Orlando Scorpions Take Two Titles

SARASOTA, Fla.—The inaugural Wilson Premier Classic nearly went perfectly for the Orlando Scorpions. With a team competing in all three of the event’s age divisions, the Scorpions went 8-2 and their 2017 graduates and 2019 graduates won their championship Sunday.

In the 2017 graduates’ championship game at Ed Smith Stadium, the Scorpions defeated the EvoShield Canes, 6-4, in a game that was called in the top of the sixth inning due to rain and lightning. Earlier in the day, the 2019 graduates defeated the East Cobb Astros, 11-2, for the title. In the 2018 graduates’ bracket, East Cobb defeated Team Elite, 11-5.

Matt Gerber, the Scorpions owner, coached the 2019 graduates in the Wilson Premier Classic. He was thrilled with the teams’ success against the elite competition the tournament brought to Sarasota and the Orioles’ spring training complex this weekend.

“Obviously the future is bright with the ’19s and we’ve got a lot of talent in the ’17s,” Gerber said. “It’s just awesome being a part of an event like this.”

The 2017 graduates’ championship game pitted two of the elite travel ball organizations against each other. The Canes and Scorpions have developed something of a rivalry due to their success at the biggest tournaments. It was the Scorpions who came out on top and started their fall schedule with a championship.

The Canes scored twice in the top of the first inning, but the Scorpions answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half. They never trailed again, as Anthony Servideo and David Vazquez provided big hits in the third and fourth innings to keep Orlando in the lead. Servideo drove an RBI triple to the right field wall in the third, and Vazquez pulled a two-run home run into the left field pavilion the next inning.

Servideo, who was named tournament MVP, said the Scorpions knew they were going to face some tough pitching in the championship game. But they were able to find a way to score runs when they needed to.

“They came out swinging first and we came right back up,” Servideo said. “That’s pretty much how the whole game went, back-and-forth. At the end, we got on top and stuck with it.”

The Canes wouldn’t go away quietly, however. Joe Gray drove a home run to left in the sixth to cut the deficit to two runs immediately before the game went into a weather delay.

The game was never restarted, leaving the Scorpions to lift the trophy in the rain. Coach Brian Martinez said the ending wasn’t ideal, but was happy with the game’s outcome.

“They’re a good rival of ours, so to come out with a win is a win at the end of the day,” Martinez said. “We respect the Canes and we would have liked to have finished it, but it’s over.”

The Scorpions have produced many elite players in their history, including Brendan Rodgers, the third overall pick in 2015. This year’s team didn’t have a prospect of that caliber, but is not light on talent. Hillsborough (Fla.) High infielder Tim Elko, who is committed to Mississippi, has big righthanded power and may have been the top prospect on the team. But there was enough solid pitching from righthanders Cole Beavin (East Carolina), Donovan Benoit (Tennessee) and Jack Leftwich (Florida), and enough hitting from Elko, Servideo (Mississippi) and Vazquez (North Carolina State) to go home with the title.

The Scorpions hadn’t played together for a couple of months after ending their summer season, and Servideo said winning the Wilson Premier Classic was a good way to start their fall campaign.

“Starting off on the right foot,” Servideo said. “Perfect leading into the next tournament, so it was awesome.”