BOCA RATON - The South Florida Elite Squad Red made Prospect Wire history becoming the first ever 18U State champions on Sunday with an 8-5 win over the Orlando Scorpions Purple team. The Elite outlasted a tournament field of 32 teams, and beat the Scorpions Black in the semi-final and then beat the Scorpions Purple in the championship.
"This feels great," head coach Richie Palmer said. "Our guys have worked hard all year and we wanted to close the season strong. We had a few tough finishes this summer including the Final Four of East Cobb and we wanted to come out here and make a statement. We are only a 3rd year program and we want to be acknolwedged as one of the best teams in Florida and I think we accomplished that here this week."
Tim Remes' RBI double in the 4th inning, solidified the Elite's lead, and put the nail in the coffin for his MVP campaign. Remes finished the tournament going for 10-19, with a tournament leading 10 RBIs, 4 doubles, 3-for-3 on stolen bases and even threw 2 solid innings to secure a semi-final victory against the Orlando Scorpions Black.
"Tim Remes was just unbelievable," Palmer continued. "It seems like he came through with men on base every time. Not only did he hit the ball well, he threw 2 good innings to help us get into this championship game. It would have been tough to advance in this tournament without Tim, so I couldn't be happier that he got the award."
The Orlando Scorpions Purple actually outhit the Elite 11 to 4 in the championship game, but a parade of errors, wild pitches and passed balls with men on base lead to a 5-run 2nd inning and the Elite never looked back. The Scorpions would chip away over the course of the game and Austin Slater's clutch 2-out hit in the 7th scored 2 runs and put the Scorpions back in the game and make it 8 to 5. With the tying run at the plate and 2 outs, Patrick Grady was summoned to pitch from RF and he got A.C. Carter to pop out to shallow RF to get the dogpile started.
"It felt great to see [Patrick] Grady go out there and close out another game for us. He has been Mr. Elite. He has been the guy helping us identify and pick up other players, he's a guy that has been in the program for years and to see him close out the championship game in a tight spot was a storybook ending. We wanted to live and die with Patrick out there."
John Suarez started the game for the Elite, going 3 innings, scattering 5 hits, and 2 runs. Suarez kept the Scorpions in check and gave the Elite a chance to build a 5-2 lead. Tyler Palmer came in relief in the 4th giving 2 innings, scattering 3 hits, and 1 earned run. Andrew Archer came in to close the final 2 innings, before yileding to Grady to notch the save.
It was only a matter of time before the Scorpions Purple would claw back into the game. The Scorpions were arguably the best hitting team in the tournament, and were playfully nicknamed the Cardiac Kids over the course of the week after multiple come from behind victories in the face of elimination. The Scorpions continued that trend with 11 hits in the championship game and yet another threat in the 7th of the title game. Sean Trent, Austin Slater, Albert LeFran, and Cory Angelo did the most consistent damage throughout the tournament. Clay Chapman was also a major standout on the mound with two tournament wins including an outstanding semi-final game vs. the Florida Bombers.
"Picking an MVP from the Scorpions would have been a nightmare," director Matt Bomeisl said. "That whole lineup hit the ball very well all week."
