Sage 12U - Anbinder

The Sage 12U-Anbinder team finished the fall season with an impressive 22-11-3 record nabbing 2 championships, 1 finalist and 1 3rd place finish all in 12U Gold brackets.  Strong defense was key with a .901 fielding percentage and a total of 112 strikeouts amongst all Sage pitchers.  Team offense was fierce with a combined team batting average of .313 and OBP of .426. This team will work hard all winter to come out of the gates in spring ready to take home more hardware!

The Sage 12U-Anbinder team finished 3rd in the USSSA Crown Trophy Fall Challenge Gold Bracket after falling to the eventual winner in a well-fought tight battle against the MD Shock 3-2. Bats were blazing for the team in games leading up to the semi-final but the Shock outhit the team this day - we will be looking for them come spring!

The team was off to a great start on Saturday going 2-1 and had the most creative and timely costumes showing up as the Among Us Crewmates! Rain thwarted their chances to win another one on Sunday but the team definitely won for creativity and fun!

The bats came alive on Saturday during the USSSA Breast Cancer Awareness NIT.  The strong offense continued to be a weapon in the semi final game on Sunday against the Hughesville Hustle where the team won by mercy rule in the 4th inning. In the final game, Sage played an undefeated OC Elite who had only 6 runs against them the entire weekend. Their pitching arsenal proved to be to tough and Sage came home with the Runners-up trophy.  

The Sage 12U-Anbinder team went into single elimination Sunday number 1 in their pool and were afforded a bye to start the morning. They faced the #2 seeded Team Virginia Mizuno-Burns and were ready for a tough semi-final game. The bats really came to life in the 2nd inning and they ended with an easy 12-2 victory in the 4th. The Championship game was against an extremely tough opponent, the MD Aftershock. This team seemed to have it all from the very start. Great pitching and a roster full of players who could hit to the fence. Despite a couple early errors from the Sage defense and an second inning 4-1 deficit, the Sage offense exploded in the 4th inning ringing up 6 runs to add to the one scored in the 3rd. Time ran out in the top of the 6th inning with Sage up 7-4. Aftershock quickly got 2 runners on base followed by 2 quick outs. The tying run was up (and had hit 2 blistering shots to left field in previous at bats) and hit a hard line drive to left center. The Sage defense came through to make the game ending catch on a full out spring to bring this Sage team to victory! It was a monumental day for the Sage 12U-Anbinder team! Every member of the team contributed to the successful outcome of the weekend!

After a slow start on Saturday going 1-1-1, Sage-Anbinder 12U started Sunday as the underdog. In the first game against the #2 seeded Loudoun Liberty Blue, Sage came out with bats blazing racking up 10 hits to take them to an 11-3 victory. The second game was against the Virginia Stars who had just bested the team on Saturday in a tight 4-2 contest. Sage would not fall twice to the Stars and put up 6 runs in the first inning to lead them to a 7-1 victory. The championship game was against the #1 seeded, undefeated Lakeshore Lightning. But again, with their offense on fire from pitch one, this Sage team couldn't be stopped. In a full 7-inning game, it was a decisive win for the team with a final score of 9-5. Not a bad weekend for the first tournament!!! Go Sage!!!