Cache 11U team grabs USSSA World Series title

Cache Dawgs raced to the Dallas-Fort Worth USSSA 11U World Series title last weekend with seven straight wins and an overwhelming 62-13 edge in runs scored as they beat teams from Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma.

The Dawgs also dominated the top individual awards as JT McCleskey was the Defensive MVP and Dayton Rash wound up being the overall MVP after helping lead the club to the championship.

“We just had a dominating season,” Head Coach Austin Brown said. “We were unranked in USSSA with their points system but we were ranked No. 4 in OK Kids and No. 2 in the Power Rankings and once we got in the field we just dominated down there.”

The key at that level is always pitching and Brown said they are fortunate to have a large group of players who can step on the mound and throw strikes.

“We have six kids who can get out there and throw strikes,” Brown said. “Four of that group—Dayton Rash, Braxton Brown, Sawyer Capogna and Nolan Johnson—did most of the pitching in this tournament. We used a couple other pitchers when we had commanding leads and that helped us save some innings.”

The USSSA pitching rules are different than the OK Kids and other programs.

“They do it according to innings thrown instead of pitch count,” Brown said. “If you go three or more innings you can’t pitch the following day. We were able to use our best guys on the first and third days of the tournament and the others on the second and fourth days and that allowed us to have Rash available for the championship. He threw around 70 pitches, Braxton threw 54 with 40 strikes and that really allowed us to have our best arms ready in those last couple of games.”

With the pitching in good hands, it was up to the offense to get runs on the board and that was not a problem.

“We had a bunch of guys hit the ball well down there,” the coach said. “We have a great deal of speed with this group and we stress for them to just make good contact and put the ball in play and force the defense to try and make plays. Caleb Anderson had a home run that left the park, Braxton and Rash each had inside-the-park home runs but all of the guys hit the ball hard.”

Brown said the kids spend a good deal of time working most of the year hitting.

“One of our players has an indoor hitting cage so some of them have an opportunity to work on their swing even on those cold or wet days,” he said. “These kids all have good eyes and will work the count to their advantage. They are very patient and that is always a key for hitters of any age.”

Like most good teams the Dawgs are strong up the middle on defense.

“Cade Huntley plays second base and Braxton is our shortstop,” Coach Brown said. “Then we have JT (McCleskey) in centerfield and he has a good deal of speed and can chase down fly balls out there with the best of them.”

With the USSSA World Series trophy tucked away, the basic group of players will return to practice soon for the fall season.

“We are giving the guys two weeks off before we start preparing for the fall tournament schedule,” he said. “We will be playing in league play next year in Altus or Comanche. Right now the kids are enjoying a break over the holiday and then we get going again.”