Many state tournaments kicked off today, others kicked into high gear, and one finished up in crazy fashion. We'll get right into it as we go around the horn.
Delaware
(Written by Damien Hollyday)
Newark National, the defending Mid-Atlantic champions, completed the first step today with its fourth consecutive Delaware District 2 Majors title with an 8-1 victory over Naamans. Newark National outscored its opponents 72-14 through the tournament behind some big performances. They'll be the favorites in the 3-team state tournament. Against Naamans, A.J. Blanchard tossed 4.2 innings with seven strikeouts to pick up the victory. Jason Daughtery hit a monster two-run home run and made two incredible defensive plays during a bases loaded no-out situation in the second inning. Brett Callahan and Blanchard each had two RBI in the victory.
Iowa
The Iowa State Tournament kicked off with three games in pool play and nobody really separated themselves, which has been typical. Last year featured a four-way tie for the two state championship game slots. We'll keep an eye on it this year. Johnston American, Grandview, Boone National, and Davenport Southeast each picked up a victory. Davenport trailed 8-2 before rallying for a 9-8 victory over Lucas. Eleven home runs were hit in total on the Day 1.
New Jersey
Toms River bashed Nottingham 15-5 to win the Section 3 title. There are two different Toms River leagues. Todd Frazier's version (Toms River East LL) went to Williamsport in 1995, 1998, and 1999. Toms River LL (this version) lost in the regional title game in 2005 and went to Williamsport in 2010. They're big, strong, and hit tons of home runs. Definitely the New Jersey favorite.
Georgia
Warner Robins American defeated Murphey Chandler 15-7 in the opening game of the Georgia State Tournament. WRALL used seven pitchers in the victory. Dylan Frank, Javy Rodriguez, and Jacob Pierce each had a home run.
North/South Dakota
Canyon Lake LL of Rapid City, SD pounded Brandon Valley 10-0 in four innings to open up the state tournament. Bridger Nesbit and Blake Weaver both homered. Fargo, ND topped Timberline 13-3 in the other matchup. No team from North Dakota has ever advanced to the regionals, and nobody outside of Rapid City has won the state title since 1981.
Tennessee
Karns opened the state tournament in dominant fashion with a 21-0 drubbing of Johnson City. Karns cracked nine home runs in the victory including a pair by Cameron Fisher. He had 7 RBI. Morristown American crushed Clarksville Northwest, 17-0, and Tullahoma pulled away from Smith County 18-8. South Nashville, the defending regional champions, open up on Sunday. In the tournament's Home Run Derby contest, two South Nashville players finished in the top two.
Maryland
West Salisbury came from the losers bracket to knock off Sharpsburg twice in one day including a mercy rule victory in the "if" game. This is West Salisbury's fourth state championship since 2003. It's also the third straight state title for MD District 8 including Berlin last year and West Salisbury in 2012. WS advanced to Williamsport in 2007. West Salisbury jacked eight home runs in the two games on Saturday by six different players. Ryan Mitchell had three. Dylan Smith was dominant on the mound.
Florida
South Fort Myers and Sarasota National won a pair of games over the beginning of the weekend and will play each other for the FL Section 6 title. SFM's Yari Diaz cranked three home runs on the day in the 9-5 victory over Greater Naples and 26-1 victory over LaBelle. Regional favorite, North Springs, trounced Kendall 12-1 in its first sectional game. Timmy Manning launched a pair of two-run home runs and struck out 10 in 4.2 innings pitched. Coby Mayo, Colin Flynn, and Sean Shambo also had home runs.
Northern California
Mill Valley edged Sutter Buttes 4-3 in the opening round of the Northern California state tournament. Mill Valley led 4-0 and used four different pitchers to hold onto the victory.
Louisiana
Bossier escaped with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Eastbank to stay in the winners bracket of the Louisiana State Tournament. Gabriel Larry (Does that name ring a bell from last year?) hit a solo home run and three Bossier pitchers limited Eastbank to just two hits.
Massachusetts
Holden played a six-inning game for the first time all summer, but still picked up the victory in a 2-1 Section 1 title victory over Leominster National. Hard-throwing Francis Ferguson welcomed the challenged and passed the test with flying colors. He allowed a sixth-inning solo home run, but picked up the complete game victory with 10 strikeouts and only three hits allowed. In Section 4, Peabody West was in the driver's seat for the Section 4 title game, but let a 4-1 lead evaporate against North Andover American to lose its first game. Hamilton-Wenham took advantage by crushing winless Wilmington, knocking Peabody out of the title picture. Hamilton-Wenham will face North Andover American for the title.
Southern California
Long Beach edged Thousand Oaks 2-1 to win its second game in the SoCal North Sub-Divisional Tournament. Glendora pounded 11-year old state champs, Encino, to set up the winners bracket final. In the SoCal South Sub-Divisional, Ocean View beat up one of the early favorites, Canyon Lake. Sweetwater Valley is also a team to watch in this tournament though.
Rhode Island
The Ocean State's Final Four is always hotly contested. When four of the five top programs in the state are in the tournament, you're going to get great baseball games. Cranston Western beat Portsmouth 3-0 on the back of a one-hit shutout by Anthony Eacuello. Cam Bissett had two RBI including back-to-back home runs with Noah Cook. In the other game, Cumberland American's Addison Kopack tied the game with one swing, and then for the second time in two games, Jayden Strudle came up with the game-winning walkoff hit in extra innings.
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