October 24 - Right-hander Antonio Menendez struck out seven while pitching a two-hit shutout to lead the Dirtbags to a 3-0 win over California’s CBA Marucci in the quarterfinals at the Perfect Game WWBA World Championships yesterday in Jupiter, FL.
The Dirtbags would go on to win the championship at the 88-team event today, beating Ohio’s Midland Redskins, 8-0, in this morning’s semifinals and Georgia’s Team Elite Prime, 4-2, early this afternoon in the final.
In his outing yesterday, Menendez retired 10 straight batters after hitting the leadoff man in the first inning, going the distance against a lineup littered with players committed to Pac-12 Conference and Big West Conference schools. The Herndon High School senior, a 6-foot-6 sidearmer who has committed to Wake Forest, walked just one batter and threw 57 of 90 pitches for strikes.
"The game was huge for our team as they would probably be the toughest team on our way to the championship," Menendez said. "Pitching in front of 26 Major League teams, I knew I couldn't allow anything to rattle me and the chances for my team to move forward.
"This is my last travel baseball opportunity, [and] I wanted to give the scouts something good to think about this winter. Hopefully this gives sidearm pitchers some opportunities to start games in the future."
Davis Schneider, a Rutgers University commit from Berlin, N.J., provided the game’s lone scoring with a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth.
CBA Marucci had knocked off the three-time defending tournament champion Evoshield Canes, a team featuring Battlefield senior catcher Tyler Solomon, in the Round of 16.
Stars Showcase Baseball, featuring a roster of 17 players from Northern Virginia, saw their run at the tournament end in extra innings during a Round of 32 contest against Florida Burn Platinum.
Trailing 1-0 entering the top of the seventh, the Stars plated two runs, but were unable to hold the lead in the bottom of the frame. Two innings later, the Burn won the game on a bases-loaded walk. Perfect Game rules place runners at all three bases with one out to begin each extra inning.
Heritage’s Cameron Taylor started the game, allowing a run on three hits over 2.1 innings. Randy Prosperi (W.T. Woodson) and Tommy Bradley (Fairfax) then combined for 2.1 scoreless innings of relief before turning the game over to Riverdale Baptist’s Harold Cortijo. In front of dozens of professional scouts, Cortijo used a fastball that topped at 94 MPH to hold the Florida team at bay before permitting the decisive walk in the ninth.
Infielder Yareb Martinez (John Champe) and catcher Michael Morgan (Paul VI Catholic) started all four games for the Stars, and Trey Campbell (Riverside) had three hits and two walks in three games. Prosperi struck out five in four scoreless innings in an 8-0 pool play win over the Dallas Patriots, a game Bradley closed by tossing a scoreless inning. Kyle Whitten (Osbourn Park) struck out four over three innings in two appearances.
Photos courtesy of Perfect Game
