On May 10th-12th, 2019 at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, PBR Florida will host the First annual Academy World Series. This years event features eight academies from Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. The event will feature a pair of pool play games followed by single elimination bracket-play until the first champion is crowned. Today we take a look at the recap from the Day 2 action.

 

Game 5

IMG Performance- 2

P27 Academy- 1

 

Game Recap

In a battle of lanky lefties, IMG Performance defeated P27 Academy by a score of 2-1. For IMG, Austin Peay commit, Greg Norman threw 6 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits with 2 strikeouts. His fastball was 76-81,  topping out at 83 mph. He also featured a sinking changeup and a sweeping breaking ball at 72-74. On P27’s side, USC Beaufort commit, Thomas Harmon threw 5 â…” innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts. He featured a whipping, ¾ arm action with the ability to hide the ball from his batters.  His fastball sat 73-76 and also showed the ability to get swings and misses with his off-speed pitches. Defensively for IMG, William & Mary commit, Jake Gelof showed off his stellar glove all game long. Gelof also threw a clean last inning to record the save. Offensively, FAU commit, Kevin Karstetter continues to show why he is such a force in the IMG lineup hitting balls hard all game. Trey Rucker came up with the game winning hit in the top of the 7th. For P27, Ben Lang-Splitter showed off his quickness busting it down the line on a bunt single. Trevor Rider showed off his power, launching a ball off the right field fence. 

 

Game 6

Pro5 Academy- 4

Elite Squad Academy- 2

 

Game Recap

Pro5 jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when Will Hood scored on a throw to second. After Elite Squad tied it in the bottom of the second, C.J. Martin gave Pro5 the lead with a two-run single. Sebastian Bentz would keep the game close for Elite Squad, striking out eight in four innings of work. Pro5 would add another run in the sixth with an RBI single by Christian Baker. Leon Paulino doubled off of the right field wall in the sixth to cut the lead down to two. Jackson Sobocinski went the distance for Pro5, allowing only four hits and striking out ten.

 

Game 7

P27 Academy- 6

Elev8 Academy- 2

 

Game Recap

Game 7 of the Academy World Series featured P27 Academy defeating Elev8 Academy by a score of 6-2. North Greenville commit, Reese Fields shined on the mound for P27. He threw 6 shutout innings and struck out 9. Fields is stocky featuring an 86-87 mph fastball and a sweeping curve. On the mound for Elev8 was 2019 Uncommitted Maxwell Hector. Hector threw 5 innings, yielding 2 runs on 3 hits with 2 strikeouts. He is tall and athletic, sitting 79-83 with his fastball. Offensively, the bats for both sides were quiet to start the game. Charleston Southern commit, Simms Owens was the big story at the plate for P27. He collected 3 hits, including 2 doubles with 2 RBI on the day. With a 2-0 lead in the top of the 7th, P27 exploded for 4 runs. Owens started it off with an RBI single, followed by back-to-back doubles by 2021 Uncommitted Billy Amick and Mercer commit, Trevor Rider. Rider also had a spectacular day in the field making several diving plays and showing off his smooth glove at short. Elev8 did not go down quietly however, when Uncommitted Sam Cornelius launched a solo homerun over the right field fence.

 

Game 8

Next Level Academy- 12

MVP Academy- 10

 

Game Recap

Both offenses exploded in the game between MVP Academy and Next Level. Next Level jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a few timely hits, including a double by Mendoza. MVP would respond with three runs of their own in the top of the second inning. They would add on and take the lead in the third with an RBI single by Adrian Bastardo. Nemith would triple for Next Level in the bottom of the third to bring them within one run. Holcombe would later add a double and score to take the lead. After MVP took the lead in the top of the fourth, Next Level would take the lead when Charles scored on a throw down to second and never give it up, winning 12-10.  

 

Game 9

Pro5 Academy- 5

Elev8 Academy- 1

 

Game Recap

In the first round of pool play at the 2019 Academy World Series, Pro5 Baseball Academy defeated Elev8 Academy by a score of 5-1. The pitching matchup featured 2020 UCF commit, Ben Vespi going for Elev8 and 2020 Uncommitted Zane Taylor for Pro5. Zane Taylor went the distance throwing all 7 innings, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits with a whopping 10 Ks. His fastball was sitting at 82-84 mph. He also added a front-door curveball that worked nicely to collect swings and misses. On the other side, Vespi came out throwing heat. He sat 88-91 with his fastball and mixed in a 77-82 mph changeup with a 67 mph curve. Vespi is tall with an athletic frame and has a bright future ahead of him. Offensively for Pro 5, UNC-Wilmington commit, Ronald Evans led the way. He smoked a triple in the first inning and later singled. Evans has a strong, athletic build and showed off his strong arm at 3rd base. Charleston Southern commit, C.J. Martin and USC-Upstate commit, Sawyer Worrell both added extra-base hits to Pro5’s hit total. For Elev8, 2021 Uncommitted Joseph Phan had a nice day in the field and collected a couple hits. 2019 Uncommitted Sam Cornelius recorded Elev8’s only RBI. Pro5 will play tomorrow against the winner of IMG Performance and P27 Academy.  

 

 

Game 10

TNXL Academy- 11

Elite Squad Academy- 1