Prep Baseball Report

PBR at The Rock 16U: Quick Hits, Day 2


Wisconsin Staff

Welcome to Quick Hits, a compilation of daily highlights captured at our PBR at The Rock tournaments. This weekend, we’re hosting our first tournament of the summer: the PBR at The Rock 16U Championships. Continue reading below to view our biggest takeaways from Day 1 action, championship Sunday.

You can follow along with our coverage live by following us at @PBRWisconsin on Twitter.

+ Aiden Haack (Verona Area, 2023) threw a complete game shutout for Edge Baseball en route to a 4-0 victory over ESP Select Americans. He struck out five batters, while allowing four hits and walked one. 

+ RHP Ryan Geraghty (Carmel Catholic, 2023) got the start for Illinois Lightning in against PTA Cardinal. Listed 6-foot-1, 177-pounds the right-handed pitcher works with a long, loose arm action, high ¾ slot. Throwing a fastball working downhill, sitting 85-88 mph topping at 90. An 11/5 curveball gained feel as the game went on sitting in the low 70s. Geraghty struck out five batters in four innings of work. 

+ Matthew Schultz (Westosha Central, 2023) led Brew State on the mound to a 2-0 victory over Illinois Lightning in their Friday morning game. A lean 6-foot-4, 165-pound right-hander, threw a complete game shutout with six strikeouts, two hits and walked two. Schulz threw 64 percent strikes on 83 pitches. Working from a long, wing arm action and a ¾ slot, Schulz commanded the zone with a four seam fastball that flashed arm-side run at times sitting 80-81 mph. Complementing the fastball was a 10/4 slider with sharp break at times down in the zone, sitting 71-72 mph. 

+ INF/RHP Landen Lozier (Notre Dame Academy, 2022) flat-out dominated for ISA Stars Black in their first game of the weekend, twirling a complete-game, 10 strikeout gem and willing them to a 1-0 victory. Lozier worked with confidence and moxy on the mound, keeping hitters off timing throughout with an efficient fastball/curveball mix.

+ Brew State Baseball Academy came out hot in their second game of the day, winning rather handedly by a score of 10-0. OF Nick Argersinger (Westosha Central, 2023) and INF Crete Slattery (Badger, 2023) each had two knocks in the game; both working on the barrel. INF Tyler Meyer (Wauwatosa East, 2023) drove in three runs total, booming one deep into the right-center gap for a two-run double that ultimately ended the game. Known to us as one of the toolsiest, more athletic names in the state’s 2023 class, INF Marco Falletti (Wilmot) showed off that intriguing skill-set by blasting a no-doubt home run over the Monster on Fenway Field. 

+ In that offensive barrage for Brew State, RHP Zach Wolfram (Menomonee Falls, 2023) continues to cement himself as a name-to-know on the bump for his class. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Wolfram got the nod and threw four scoreless innings, holding his opponents off the basepaths for a large chunk of the game. He worked his fastball for strikes on the corners at 83-85 mph, touching 86 mph multiple times early on and holding his velocity throughout. Wolfram also mixed in a slider in the low-70s with feel to work the arm-side corner, landing it for strikes throughout. 

+ NEO Elite 16U Black came to play early with a dominant win in game one of their Friday doubleheader, 11-1. This offensive outburst was backed by three RBI’s by Bryce Gilman (Wickliffe, 2023) and two RBI’s each by Jacob Snow (Mentor, 2023) and Jeremiah Atwell (Willoughby South, 2023). On the mound for NEO was Charles Lauretig (St. Edwards, 2023). Lauretig had a strong outing, allowing one earned run through four innings with five strikeouts. 

+ NEO Elite Black got their second win of the day backed by a strong outing from RHP Jacob Bean (Cardinal, 2023). The righty sat 83-86 with his fastball and it complemented a slider at 70-73. He showed plus command for both pitches. At 6-foot-2, 160 pounds, he has plenty of room to grow. He has long, lanky levers and is very athletic on the mound. Bean pitched a 7 inning, complete game and had 11 strikeouts.

+ Left-handed hitting INF Kevin Denty (Marian Catholic, IL, 2023) was one of the more impressive bats for Chicago Elite throughout the day. Denty has a physical, 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame and above-average bat strength. Denty consistently drove balls with authority to the middle of the field throughout the day, including a deep home run to center field. 

+ 5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs 2023 Gold defeated STIKS Academy Red this morning, 4-0. LHP Drew Reese (Lake Central, IN, 2023) pitched a complete game shutout, giving up only 4 hits and striking out five. Reese had a feel for both his FB/CB mix, hitting spots all day and generating weak contact. 

+ RHP Aidan Colombo (Bay Port, WI, 2023) twirled a complete game in Velocity Baseball’s 6-3 win vs STIKS Academy Red. Colombo went the distance, striking five out and holding his opponent to four hits, all without allowing an earned run. 

+ BNBA Gold defeated BLG Replacements, 14-9. Jacob Blunck (Maroa-Forsyth High School, IL, 2023) led the way on offense, tallying two hits and driving in three. He served as a spark plug on offense all game as well, scoring four times on his own - three of which came on a three-run home run just inside the left field foul pole. LHH Nick Haslett (Normal West, IL, 2023) contributed as well with a two-run double to deep right field of his own and Mason Buzicky (Normal West, IL, 2023) had two hits of his own. 

+ Force Ohio defeated Great Lakes Baseball late Friday night by a score of 12-5. Tied 4-4 going into the 6th inning, Force Ohio’s offense exploded for eight runs in the top half. After an RBI single by Matthew Serdinak (Walsh Jesuit, OH, 2023), Samuel Meyer (St. Ignatius, OH, 2023) widened the lead with a two-run double into deep right field. Heath Fetchik (Chardon, OH, 2023) and Nathan Debenedictis (Walsh Jesuit, OH, 2023) also drove in a run a piece with hits in the sixth. Ryan Harrigle finished the day with three RBIs in the win for Force Ohio. 

+ RHP AJ Courchaine (Bay Port, 2023) turned in a strong outing for Velocity Baseball in their 4-3 win over Slammers Coyote. The 6-foot, 180-pound right-hander went the distance and struck out 10, walking just one on three hits total. Courchaine worked his fastball in the low-80s and mixed in a breaking ball with a short wrinkle in the low-70s, too.

+ RHP Tyler Hewitt (New Berlin West, 2023) twirled one of the weekend’s most impressive outings en route to a 2-1 win for Midwest Halos Red 16U - their second of the weekend. Hewitt went the distance, working through a tough opposing lineup and holding them to just four hits. He worked the zone with a fastball up in the 82-84 mph range early, settling in at 78-80 mph as his outing went on. His slider paired well off his fastball, particularly on the outer half, and it was a pitch he went to with confidence, firing it in all counts at 70-72 mph. Offensively for the Halos, INF Vidal Colon (University School, 2023) drove in the only two runs of the game on a double deep to right-center field in the fifth. 

+ RHP Keenan Mork (River Falls, 2023) turned some heads with an impressive outing for Great Lakes Lumberjacks over on Giants field during our 6:00 p.m. slot. The 6-foot, 155-pound right-hander didn’t allow a hit over his five innings of work, striking out nine. Mork attacked hitters with a sinker-type fastball in the low-80s and spun several sharp breaking balls with swing-and-miss spin at a 2,500+ RPM average. Offensively for the Lumberjacks, INF Alex Matchey (Stillwater, 2023; MN) went 3-for-3 out of the two-hole with three RBIs and a home run. Cleanup hitter OF Reagan Reeder (Anoka, 2023; MN) doubled twice and finished the day with four RBIs. 

+ Elite Baseball Training is strong up the middle with SS Aidan Thaxton (St. Ignatius, IL; 2023) and 2B Colin McCormick (New Trier, IL; 2023). Both Thaxton and McCormick have smooth, confident actions with the ability to stick up the middle moving forward. Thaxton has a strong frame, hit in the leadoff spot, ran a 4.44 down-the-line on a groundout and showed an advanced internal clock at shortstop. Thaxton emerged as a 2023 to follow moving forward.

+ INF Jake Zitella (St. Charles East, IL, 2023) repeatedly found the barrel this morning in Oak Creek. He’s a right handed hitter with a strong lower half that swings with intent. The Canes Illinois two-hole hitter went 3-for-4 including a three-run rocket over the left field wall for a home run. He added a hard hit single and a double to the wall in left-center, and made a loud out on a screaming line drive to left in his last at-bat. 

+ GRB Rays Yellow 16U is off to a strong start this weekend, winning all three of their games thus far and doing so behind strong pitching. They’ve allowed just six runs all weekend and two arms, RHP Daelen Johnson (Beaver Dam, 2023) and INF/RHP Caden Popp (Appleton North, 2023), combined to pitch a shutout on Friday afternoon at Oak Creek. Johnson got the nod and went five innings, allowing just three hits without walking anyone and he struck out two. Popp struck three out over two relief innings to close the game out and secure the win. 

+ Windy City Black and Illinois Premier competed valiantly over at Giants field yesterday afternoon; a game that eventually resulted in a tie. Windy City took the lead late in the sixth inning thanks to a deep home run from Brady Marques over the left field fence. OF Luke Wallace (Lemont, 2023) evened things up for Premier in the top of the seventh with a line drive to right field, leading to the tie. 

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