in the first game of the series. After hitting a double in the second game, Gordon was intentionally walked twice to load the bases. Owen Taylor was batting in the fourth spot and made the Carolina Rays pay with his record setting back-to-back grand slams. The pitching core of Hunter Polson, Will Atkinson, Landon Mills, Garrett Beachum, Josh Adams, Jonathan Gordon, Keyshawn McDonald, and Owen Taylor was “spectacular” in silencing the bats of the opposition in the World Series wins, coaches said.
In their only loss, the Shockers came out sluggish against Simpsonville on Sunday; a team whom they had defeated 12 to 2 in the first game of the World Series. The mental lapse and failure to swing the bats caused the Shockers to strand 8 base runners and missed a chance to play Florida in the championship game.
Florida squeaked by Lexington in the other semi-final game and the Shockers dominated Lexington in the consolation game by the score of 9 to 4.
The Shockers completed an incredible season and were able to be recognized as one of the top teams in the United States, according to the coaches.
Owen Taylor graded out as the Best Defensive Player of the World Series, Jonathan Gordon was the Best Offensive Player of the World Series with a .667 batting average. Team Batting Averages were Ashni McFarland .619, Adam Bytheway .455, Landon Mills .444, Josh Adams .400, Hunter Polson .375, Keyshawn McDonald .368, Garrett Beachum .357, Will Atkinson .333, Owen Taylor .250, Cameron Harvey .250, and McIver Wallace .167. The team’s batting average was .363 for the Series.
The 9U Shockers head Coach Richie Mills, and assistants Woody Atkinson, and Kevin Harvey look forward to coaching the Shockers in the 10U division. The coaches thanked the players, parents and sponsors for their support and hard work.
Post a Comment
