15U Titans capture first US Tournament Championship in Franchise History in Maryland

The 15U Titans put it all together south of the border in July.  15U Titans Head Coach Lawrence Vera’s squad performed admirably in the prestigious Perfect Game tournament on Long Island and placed third.  The momentum built in New York was clearly packed in their gear bags and taken to Maryland where the 15U Titans were crowned champions of the Towson University Mid-Atlantic All-Scout World Series.  Sparkling performances abounded in both tournaments and Coach Vera was most pleased with “seeing the boys realize their full potential.  Our 15U crew is a very talented group with a lot of upside and in New York and Maryland, it came through.”

Numerous performances were evident in the 15U Titans’ fine play in New York as the calendar turned from June to July. Coach Vera applauded the distinctive performances of four players on Long Island, including starting pitcher and shortstop Adam Visram who “faced an undefeated team that was 4-0 in the PG quarterfinals and threw a no- hitter on just 66 pitches-- striking out seven along the way! Adam also hit .375 in the tournament and played some incredible defence at shortstop.” Coach Vera also singled out the excellence of Eric Gregato who “continued to stay hot with the bat, hitting .375 in the PG tournament with a .545 OBP. Eric delivered some clutch RBIs along the way! He also played a very clean right field along the way.” 

To advance in big US tournaments, a Canadian team needs great pitching and Coach Vera lauded the mound work of Nick Halcovitch: “Nick pitched great over the tournament. He pitched 11 innings and only gave up 3 earned runs in the PG semi-finals.  Nick started the Tournament off for us by posting a shutout! He struck out 11 and posted a 1.91 ERA in his 2 starts.”

In addition to great pitching, success in US Tournaments will also be determined by big hits and sustained offensive pressure. Both key factors were provided by Nate Graham.  According to Coach Vera, Graham “had yet another great time at the plate as he has done all season long, Nate hit .300 on Long Island and earned an outstanding .632 OBP.  Nate also hit a big-time home run in the PG semifinals, scored 7 runs, and worked 8 walks in the tournament.”

The 15U Titans’ performance in Towson, Maryland was the highlight of the 2023 season thus far. The team pushed through challenging, rain-soaked conditions to be crowned champions of the Mid-Atlantic All-Scout World Series at Townson University. Coach Vera was very pleased with how his pitchers fared in ‘The Free State of Maryland’: “Sersta came through huge on the mound in multiple games—specifically, in the semifinal game. He came into a tough situation to close the game out. Overall, our pitching led us all the way with Nick Halcovitch and Adam Visram being bulldogs on the mound.” Coach Vera assessed the key performances that led to the 15U Titans declaring championship hardware at the border:  

• Mateo Sersta – “He had a great tournament in Maryland on the bump. Matteo came in and closed out the semifinals for us and, over the tournament, he pitched 5 innings, gave up only 1 Earned run while striking out 7 and posting an incredible 1.40 ERA. He came up big for us when we needed him the most.” 

• The Gregato Twins- “Eric again continued to hit well--posting a .375 BA, a .455 OBP, and he had 3 RBIs in some big spots! Mark pitched great in a must-win game, throwing 3.1 innings and only giving up 1 hit and 0 Earned runs while striking out 2.” 

• Nate Graham – “Nate battled through a knee injury he suffered in Game 1 and came through big for us-- hitting .444 on our way to our first Championship.” 

• Nick Halcovitch – “This bulldog gave us everything he had in the semifinals to help us advance to the finals. He pitched 4.1 innings, gave up just 1 run, and posted a 1.62 ERA. Nick struck out 6 batters along the way.” 

• Alex Strapko and Liam Dupuis Cundy – “Both Alex and Liam had a big tournament with a lot of clutch hits. Alex hit .400, collected a .500 OBP, had 2 big RBIs, and made an unbelievable, over-his-head, Superman diving catch to keep the momentum on our side in the semifinals! Liam came through big for us with 3 doubles and hit .375 in the tournament. Liam’s big doubles came at the right time to give us the edge to advance and win the tournament.” 

Coach Vera was pleased not only with his own team’s performances in the USA to kick off the US Tournament season, but also all the Titans teams:  “As the Director of Baseball Operations, it's amazing to see our teams have great success down south. Even though we are a very new organization, we are seeing our talents improve year over year. These performances in 2023 are an indication that we are much stronger and will only get stronger.”

Congratulations to the 15U Titans for their historic championship in Towson, Maryland and a commendable third-place finish in Long Island, New York.