Fifth-inning rally sparks blowout win for WR 9U Blue, 11-0

9U Blue beat Clinton 10u 11-0 in five innings on Sunday to claim the championship of the Fuquay Allstar 10u Tournament.

West Raleigh's Ty Peters was perfect at the dish, going 3-3. Peters singled in the second, fourth, and fifth innings.  He was helped by Matt, Carter, Christian, Jake and Garrett who all had 2 hits each.

Matt Willadsen looked sharp on the rubber. Clinton 10u managed just one hit off Willadsen, who allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out five during his three innings of work.

Adam Bloebaum tossed two innings of relief without allowing a run, striking out four while giving up no hits and one walk.

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WR 9U Blue pitchers team up for no-hitter in 10-0 victory over SGAA 10U

Two pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter for West Raleigh in a 10-0 victory in four innings over SGAA 10U on Sunday at Fuquay.

Penn Sealey and Garrett McCraw rounded out their sterling stat line with 3 strikeouts and only 1 walk.  SGAA 10U had no answer for McCraw, who cruised on the mound. McCraw held SGAA 10U hitless over three innings, allowed no earned runs and walked none.

Everything was working at the plate for the WR in the first as their bats caught fire and they scored six runs. West Raleigh was paced by the production of Carter Holjes, who reached base two times. He scored one run and had one RBI. Holjes tripled in the first inning.

Sealey came in to close the game and threw one inning of scoreless ball for WR 9U Blue.

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WR 9U Blue offense too much for Clinton 10u in 12-0 rout

9U Blue jumped out to an early lead on Clinton 10u and captured a 12-0 victory on Saturday at Fuquay. Eleven runs in the first three innings allowed WR to put the game away early.

A groundout by Garrett McCraw and a passed ball in the second inning helped start the scoring and Penn Sealey had a busy day at the plate, collecting three extra-base hits. Sealey doubled in the first and third innings and tripled in the fourth inning.

Ty Peters was superb in relief, pitching two scoreless innings while allowing only one walk and no hits. Christian Schmidt started and threw two innings of scoreless ball.

Koen Moreno teamed up with Sealey for six hits and six RBIs.

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DeFranco Leads WR Over Erwin, 19-0

West Raleigh used a strong game from Jake DeFranco at the plate and on the mound to earn a big win over the 10U All Stars from Erwin, 19-0. 

DeFranco had 2 hits including an RBI triple plus he pitched 2 shoutout innings, striking out 3 and allowing just one base runner.  Alec Birling pitched 2 shutout innings as well and also struck out 3.

Penn Sealey and Christian Schmidt each had 3 hits and 3 RBI's to help lead the WR attack.

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9U Blue take out Fuquay Bengals with help from Birling, 5-0

Alec Birling had a good game at the plate to help West Raleigh to a 5-0 victory in six innings over the host Fuquay Bengals on Friday at Fuquay Allstar 10u Tournament.

Birling was solid at the plate for WR 9U BLUE. Birling went 2-2 and scored one run. Birling singled in the third inning. Matt Willadsen gave Fuquay fits on the rubber as they managed just one hit off of him and no earned runs, while he struck out six during his three innings of work.

Adam Bloebaum rose to the occasion out of the bullpen, hurling two innings of shutout ball while racking up two strikeouts and giving up one hit and no walks.

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9U Blue Win State Championship, 4-0 over Northview!

West Raleigh used dominant pitching efforts from Garrett McCraw and Adam Bloebaum to hold Northview to only 2 base runners in 6 innings and coast to the 9U Ripken State Championship, 4-0.

Matt Willadsen, Koen Moreno and Adam Bloebaum all had big doubles and Christian Schmidt had a 2 RBI single in the game. Willadsen also singled in the first inning.  Moreno was awarded the game MVP trophy.

Northview couldn't get anything going McCraw allowed just one hit, walked none and struck out one during his four innings of work.  Bloebaum rose to the occasion out of the bullpen, hurling two innings of shutout ball while racking up four strikeouts and giving up one hit and no walks.

The win gave the 9U Blue boys their second straight state championship and earned them a trip to Morganton in two weeks to compete for the South East Regional championship, a title they won as 8 year olds last summer. 

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9U Blue uses big fourth inning to beat New Bern, 10-0

For the first 3 innings of the Semifinal game of the 9U Ripken State Championship, West Raleigh could only scratch out a single run.  But in the fourth the 9U Blue squad exploded for 9 runs and took down New Bern 10-0 to advance to the State Championship game.

Sam Kulasingam blew the game open with a 2 out bases loaded double that cleared the bases, scoring Jake DeFranco, Koen Moreno and Alec Birling.  Adam Bloebaum, Colby Gallimore, Carter Holjes, Penn Sealey, DeFranco and Matt Willadsen added hits in the amazing 2 out rally that concluded with DeFranco crossing the plate with the 10th and winning run. 

New Bern couldn't get anything going so long as Matt Willadsen toed the rubber and they managed just three hits off Willadsen, who allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out four during his three innings of work.  Willadsen got help from his defense including a spectacular diving catch in Center Field by Moreno. Kulasingam pitched the 4th inning and needed only 7 pitches, all strikes, in the inning.

The win earned West Raleigh an appearance in the Championship game against the host Northview squad.

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9U Blue wins first round of bracket play, 12-5

West Raleigh shut the door early on Sandhills, capturing a 12-5 victory on Saturday in the first round of elimination play at the 9u Ripken State Tournament.

WR scored nine runs in the first three innings to grab an early lead and held on for the win.

A sacrifice fly by Colby Gallimore in the first inning and a passed ball, an RBI single by Matt Willadsen, an RBI double by Carter Holjes, and an RBI double by Adam Bloebaum in the second inning fueled the 9U Blue's offense early.

Holjes racked up two RBIs on four hits while Matt Willadsen drove in 3 on 3 hits.  Ty Peters added 2 hits.

Penn Sealey, Christian Schmidt and Peters combined to allow 5 runs on only 8 hits while striking out 6 in the game. 
 
Next up for West Raleigh is New Bern at 1pm on Sunday in the State Semifinals.
 
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9U Blue Finishes Pool Play 4-0 with 8-0 Win over Winterville

Winterville 9u played a great game in a rematch of last year's 8U State Championship game, but WR finally pulled away and captured an 8-0 win in six innings at the 9U Ripken State Tournament.
Matt Willadsen, Ty Peters, Sam Kulasingam and Colby Gallimore all had 2 hits for 9U Blue. 

Garrett McCraw kept Winterville off balance while he was on the rubber. Winterville managed just three hits off McCraw, who allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out four during his three innings of work.

Adam Bloebaum was superb as well, pitching two scoreless innings while collecting four strikeouts and allowing two walks and one hit.

9U Blue begins bracket play on Saturday at 6pm against Sandhills.

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9U Blue uses big second inning to beat Wilson County, 18-2

West Raleigh moved to 3-0 in pool play with a win over Wilson County 18-2 on Friday at the 9u Ripken State Tournament.  The 9U Blue boys blew things open with 14 runs in the second inning.

Sam Kulasingam racked up four RBIs on three hits with a single in the first inning, double in the second inning, and triple in the second inning. Christian Schmidt and Carter Holjes added 3 RBI's and 2 hits each while Koen Moreno added 2 RBI's on 2 hits and Ty Peters drove in 3.  In all seven hitters combined for 12 hits, 17 RBIs and 15 runs scored for WR.

Moreno and Holjes combined to allow only 2 runs on 3 hits and struck out 4 in 4 innings. 

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9U Blue Waits Out Rain Storm and Wins 14-4

New Bern and West Raleigh had to wait nearly 4 hours due to a rain delay, but once they got started it didn't slow the 9U Blue boys as they cruised to a 14-4 win in six innings at the 9U Ripken State Tournament.

Ty Peters led WR with a huge game as he racked up six RBIs on four hits. Peters doubled in the fourth inning and singled in the first, third, and fifth innings. Colby Gallimore and Penn Sealey added 2 hits each and Alec Birling drove in 2 runs on one hit.

Sam Kulasingam threw one inning of scoreless ball as he closed the game for 9U Blue.  Christian Schmidt and Peters combined to allow 4 runs on 7 hits through the first 5 innings.

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WR 9U BLUE offense too much for Laurinburg in 20-0 rout

The 9U Blue team shut the door early on Laurinburg, capturing a 20-0 victory on Thursday in their first game of pool play at the 9u Cal Ripken State Tournament.

With 20 runs in the first three innings, West Raleigh left no doubt about the eventual outcome.

A sacrifice fly by Penn Sealey, an RBI single by Christian Schmidt, and an RBI single by Koen Moreno in the first inning and an RBI single by Sealey, a passed ball, an RBI single by Moreno, an RBI single by Carter Holjes, an RBI single by Sam Kulasingam, a two-run double by Schmidt, and an RBI single by Jake DeFranco in the second inning helped 9U Blue put some runs on the board early.

Sealey racked up four RBIs on three hits while Scmidt added 4 RBI's on 2 hits and Holjes and Moreno added 2 RBI's and 2 hits each. 

Ty Peters was superb in relief, pitching two scoreless innings while collecting one strikeout and allowing one walk and one hit after Matt Willadsen started and threw two innings of scoreless ball for West Raleigh.

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9U Blue Wins Summer World Series, 5-4!

In a much closer game the second time around, West Raleigh got 2 and 2/3 shutout innings from Adam Bloebaum to edge the Tidewater Drillers for the Top Gun Summer World Series championship.  Bloebaum allowed only 2 hits and walked none while striking out 5.

9U Blue led early, scoring in each of the first 3 innings and cruising to a 4-0 lead behind hits from Bloebaum, Penn Sealey, Ty Peters, Christian Schmidt and Alec Birling.  But the Drillers used a big 4 run fourth inning to tie things up.

In the bottom of the fifth Peters reached on a walk before Jake DeFranco launched a clutch double down the LF line to bring Peters around to 3rd.  With only one out, Garrett McCraw drove home the winning run with a sac fly to RF that scored Peters and gave the 9U Blue the Championship!

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WR 9U Blue uses big fifth inning to beat WR 9U Red, 6-0

A six-run explosion in the fifth inning lifted 9U Blue to a 6-0 win in six innings over WR 9U Red in the  semifinals of the Top Gun Summer World Series on July 4th in Wilson.

Matt Willadsen was in control on the mound for 9U Blue holding 9U Red to just three hits, no earned runs, no walks and striking out one during his five innings of work.  Lane Rhodes matched him for 4 innings in an impressive effort for 9U Red. 

Penn Sealey and Adam Bloebaum blasted back to back doubles to LF to start the 5th inning and 9U Blue continued to hit the ball well throughout the inning as they pushed 6 runs across the plate.

Bloebaum threw one inning of scoreless ball to close things out for 9U Blue.

Willadsen led the team with two hits.

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9U Blue third-inning burst enough to top Hagerstown bulldogs, 9-0

WR 9U Blue beat Hagerstown 9-0 in five innings on Monday at the Top Gun Summer World Series after a  nine-run explosion in the third inning.

Christian Schmidt racked up two RBIs on two hits for West Raleigh including a big double in the high scoring third inning.  Koen Moreno added 2 hits as well and Penn Sealy had an RBI double.

Koen Moreno was also in control on the rubber. Hagerstown managed just two hits off of the 9U Blue pitcher, who allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out two during his four innings of work. Carter Holjes closed things out throwing a scoreless inning helped out by a nice double play at first base by Ty Peters.

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Bloebaum hits and pitches 9U Blue to 8-1 victory

An impressive two-way performance from Adam Bloebaum led West Raleigh to an 8-1 win Sunday over  Cleveland.

Bloebaum racked up four RBIs on two hits, a single in the third and double in the fifth. Then he came in and closed the game by striking out the side in the 6th.

Carter Holjes added 2 RBI's on 2 hits and Penn Sealey and Garrett McCraw were superb in relief, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings while collecting one strikeout and allowing one walk and two hits.

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WR 9U Blue jumps on Hagerstown early and coasts to 11-0 win

WR 9U Blue refused to relinquish the lead after grabbing it early against Hagerstown, recording an 11-0 victory on Saturday at the Top Gun Summer World Series.

The game was decided quickly as 9U Blue took command early with nine runs in the first three innings. An RBI double by Carter Holjes in the first inning and an RBI single by Alec Birling in the second inning supplied the early offense.  Carter finished 3-3 at the plate for West Raleigh and Colby Gallimore and Koen Moreno both added two hits each.

Hagerstown was unable to make good contact against Ty Peters who held them hitless over two innings, allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out two. Penn Sealey followed by striking out the side in the only inning he pitched and Koen Moreno threw one inning of scoreless ball for West Raleigh as well.

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WR 9U Blue offense too much for Tidewater Drillers in 10-1 Opening Win

WR 9U Blue shut the door early on the Tidewater Drillers, capturing a 10-1 victory in their first game of the  Top Gun Summer World Series.

Five runs in the first three innings allowed 9U Blue to put the game away early.

West Raleigh was led by Christian Schmidt who had 2 hits and 3 RBI's along with Penn Sealey who racked up two RBIs on one hit.  Colby Gallimore, Carter Holjes, and Adam Bloebaum all added 2 hits each.

Matt Willadsen, Sam Kulasingam and Carter Holjes combined to allow only 1 run on 3 hits in 6 innings while striking out 6.

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WR 9U BLUE defeats Rollesville 10u after late game single, 6-4

WR 9U Blue took the last of five lead changes in a back-and-forth affair against Rollesville 10u, to bounce back and secure a 6-4 victory on Sunday at Smithfield. 9U Blue took the lead in the third inning and held on for the victory. They went up for good on an RBI single by Carter Holjes, plating Adam Bloebaum, and would not relinquish the lead.

Rollesville 10u scored one run in the sixth on a walk but couldn't draw even.

Holjes went a perfect 3-3 at the plate for 9U Blue and Koen Moreno was 2 for 3.  Ty Peters doubled and walked and came around to score both times.

The top of the first saw Rollesville 10u take an early lead, 2-0. Rollesville 10u's rally started when #25 singled. #1 singled, bringing home #3. Rollesville 10u added more runs when scored on an RBI single by #12.

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WR 9U BLUE blown out 11-3 by Capital City

Christian Schmidt did his best to will WR 9U BLUE to a win with a two-hit game, but WR 9U BLUE  dropped a 11-3 contest to Capital City on Saturday at Smithfield.

Capital City came out swinging, scoring five runs in the first inning to jump ahead of WR 9U BLUE early.

Beard racked up two RBIs on two hits for Capital City. Beard singled in the first inning and homered in the second inning.

Jake DeFranco added 2 RBI's on one hit and a walk but it wasn't enough as the 9U Blue boys were blown out for the first time ever.

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WR 9U BLUE uses big second inning to beat South Johnston 10u, 13-2

WR 9U BLUE rolled over South Johnston 10u 13-2 on Friday at Smithfield after an eight-run rally in the second inning.

Alec Birling was steady at the plate for WR 9U BLUE. Birling went 2-2, drove in one and scored two runs. Birling singled in the second and fourth innings.  Carter Holjes and Ty Peters added 2 hits and 2 RBI's each.

Garrett McCraw gave South Johnston 10u fits on the rubber. McCraw held South Johnston 10u hitless over three innings, allowed no earned runs, walked two and struck out two.

#10 racked up two RBIs on one hit for South Johnston 10u with a homer in the first inning.


WR 9U BLUE hammered South Johnston 10u pitching as seven hitters had a field day, combining for 13 hits, six RBIs and 12 runs scored.

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9U Blue Loses Close Game in Championship, 7-6

Despite outhitting the Winterville 10U team 10-7, the 9U Blue boys suffered their first defeat of the summer  in the championship game of their first ever 10U tournament.  Blue surged out to an early 6-2 lead in the 3rd, but failed to hold on as Winterville clawed their way back into the game and Blue made some uncharacteristic errors in the field. 

It was an excellent game between 2 good youth teams and great experience for the 9U Blue boys to compete with a team the caliber of the 10U Winterville boys.  Hopefully this experience will serve them well in 9U play later in the summer.

Matt Willadsen and Adam Bloebaum combined for 5 innings allowing only 7 hits.  They helped themselves at the plate as well with 2 hits each.  Willadsen led the team with 2 RBI's.

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Outstanding Defense Leads to 9-1 Win

9U Blue advanced to the championship game of their first ever 10U tournament with an excellent defensive effort against the 10U Bunn squad.  Garrett McCraw and Sam Kulasingam threw 3 innings each and allowed only 4 hits and 1 run. 

Penn Sealey provided the majority of the offense with 3 hits and 2 RBI's, including a double and a triple.  Jake DeFranco added a double and McCraw and Kulasingam helped themselves by driving in one run each.  Ty Peters also had a big game with 2 hits.

With the win the 9U Blue team advanced to the chammpionship game against the hometown 10U Winterville squad that has not allowed a run in their 3 previous tournament games.

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9U Blue Holds on for 17-8 Victory

Christian Schmidt, Koen Moreno and Colby Gallimore combined to allow only 8 hits over 5 innings but a few defensive lapses allwed the AFG 10U squad to push 8 runs across the plate.  It was the most runs the 9U Blue team had allowed in 2 years together, but fortunately they scored 17 of their own to secure the win.

Offensively the team was led by Gallimore and Carter Holjes who had 3 hits each including 3 RBI for Holjes.  Matt Willadsen, Adam Bloebaum and Garrett McCraw added 2 hits each as well.  Christian Schmidt had a big 2 run RBI triple in the 5th inning.

The victory moved West Raleigh 9U Blue to a 2-0 record in their first ever 10U tournament.

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WR 9U Blue Cruises to 17-2 Win in 10U Tournament

Playing in their first ever 10U tournament, the 9U Blue team got off to a great start with a 17-2 victory over South Edgecombe.  It was a nice beginning in 9U Blue's return to Winterville where they won the SE Regional last summer as 8's.

There were several strong performances offensively as Colby and Koen both went 3 for 3 and Carter hit a bizarre HR down the RF line.  Alec Birling added 2 hits and 2 RBI's as well.

Penn and Carter combined to allow only 2 runs while striking out 5 batters in 3 innings.  The game was stopped early due to the run rule.

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9U Blue Wins Summer Nationals in Myrtle Beach!

Led by Penn Sealey's 3 hits the 9U Blue team from West Raleigh held on and beat Cleveland in the championship game of the Top Gun Summer Nationals by a score of 8-3.

Carter Holjes added 3 RBI's and Christian Schmidt and Garrett McCraw combined to allow only 3 runs over 5 and 2/3 innings.  The story of the game though was Penn's amazing efforts to fight off heat exhaustion and come up huge with 3 very well hit balls and lead the team to victory. 

While the boys were excited about the win, they were most excited to claim their reward, Phiten necklaces in addition to trophies for each player.  Moms and dads were excited to begin their long drive home...

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9U Blue moves into Championship Game with 8-2 Win

The Tri County Rangers gave the 9U Blue from WR another tough game on Sunday, but the WR boys earned an 8-2 win in six innings at Myrtle beach.

WR 9U BLUE scored three runs in the second on to take a final lead.  A walk by Koen Moreno and an RBI single by Sam Kulasingam got things started in the inning. Kulasingam racked up two RBIs on another three hits for WR 9U BLUE.

Adam Bloebaum pitched extremely well, striking out six batters during three innings of shutout ball and allowed only three hits. Matt Willadsen started the game and allowed only 2 runs in 3 innings and help provde the lead.

WR 9U Blue Explodes for 16 Hits in win over Wayne Pirates

Led by 3 hits and 5 RBI's by Sam Kulasingam, the WR 9U Blue team broke open a close game in the 4th with 5 runs and added 4 more runs in the 5th to finish off the game, 13-4. 

Wayne County kept it close with 3 runs in the 1st inning and another run in the 2nd to tie the score at 4-4 headed into the 3rd inning.  But WR 9U Blue used their 2 big back to back innings to help them advance to the semifinals of the Gold Bracket.

WR 9U Blue got 2 hits including a triple and 2 RBI's from Matt Willadsen along with Colby Gallimore's 2nd Home Run of the weekend to help pace the team.  In addition to his heroics at the plate, Sam Kulasingam pitched 4 and 2/3 innings allowing only 1 run.