Crack of the Bat
An Amazing Hitting Performance in Jupiter!
By PGStaff
One of the most interesting and entertaining games we've seen over the past year was played in the Jupiter PG WWBA Championship in November. The Atlanta Braves Scout Team entered the game unbeaten and the Prime Time team had yet to win a game. By now everyone should know that the Braves Scout Team was loaded with many of the nation's premier prospects.
This column is reserved for those players who are most over looked and we will get to that in a minute. First, we need to set the stage. The braves Scout team threw 3 pitchers in this game against Prime Time. Jacob Brigham is a highly ranked RHP from Florida. He threw the first 3 innings mostly throwing 92-93 mph fastballs. Then 6'4" RHP Josh Ravin another highly ranked "06" from California pitched. Ravin also lit up the gun with 91-93 mph fastballs. The final Braves pitcher was California star and top 07 prospect Robert Stock. Stock astounded the hundreds of scouts watching this game by throwing mostly 94-95 fastballs and a real sharp curveball.
The Braves hitting lineup was equally impressive, loaded with top ranked players from across the country. This lineup included Ryan Adams (Louisiana), Ryan Jackson (Florida), Devin Shepherd (California), Hank Conger (California), Drew Poulk (North Carolina), Monk Kreder (Texas) and other big prospects.
The Prime Time team was made up of a bunch of South Florida players. None of these players are highly ranked or have names that people recognize. They did have some very nice talent, though. The two pitchers who threw in the game for Prime Time were Robert Strecker a talented pitcher who threw way below his average in this game. Strecker topped out around 84 mph. Prime Time's other pitcher Spencer Patton threw 83-87 and looked very good. Prime Time's hitting lineup was good, but paled when compared to the big names on the Braves Scout Team.
So... Guess how the game went?
Braves score in the 1st inning to take a one run lead. Then they score in the 2nd inning for a two run lead. Then in the bottom of the 2nd inning with two out and a runner on 1st base, #8 hitter Nicholas Avila hit a laser over the left field wall off a Brigham 92 mph fastball. The ball took all of 2 seconds to clear the fence, Avila got it all!
The game saw the Braves score 3 in the 3rd, just to see Prime Time come back and score 2 in the bottom half. Neither team scored again until Prime Time tied it up with a run in the 5th inning.
Darkness was setting in and it seemed nearly impossible to get another full inning in. The umpires decided to try, hoping for a quick inning. The final inning was anything but quick. The Braves scored 3 runs to take a commanding lead. Now, it was even darker and thoughts of reverting back to the last inning were on the umpires minds. They finally decided to continue and Prime Times biggest problem, aside from the 3 run deficit, was the fact that mid 90s fire baller Robert Stock was on the mound. Everyone in the park figured this game would be over in short order. Stock is one of the hardest throwers in the country and "man" it was dark outside!
Prime Time led off with their #6 hitter Steven Castex who looked at a couple 95 mph fastballs, that looked very hard to see, and then lined a single to right field. Stock then struckout the next hitter bringing up Nicholas Avila, remember he homered in the 2nd inning. Anyone who was thinking Avila might have been lucky hitting Brigham's 92 mph fastball out of the park, soon changed their mind. Robert Stock fired a first pitch fastball 94 mph and Avila knocked a line drive into centerfield that looked like it was traveling 200 mph. Hey, any high schooler who can hit mid 90s in the dark, that hard, deserves a lot of attention! Avila just absolutely hammered two of the best high school pitching prospects in the nation. That should not go unnoticed. That stood out!
Anyway, after Avila shocked everyone with his laser in the dark, then a walk an error and before long Prime Time came away with 4 runs and won the game 9 to 8. Simply amazing game and not so well known, Nicholas Avila had a day he won't soon forget. Neither will we soon forget Avila's hitting performance. Geez... It was dark outside, but what a memorable baseball game!