Virginia Cardinals win national tournament!
The Virginia Cardinals dispatched seven consecutive opponents to win the Triple Crown National 17u Championship held in central Virginia from July 22-26. The format for the 24 team event was three pool games for seeding, followed by a 16-team elimination tourney, with the other eight going into a consolation bracket.
Playing in extreme heat, the Cardinals shut out two opponents on July 22, then battled to a third win Saturday morning to become one of only two teams in the tourney field to make the playoff rounds undefeated.
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On Friday the Cardinals shut-out a Michigan based team 5-0, behind the strong pitching of Daniel Bridgeman (Dinwiddie). John Booker (home schooled) and Tanner Phillips (Powhatan) both pitched two innings to close the game, as the Cardinal managers decided to save Bridgeman for later.
In the second game of the day the Cardinals started strong with a four run first inning. They followed with an eleven run second inning, and given the extreme heat, the game was called early, with the Cardinals post an 15-0 win.
On Saturday, having already qualified for the play-off round, the Cardinals managers decided to save most of their front line pitchers and still won 9-6. Colton Konvicka (Benedictine) went 2-3 with a double, 2 stolen bases, 2 runs, 2 RBI, and Collin Lawless (James River) had a 2-RBI single.
The Cardinals started Sunday as one of only two undefeated teams in the event. In the first game of the day Joe Manion (Powhatan) hurled a complete game victory for the Cardinals, allowing only five hits, striking out nine and walking only one. Konvicka stayed hot with a double, a walk, stolen base and run scored, and the final score was 4-1.
In the second Sunday game for the Cardinals, they again struck early, jumping out to a 10-0 lead as Mack Krupp (Colonial Heights) pitched four no-hit shutout innings. Later he gave up some unearned runs as the Cardinals won 10-4. Collin Lawless had 3 RBI, going 1-1 with a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly and a 2-run single. Brian Lee (Cape Henry) had a 2-run homer.
After a day off, the Cardinals advanced to the "final four" day at the University of Richmond. This time it was Kit Scheetz's (James River) turn to throw a complete game, and with Collin Lawless driving in all the team's runs, the Cardinals defeated Richmond Braves American, 4-1. The Braves started strong, as their leadoff batter doubled and scored but Scheetz, a Virginia Tech commit, battled through the first two innings and then did not allow a hit the rest of way, striking out 11 and allowing only three hits. Lawless drove in all 4 runs with a sac fly, ground out and 2-run single.
In the finale, Bridgeman carried a no-hitter through five, and Mack Krupp finished up a shutout for the title. Colton Konvicka's deep RBI triple broke the Cardinals out in front in the first, and Josh Gardiner's (Eastern View) 2-RBI hit capped off a 5-0 victory.
The Cardinals, coached by Rich Graham, are now 22-6 on the summer and this weekend will head to East Carolina for the Dynamic World Series event, which requires a team to play seven games in three days. Next month the Cardinals will be holding tryouts, stay tuned for more details!