15u Braves Win National Championship!

The 15u Richmond Braves National are National Champions…again! Just one year removed from an excellent 33-1 season that finished with a 14u AAU National Championship in Florida last year, the 15u Braves National Team came together and won another one at the Triple Crown Summer Nationals in Myrtle Beach, SC!

15u National Champions

The Braves spent the first two games in pool play getting in synch with each other. The Braves held on for an 11-10 win against the Redwings out of PA, but then lost a nail biter to the South Shore Baseball Club out of MA 5-4 despite Stevie Mangrum and Brendan Whitfield combining for 3 runs and 4 RBIs. Now 1-1 and with the playoff hanging in the balance the Braves exploded in Game #3. Inspired by a long home run from clean-up hitter Derek Horton, the team rallied for 9 runs while Conner Jones and Brendan Cleary combined to shut out the LI Ducks for a 9-0 win and a spot in the playoffs.

The Braves never looked back from there, combining solid pitching, timely hitting, and great defense to power through their way to the playoffs going 5-0, scoring 35 runs while giving up just 4!

Horton scoring from 1rst

In Game #1 the Braves National beat the Rye Brook Predators 10-1 in six innings after an eight-run explosion in the fourth. Bryce Keziah got on base twice, scoring both times while 8 other Braves also scored giving Adam Williams, Keziah, and Reed Cooper all the support they needed as they combined to hold the Predators to just 2 hits and 1 run.

In Game #2 Trevor Denton kept the Double Day Giants off the scoreboard for all seven innings he was on the hill. He pitched a shutout, allowing no runs on four hits while striking out seven. The Braves National team didn’t relinquish the lead after Jake Allen scored an early run on an RBI double by Brett Langhorne.

In Game #3 the Braves blew out Florence Freedom Elite 9-1 at Pelican Park after pouring on five runs in the third inning. Conner Jones held Florence Freedom Elite hitless over four innings, allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out four. C.J. Henderson and Caleb Setliff teamed up for 4 RBIs, and Haiden Lamb scored 2 runs on 2 hits.

The Semi-Finals were all about Zach Duff. Facing the tournaments’ #1 seed the Fredrick Hustlers out of Maryland, Duff channeled his inner Willis Reed (see 1970 NBA Championship) and came back after missing two games with a shoulder injury to pitch a complete game three hit shutout, leading the Braves to an 8-0 win.

Mangrum unloads

The Championship was a rematch with a Hustlers team intent on revenge. When lefty starter Adam Williams loaded the bases with one out in the first inning it appeared they may get it. The momentum took a quick turn however when Derek Horton turned a double play from right field, firing a bullet to Setliff at home to catch the leadoff batter trying to score on a sacrifice fly. With the rally squashed, the Braves and Williams settled in and battled to take an early lead on back to back singles by Denton and Duff to score Henderson. The lead stayed with Braves after the third, when it scored two runs on a passed ball and an RBI single by 3-hitter Stevie Mangrum. After Williams and Keziah held the Hustlers to 2 runs through 5 it was time for hard-throwing Aaron Kurz to come in and get the save.

With their second national championship in as many years expectations are high for this group these next few years. Go Braves!