Bases Loaded wins USSSA 14u title
Published 3:59 pm Tuesday, August 19, 2008
From the first pitch to the last, Bases Loaded — Team Alabama — dominated the USSSA 14u Elite World Series at the Disney Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Team Alabama collected a perfect 7-0 record in the tournament with four shutouts, including the title-game win over the Central Texas Raiders, 6-0.
Jordan Friday pitched the complete game, two-hit shutout for the win, while collecting eight strikeouts.
David Dahl of North Shelby led Alabama with a .727 batting average through the tournament to earn MVP honors.
Pool play began Aug. 4 with Alabama relying on Dahl and Boomer White, who both went 3-for-3 to help Alabama past Xpress of Ocala, Fla., 12-0. Hunter Soleymani, Hayden Jones and Michael Boriboun combined for the no-hit shutout to open the tournament. Alabama went on to beat the Red Raiders of Orlando, 6-1, to advance as the top team in Pool A. Ben Craft had three RBIs to lead the offense.
Dahl and Jones combined for a 4-0 shutout over the South Florida Snappers of Miami on Aug. 7. Clayton Palicki homered in the game.
Soleymani, who had a 1.17 ERA for the tournament, helped lead Alabama to victory the next day with a 10-2 win on the mound against Demarini or Dallas, Texas. White had the save. Palicki led the offense with a 2-for-3 performance and an RBI. Dahl added three RBIs.
Alabama advanced to the final after beating the Houston Banditos, 11-3, on Aug. 10 with the help of pitching from Michael Boriboun and Hayden Jones. Nick Masonia led the offense with a 4-for-4 day, including two doubles and three runs scored. Alabama collected 14 hits in the six-inning mercy rule game.
It was Team Alabama’s second-straight mercy-ruled game after beating the South Florida Snappers, 14-0, in four innings the previous day. Jones struck out five for the win.
David Dahl, Clayton Palicki, Jeremy Hyde and Boriboun each doubled in the game, while Hyde also had a two-run home run. Paul Angel hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the fourth to push Alabama past the 10-run rule.
In the seven wins, Team Alabama outscored its opponents 63–6, producing 74 hits and 21 stolen bases.
Alabama’s pitching had a combined ERA of .35 in the seven games.