Ft. Myers, Florida
Written by Jeff Norman
Over the weekend, two 6-4-3 DP Baseball teams traveled to Fort Myers to compete in the 2018 WWBA Underclass World Championship. The two teams were made up of a collection of 6-4-3 17U players coached by Danny Pralgo and a collection of 6-4-3 16U players coached by Ryan Sterling.
The 6-4-3 team headed up by Coach Pralgo went 3-0 in pool play topping the Iowa Sticks Scout Team 2020, Rawlings A Prospects MD Select, and the Toronto Mets - Reid while scoring 19 runs and allowing only 2. The team's performance in pool play earned them the #6 seed out of 198 teams and a first-round bye in the elimination bracket. In their first bracket play game the 6-4-3 team faced a very strong opponent in D-Bat Elite 17u National and shut them down by the final score of 11-0 to advance to the third round. Their third round bracket play contest was against the #11 seed Evoshield Canes National 17U squad who came out on top of the 5-4 score...a heartbreaking, hard fought comeback loss for the 6-4-3 team impacted by a controversial call in the last inning (note: 6-4-3 was down 4-0 after allowing a first inning grand slam). Overall, the 6-4-3 17U team finished in 9th place out of the 198 teams that played in the Ft. Myers tournament.
The 6-4-3 16U team, led by Coach Sterling, won their first game on Friday with a strong showing against the Northeast Pride Select (final score 10-2). In their second game, the 6-4-3 squad handled the CFSP Stars by the score of 6-1. In their third pool play game, Sterling’s team fell short of a victory against FTB Tucci-Berryhill in the 5-1 contest. In their consolation game, the 6-4-3 16U team was topped 10-2 by the East Coast Sox Select.
Coach Pralgo was incredibly proud of the 6-4-3 players on both teams in Fort Myers for how well the represented themselves and the 6-4-3 organization in one of the biggest tournaments in the country.
On the 17U squad, a well-deserved shout out goes to the many pitchers for carrying the load, pounding the zone with strikes and believing in our defense: Reid Robertson, Ty Floyd, David Sickles, James Reese, Daniel Crabtree, Nate Shipley, Jonathon Douglas, William Lybrock, and John Armstrong. Offensively, the hitters grinded through every at-bat, doing whatever it took to stay in games with great two-strike hitting, taking extra bases when they were given, laying down timely bunts, and executing hit and runs on a regular basis. Pralgo's team was led offensively by Ty Floyd, DJ Alexander, Wyatt Castoe, Reid Robertson, Kyle D'Amour, William Lybrock, Cooper Krause, Jackson Brown, John Armstrong, Henry Gies, Jonathon Douglas, and Nate Shipley. Behind the dish Henry Gies, William Lybrock, Cooper Krause, and Jackson Brown did a great job handling the pitching staff. The rest of the defense was equally great and efficient with Kyle D'Amour at SS and Ty Floyd at 2B turning quite a few 6-4-3 double plays, John Armstrong as a rock at 3B, and countless balls being hauled down in the outfield of these big fields by Reid Roberts, Wyatt Castoe, DJ Alexander, and Jonathon Douglas.
Congratulations to both 6-4-3 teams on their strong showing down in Ft. Myers!