FARMINGTON – The 2023 Connie Mack World Series pool play competition opened up Friday afternoon at Ricketts Park, as well as at Worley Field and the Farmington Sports Complex with some solid performances both on the mound and at the plate.
At the conclusion of pool play on Saturday night, the Southern California Renegades and the D-Bat United enter the championship bracket with unblemished records after three games. The defending champion Midland Redskins enter the championship bracket without a loss, but a record of 2-0-1 after ending a pool play game in a tie with the 505 Panthers.
Bracket play will open Sunday evening at Ricketts Park with a pair of games starting at 5:15 p.m. The Dallas Tigers, with a record of 2-1 during pool play, will face off against the NOLA Cardinals, with a record of 1-2.
The late game Sunday night, scheduled to begin at 8:15 p.m. at Ricketts Park features Midland against Tulsa Sandlot, which failed to win a game during pool play over the weekend.
Fans wishing to download or print the Connie Mack World Series tournament bracket can do so by checking the CMWS website.
The 505 Panthers lost two of their three pool play games over the weekend, falling to the Albuquerque Baseball Academy 10-4 on Friday before a tie against Midland and an 8-0 defeat at the hands of the Oklahoma Express. A complete listing of pool play standings can be found at the CMWS website.
Here’s a recap of what took place this past weekend.
Oklahoma Express 8, 505 Panthers 0
Anthony Smith hit a pair of home runs and a trio of pitchers combined to give up just one hit and three walks as the Oklahoma Express shut out the 505 Panthers by a final of 8-0.
Cale Wetwiska, Tristan Russel and Cooper Smith stymied the Panthers bats, surrendering only one base hit in the contest, off the bat of Kaden Peace in the second inning.
The Express jumped out to a 5-0 lead after two innings, then added three more runs in the third inning on their way to their only win in pool play action over the weekend.
Dallas Tigers 13, Colton Nighthawks 7
The Dallas Tigers rallied from an early 6-0 deficit to roll past the Colton Nighthawks by a final of 13-7 Saturday night in the final game of pool play competition for both teams.
Caleb Hoover went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and four runs batted in, while Park Prater also drove in four runs with a homer and a pair of doubles in the win as the Tigers finished pool play with a record of 2-1 over the weekend.
D-Bat United 8, Dulin’s Dodgers 3
Trailing 3-2 heading into the seventh inning, the D-Bat United rallied for six runs in the final frame to post an 8-3 win over the Dulin Dodgers on Saturday night at Ricketts Park.
Led by Andrew Mac Rose and Lane Allen, who each drove in a pair of runs, D-Bat United finished pool play action with a record of 3-0.
Colton Nighthawks 13, Mississauga Tigers 4
Ryder Young hit a pair of home runs and drove in six runs while going 4-for-4 at the plate in an impressive performance Saturday afternoon. 2-run home run in top of second inning paced the Colton offense.
Young’s first home run, a two-run shot in the second inning gave Colton a 4-0 lead early in the contest. He later hit a two-run blast to left field in the sixth inning to give the Nighthawks an 8-3 lead.
Trent Abel also had a big day at the plate for the Nighthawks, going 3-for-4 and driving in three runs.
Dulin’s Dodgers 15, NOLA Cardinals 11
Trailing 9-6 heading to the top of the seventh inning, the Dulin Dodgers scored nine times, led by Wyatt Sanford’s grand slam to center field, which helped the Dodgers earn a hard-fought 15-11 win in a slugfest over the NOLA Cardinals.
Kendyl Johnson and Kaleb Hester also homered for the ABA, while Michael Catalano drove in three runs.
Albuquerque Baseball Academy 8, Oklahoma Express 4
Steven Milam’s two-run blast over the right field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning helped lead the ABA to a convincing win Saturday afternoon at Ricketts Park.
Vascon Smith scored from first base off an RBI double to the right field corner off the bat of Steve Solarzano to further the ABA cause at the plate.
Midland Redskins 5, 505 Panthers 5
The Midland Redskins and 505 Panthers played to a 5-5 tie in the opening game Saturday morning at Ricketts Park on the second day of pool play competition.
The Panthers had a three-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but squandered the lead with a pair of defensive errors and back-to-back walks which allowed the Redskins to rally for the tie.
Panthers pitcher Ethan Atchley struck out Ty Waid with bases loaded to end the bottom of the seventh, which brought an end to the contest due to the 2 1/2-hour time limit on pool play games.
The Panthers got a pair of RBI’s from Kaden Peace in the top half of the first inning to help lead the offense. Pitchers Noah Kendrick and Riley Cornman both performed well on the mound, combining for six complete innings while surrendering only five hits.
Midland’s Isaac Wachsmann hit his second home run of the pool play session when his blast to left field in the bottom of the first inning got the Redskins on the board. Parker Picot went 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored.
D-Bat United 10, Tulsa Sandlot 1
Ryan Alexander’s grand slam to center field in the second inning paced the D-Bat United offense to a 10-1 rout over the Tulsa Sandlot Saturday at the Sports Complex.
Alexander’s home run was part of a six-run second inning that effectively put the game out of reach. D-Bat earned the win after just 4½ innings because of the run rule.
Four D-Bat pitchers combined to give up no hits in the affair, the only run for Tulsa coming off a fielding error and a runner on second base after being walked. Bennett Fryman started the game for D-Bat, throwing two innings and striking out five. Isaac Gammel, Caden Orr and Tine Hampshire each threw an inning to keep the Tulsa bats mostly silent.
Southern California Renegades 12, Dallas Tigers 0
Zach Fjelstad and Derek Gonzalez each hit a home run as the Southern California Renegades rolled to a 12-0 win Saturday morning at Worley Field.
Fjelstad went 2-for-4 at the plate, drove in four runs and scored a run. His three-run blast to right in the fourth inning was the crushing blow in the contest.
Gonzalez went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of runs scored and two RBI’s.
Pitcher Jacob Kennedy struck out four, surrendered only a pair of walks and one hit in a complete-game, five inning shutout.
Midland 13, Albuquerque Academy 5
Maddox Riske hit a pair of home runs, including a grand slam as the Midland Redskins wrapped up pool play with a 13-5 win over the Albuquerque Baseball Academy.
The win gives the Redskins a record of 2-0-1 in pool play over the weekend.
NOLA Cardinals 9, Tulsa Sandlot 5
A pair of 2-RBI doubles in the sixth inning paced the NOLA Cardinals to a 9-5 win over Tulsa Sandlot in pool play action at Ricketts Park.
Brock Bellinger and Clayton Pourciau helped break open what had been a closely contested match as the Cardinals earned a big win.
Southern California Renegades 10, Mississauga Tigers 6
Blake Wilson’s second home run of the pool play session opened the scoring for the Renegades on their way to a 10-6 victory over the Mississauga Tigers Saturday afternoon at the Sports Complex.
Wilson’s leadoff home run in the top of the first inning got the Renegades off to a fast start, followed by Nate Norman’s two-out double which plated Colin Brown and Lucas Scott.
Albuquerque Baseball Academy 10, 505 Panthers 4
After watching an early 4-run lead go to waste, the Albuquerque Baseball Academy broke open a 4-4 tie with five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on their way to a 9-4 win Friday night in opening round pool play action at the Farmington Sports Complex.
Tristin Thomas and Gene Trujillo each homered for the ABA in the victory, while Steven Milam, making his first start for the ABA in the CMWS since coming to the team last week, went 2-for-3 with a triple and scored three times.
Milam, who recently signed a letter of intent to Louisiana State University, was named the Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year from New Mexico.
For the Panthers, Josh Wulfert led the offensive attack, driving in a pair of runs and scoring once while going 2-for-4 at the plate with a triple. Jacob Kuhn scored a run, as did Ryan Ray and Dax Vigil.
Four different ABA pitchers combined to strike out 13 Panthers hitters, with starter Regan Hall striking out each of the first five batters he faced to start the game before he was replaced by Zach Kmatz in the second inning.
Dulin’s Dodgers 12, Tulsa Sandlot 10
Thanks to a seven-run opening inning outburst, the Dulin’s Dodgers scored enough and outlasted the Tulsa Sandlot squad by a final of 12-10 in a high-scoring contest at Worley Field.
The Dodgers trailed 3-0 after the top of the first inning, but responded in the bottom half of the frame with seven runs to take the lead for good.
Zach Grigalis, Michael Catalano and Matt Mainord each homered for the Dodgers, with Mainord’s three-run blast to left field driving in three runs in that first inning.
Mainord wound up with four runs batted in, while Grigalis, Catalano and Kendyl Johnson each driving in a pair of runs.
Four different players hit home runs for Sandlot, including Nate Murphy, who hit a pair of solo home runs. Zeb Henry, Diego Ramos and Taylor Tomlin also recorded home runs in the contest.
Dallas Tigers 11, Mississauga Tigers 6
The Dallas Tigers got a pair of 2-run home runs on their way to a convincing 11-6 victory Friday night at Ricketts Park over the Mississauga Tigers.
A fourth-inning home run off the bat of Sawyer Strosnider broke a 2-2 tie, followed by a shot over the right field wall in the top of the fifth inning by Colton Roquemore, which extended the Dallas lead.
Caleb Hoover also had a big night at the plate for Dallas, going 3-for-4 with a pair of singles and three runs scored.
Mississauga started the game hot at the plate, scoring a pair of runs off the bat of Stefan Di Corrado, who homered to left in the bottom of the first inning to get a 2-0 lead.
Dallas chipped away at the lead, scoring a run in the second and third innings, before taking command with a 4-run fourth inning followed by five more runs in the top of the fifth inning.
Southern California 4, Colton 3
The Southern California Renegades opened pool play competition Friday afternoon at Ricketts Park with a 4-3 win over their in-state rival Colton Nighthawks on a warm day at Ricketts Park.
As the temperature topped out at 102 degrees midway through the contest, the Renegades overcame an early 3-0 deficit, scoring twice in the bottom of the third and fourth innings, then relied on some solid defense and excellent contributions from the bullpen to secure the win.
Blake Wilson’s 2-run home run over the left center field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning proved to be the game winner for the Renegades. Wilson, who went 2-for-3 at the plate in the win, is a 20th round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals after completing his sophomore season at Fort Scott Community College this past spring. Wilson played all 61 games last season at Fort Scott, batting .352 with 70 hits and 55 RBIs. The Kansas State commit was named an all-conference honorable mention.
Renegades starting pitcher Nick Williams struck out four batters in two innings of work but also allowed a pair of runs in the opening frame. Four relief pitchers combined to allow only four hits in the five remaining innings to preserve the win.
Midland 14, Oklahoma 1
Noah Miller, Maddox Riske and Isaac Wachsmann each had big performances at the plate for the defending champion Midland Redskins, which opened the 2023 CMWS with an emphatic 14-1 run-rule victory over the Oklahoma Express on Friday at the Farmington Sports Complex.
Midland scored six times in the first inning, with a majority of the damage in that inning coming from a bases-clearing triple by Miller on a 3-1 pitch from Express hurler Cash Kuiper to give the Redskins a big opening frame.
Riske homered in the bottom of the second to extend the Redskins lead to 8-0 over the Oklahoma Express. Riske finished the day with four runs batted in. A recent commit to the University of Southern California, Riske is entering his senior year at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada after a junior campaign in which he batted .305 with 19 runs batted in.
Wachsmann, who played for the Redskins last year in the CMWS, added to the lead with a home run in the third inning. That was followed by a home run later that inning from Clay Burdette, who hit a three-run blast in a five-run frame.
Meantime, pitchers Nate Taylor and Hunter Shaw combined to strike out eight Express hitters, allowing only two hits and a pair of walks in the five-inning contest.
D-Bat United 15, NOLA Cardinals 1
Lane Allen hit a pair of home runs and led the Dallas-based D-Bat United to a convincing 15-1 rout over the NOLA Cardinals on Friday afternoon at Worley Field.
Allen, from Guyer High School in Denton, Texas is a recent commit to the University of Texas. His two home runs was part of a 3-for-4 performance at the plate in which he drove in six runs to pace the United offense.
D-Bat scored a run in each of the four innings in which they took the plate, scoring six times in the second inning and seven times in the fourth inning before the game was called due to the run-rule.
Three pitchers combined to allow only four hits for the Cardinals. Brad Pruett started the game before he was replaced in the third inning by Tate Evans, who struck out three batters in 1⅔ innings of work. Brandon Huff threw an inning to close out the victory.
