Team Nevada: Day 2 Recap
August 1, 2020
The second day of action for Team Nevada included a tough loss against a loaded Louisiana team and a bounce back win against Team Missouri. The first ever Junior Future Games group from Nevada proved that they can play with some grit against the best players their age from around the country. A handful of players shined throughout the event while other had their breakout game in our final matchup where we racked up 11 runs on 11 hit with 16 quality at-bats by Team Nevada. A talented, yet very young group made up the Nevada roster and a number of players announced made a name for themselves this weekend.
Game 3 vs. Team Louisiana
2025 OF/RHP, Vandon Welter, started on the bump for Team Nevada and went 1.1 innings against a stacked Louisiana group. The Bayou Boys jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, ultimately putting up ten runs on Welter and 2025 UT, Xander Mercurius, who came in relief in the second inning. The Nevada boys did show some fight throughout the game with multiple chances having runners in scoring position, but were unable to get anything across. Ethan Clauss, 2025 IF, produced one the few highlights in Game 3, lining a double down the right field in a late attempt to get Nevada on the board, but was left stranded at second to end the game.
Game 4 vs. team missouri
The bats came alive in Game 4 behind and excellent effort on the mound by 2025s Koa Young and Tate Southisene. Nevada racked up 11 hits with 16 total quality at-bats throughout the game, leading to an 11 run effort that proved the Nevada group can hang with the best of the best. After a three run first inning sparked by timely hitting by 2024 C/IF, Derek Bain, and 2025 1B/LHP, Koa Young, the Nevada group found their groove and plated eight more runs in the second inning. 2025 IF, Simon Tesfaye, got things started by wearing a pitch followed by a single from Game 2 standout 2024 OF/LHP, Evan Festa, and a double down the left field line by 2025 OF/C, Bradlee Farrer. The runs came pouring in after 2025‘s Tate Southisene and Ethan Clauss both tacked on singles of their own with Bain adding another single of his own to bring in Farrer and Southisene. 2024 C/IF, Connor Apeceche, lined a base hit over the shortstops head to keep the really going for Team Nevada with 2024 IF/RHP, Joell Castro, already with a single in his first at-bat added another single bringing in Clauss with the eleventh run of the game. The talent and toughness shined through in Game 4 as the Nevada boys continued to fight after a tough start to the event.
Bain found his swing Game 4 with two hard hit single that brought in a pair of runs for Team Nevada. The stocky built left-handed hitter had barreled up balls right at people throughout the first three games and was able to find some holes in the teams final game. Bain stood out at the plate all weekend with a his aggressive approach and ability to find the barrel against some of the best arms from around the country. Behind the plate, improved his pitch presentation throughout the weekend becoming quieter. His present strength allows him to stick the lower pitch with quality balance.
Castro came to play in Game 4 after a slow start, singled twice bringing in a key run for Neva in the 11-1 win over Missouri. At the plate, Castro sets up in mostly upright, slightly open stand with an extended stride that has a tendency to get him out on his front side, especially on off speed pitches. Against Missouri though, he made the adjustment to stay in his legs more and it paid off with his best game at the event going two for two against a talented Missouri squad. He is an interesting player with clean actions throughout his game that when they come together as they did in Game 4, he right among the top player on the team at the plate. Confidence is key with Castro and you could see it grouping each game as he settled in and will be a player to keep an eye on in the coming years with the project able actions he shows throughout his game.
Alexander Mercurius, 2025 UT/RHP
Mercurius a couple of the hardest hit balls in Game 4 only to have nothing to show for it. Currently a smaller, youthful build, he is expected to sprout here in the near future with his brother LJ already at 6-foot-3 as freshman. This is another prospect with a ton of upside that shows quality actions throughout his game and when he is able to add some physicality he could make some big jumps both at the plate and on the mound. Xander came in a put out the fire in Game 3 against Louisiana during an extended second inning. At the plate, he sets up in an athletic stance that allows him to stay in his legs throughout his swing with only a slight tendency to go down and get the lower pitches with his upper half instead of letting his barrel do the work. As a 2025, he has plenty of time to clean up the minor fixes in his game and polish the ones that are already above average for his age. Keep an eye on this one.
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