This is open to ALL AGES (12u-17u); and we are looking for all of the TOP 11 year olds to field our rising 12u team for the Fall Season.  Here is your chance to become part of one of the most successful college development programs in the America – a program that has produced top draft picks, college All Americans and College World Series MVP’s.

Border Wars Champions

In  their first full tournament since the North Carolina Super NIT, the  Richmond Braves National got back on the winning track by winning the  Triple Crown VA/NC Border Wars this past weekend in Rocky Mount, NC.   The newly formed Braves have won three of the four tournaments they have  played in and are now 24-3 on the season. Thirty-six of the top teams  from Virginia and North Carolina showing up to compete for the Border  Wars title, including the NC Cleveland Indians, SBA Canes, Tidewater  Drillers, Wake Rays, RBA West, and more!Knowing  the eventual champion would have to win 4-5 games on Sunday against top  competition, the Braves knew this tournament would stretch the limits  of their 11-man roster.  Pitching strategy became an important component  right off the bat in Saturday pool play and the Braves accomplished  their goal of making the Sunday Championship bracket by going 1-1 with a  10-2 win against Southern Pitt Diamondbacks and a 7-3 loss to returning  champion The Fayetteville Generals Elite.

The  reward, however, was a first round game against VA powerhouse the  Tidewater Drillers. Hunter Meade started an early rally with a 2-run  home run and the Braves got a big game from leadoff Kyle Horton who went  3-4 with 4 RBIs, 3 Runs, a Home Run and a double. Lefty ace Ryan  Kennedy came in to close the door and the Braves pulled out an 11-3 win  in 5 innings to setup a match-up against No. 1 seed The Lake Norman  Copperheads.  After jumping to an early lead the Braves held back a  rally and pulled out a 6-5 game to move on. The third game of the day  offered little reprieve against the Wayne Mavericks, a solid AAA team  out of NC with a 3-1 record against Major teams.  After a strong 7-2  performance the Braves were set for the semi-finals where two of North  Carolina’s top teams sat between the Braves and the championship: SBA  Canes and the NC Cleveland Indians.

The  Braves managed the weekend well, however, and had their two aces Ryan  Kennedy and Kyle Horton available and ready to go.  Kennedy and Horton  pitched 10 shutout innings of 2-hit ball with Kennedy leading the way to  a 7-0 victory over the SBA Canes and Horton pitching the complete game  shutout in the finals against the NC Cleveland Indians.

With  a strong offensive weekend from Wesley Clarke and Horton, and timely  hitting and defense from the rest of the team, the Braves won five games  in a single day against great competition and moved one step closer to  becoming the team they hoped to be.  This tournament was great  preparation for the upcoming Virginia Super NIT in the Braves backyard,  where they get to battle top teams such as Gallagher Select and the  Tri-State Arsenal.

Article published by: Youth1.com; Thanks to Matt Carl.

13u Braves National Win Capital City Invitational

April 24, Richmond – The 13U Braves National team rallied through an accelerated Saturday schedule to win the Triple Crown Capitol City Invitational.  With a stacked deck of the top mid-atlantic 13U elite teams, Triple Crown planned a full blown double-elimination bracket after pool play seeding, that was sure to test pitching depth and offensive firepower.  The Braves scored 36 runs in 3 games to finish as the high- seed undefeated team when the rains came and spoiled what would have been a spectacular Sunday of baseball.   This Braves team is looking forward to Border Wars this coming weekend and the opportunity to mix it up this great competition again!

A number of pitching prospects are doing impressive things in the Minors of late, but it’s hard to find anyone who was more impressive in the past week than the Mariners’ Danny Hultzen.

Seattle’s first-round pick (No. 2 overall) last June is No. 2 on the Mariners’ Top 20 list and No. 16 on the overall Top 100. Making his pro debut in the Double-A Southern League, Hultzen won both of his starts this week (Thursday, April 19 through Wednesday, April 2).

The University of Virginia product didn’t allow a run in 12 total innings of work. He yielded only four hits for a .103 batting average against while allowing five walks and striking out 10. For the year, spanning four starts, the southpaw has a 2.08 ERA (fifth in the Southern League) and a .122 BAA while compiling 26 strikeouts (fifth in the SL) in 21 2/3 innings.

Jonathan Pryor commits to Wake Forest

The Braves are happy to announce that OF Jonathan Pryor (OF, Woodward Academy, GA 2013) has committed to play baseball at the University of Wake Forest. ”We are excited for Jonathan and his family.  We have some players at Wake Forest and you can’t get better than the ACC on the field or in the classroom.” says Braves founder Tommy Mayers.  Congratulations to the Pryors and go Braves!

Youth1 National Rankings

Youth1.com has released it’s first National 12u Major Rankings poll and the Braves come in at #22! Not a bad start to the season for a brand new group! Let’s see where they end up by May!

http://www.youth1.com/baseball/baseball-rankings-april-12u-25-21.html

Kyle Horton, Ryan Kennedy, and Wesley Clarke were also named to the National ‘Players to Watch’ list by Travel Ball Select.  Go Braves!

Leland Clemmons was rewarded for his outstanding weekend with an A-10 weekly honor.

Charlotte freshman outfielder Leland Clemmons (Chesapeake, Va. / Portsmouth Christian HS) was named the Atlantic 10 Baseball Co-Rookie of the Week, officials announced today.

After drawing a walk in a pinch-hit appearance in Wednesday’s home loss in the late innings to Wake Forest, Clemmons stepped into the starting lineup due to injuries and helped Charlotte to a pair of wins to take their first A-10 series of the season at Temple.

He entered the weekend with five total hits this season and he tallied six for the series, including a career-high three on Saturday and he scored a career-high three runs in the Friday win. Clemmons had two triples and two doubles and two singles for the weekend, stole four bases in as many tries and drove in four runs, the most of any player in the series in those categories. He started the series 5-for-5, reaching base in his first eight plate appearances over the first two games. He reached base 12 times total in the series, most of any player from either team. He raised his season average from .119 to .212 in the series.

For the season, he is one of five players on the roster with at least one double, triple and a homer. He homered for his first collegiate hit back on February 18. His sixth stolen bases are fourth on the team, which he has done in 52 at bats over 23 games.

He is the second freshman to be awarded A-10 Rookie of the Week from Charlotte, joining Brad Elwood, who was honored on March 5. Charlotte has also landed a Player of the Week (Shane Basen, February 20) and a Pitcher of the Week (John Hamilton, April 2).

Jacob Mayers - Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week

 #16 – Jacob Mayers

  Richmond Braves 2008

  RHP/1B

  6’2/210 lbs

  Junior - University of Richmond Spiders

After tossing one of the most dominant and impressive pitching  performances in Richmond baseball history this past Friday, Spider Baseball’s Jacob Mayers was named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Week for his second conference honor this season.  (He was also named Atlantic 10 Player of the Week on March 5th.) 

Mayers allowed just one unearned run on the afternoon on only two hits.  The junior was unhittable in stretches, retiring 16 straight batters at one point while matching his career high with 11 strikeouts. The 10-inning, complete game effort is the first in the modern era for Richmond baseball.

“Jake’s game on Friday was one of the best pitching performances that I’ve ever been a part of,” Richmond head baseball coach Mark McQueen said.  “The A-10 accolade is well deserved for Jake and a great honor for our program.”

On the season, Mayers leads the team with a 5-2 record and a 4.80 ERA.  The junior has struck out a team-high 53 batters in 54.1 innings pitched and is allowing opponents to hit just .229 against him this year.  Offensively, Mayers is excelling as well, hitting .321 with 10 doubles, eight home runs, and a conference-best 30 RBIs.

As a member of the Richmond Braves National since he was 9 years old, Jake was no stranger to success and has a list of accomplishments too long to highlight here.  Here are a few highlights:

Accomplishments:

• A-10 player of the week
• A-10 pitcher of the week
• Louisville Slugger National player of the week
• No. 1-rated prep player in the Commonwealth by VirginiaPreps.com in 2009
• 2009 State, Regional and District Player of the Year
• Member of the 2008 Braves multi championship team
• 2 time WWBA MVP

Kaufmann Throws No Hitter!

Connor was a key pitcher on the Braves 2008 16u WWBA championship team and is now 4-1 for Cornell this season.  Click here to read the full article.  Go Braves!

 

 The Richmond Braves National moved to 10-0 on the season winning the 8^th Annual Longhorn Stampede last weekend in Northern Virginia.  The newly formed Braves have won back-to-back championships to start their first season together.  There were over 30 teams competing in the 12u division, with top teams from both Maryland and Virginia, including returning champions the Olney Pirates.  Even with the step up in competition the Braves raised their game going 5-0 and outscoring their opponents 55-7. 

The Braves started off hot on Saturday winning their two pool games 13-0 and 16-1, earning the #1 seed for the Sunday playoff round. 

Their reward however was an early morning game with returning Champion the Olney Pirates from Maryland.  The Pirates are a great team with some very good pitching but the Braves were up to the challenge winning 11-2 in four innings to setup a semi-final game with the Loudon South Eagles. 

Considered one of the top teams in Northern Virginia the Eagles saw what the Braves do with the faster pitching and came in with a crafty junk ball pitcher who quieted the bats for a few innings.  Ultimately though the Braves made the adjustments and woke the bats up just enough to bring 6 runs across for a 6-3 win in their only game to go the distance. 

The finals brought a showdown with Cal Ripken Champion The Germantown Hawks who came in to the game having scored 39 runs against just 11 through the weekend, beating some of the top teams in the process.  The Braves had saved their two aces for this game to try and quiet the big sticks in the middle of the lineup for the Hawks and they did just that, winning 9-1 in 4 innings.  Wesley Clarke went 2-2 with 2 RBIs and Kyle Horton scored 4 runs from the leadoff spot while combining with Ryan Kennedy to shut the Hawks down from the mound, prompting the Germantown coach to say afterwards, “Their pitching was just unfair.”

The Braves feel like they can compete with anyone in any given game and will travel next to Greensboro, NC for the Super NIT to see if they have the depth to compete with great teams all weekend.