The ABD Bulldogs won their third national/world championship of the past year, defeating the SE Texas Sun Devils 8-6 to win the Perfect Game/WWBA National Upperclass Championship in Tucson on Monday. 

ABD had previously won the WWBA World Championship (Jupiter) last October and followed that up with a win in the 192 team WWBA 17U National Championship in Marietta in July. But neither of those victories was as hard fought as this win, which saw the Bulldogs win all four of their playoff games in their final at bat, including an epic 11 inning victory over Trombley Baseball in the first round of the playoffs. 

The Bulldogs looked like they would make quick work of the Sun Devils in the finals, scoring four unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. But SE Texas pitchers Ryan Bielitz and Taijuan Walker held the ABD bats quiet for the next four innings, enabling the Sun Devils to chip back and take a 6-5 lead. 

ABD 2B Andre Real led off the bottom of the 6th inning with a walk and moved into scoring position on a jam shot single that landed on the right field line by 1B Travis Harrison, his fourth hit of the game. SS Brett Harrison (no relation) followed with a game tying single scoring real and after an out, EH Brad Salgado singled in Travis Harrison with the lead run. LF Robby Witt provided an insurance run by doubling home Salgado. 

Things got interesting in the bottom of the 7th but RHP Ryan Keller got Sun Devils SS Gavin Cecchini to line hard to right field with 2 out and 2 runners on base to end the game. Cecchini, a 2012 prospect, went 3-4 in the final game. 

Travis Harrison was named the championship's Most Valuable Player, duplicating the honor he won at the WWBA 17U National Championship. Harrison, a 2011 grad, started at four different positions for the Bulldogs and batted leadoff, going 13-22 in 7 games with 12 runs scored and 8 stolen bases. 

ABD LHP Cameron Cuneo was named the Most Valuable Pitcher. The 2010 southpaw pitched 2 complete game victories, including a very strong effort in a 3-2 win over the SoCal Angels in the semifinals. 

Jim Ecker
Monday, July 13, 2009

MARIETTA, Ga. -- Travis Harrison and the ABD Bulldogs Red will have some extra luggage for their trip home to California early Tuesday morning, but that's perfectly OK with them. They earned it.

Harrison was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Wood Bat Association 17U National Championships Monday afternoon as the ABD Bulldogs topped the East Cobb Astros, 11-4, in the championship game to finish the week-long event with a perfect 10-0 record.

Harrison, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound slugger, went 15 for 26 in the tournament with at least 10 extra-base hits. He was 2-for-4 Monday and reached base three times in the leadoff spot to help ignite the Bulldogs.

"I was just trying to get the team going a little bit," he said of his week-long exploits. "We played really well. It made it easier on me."

Harrison received a big, handsome MVP trophy cup to carry on the flight home to the West Coast. The team also received a similar trophy for capturing the championship of this immense 192-team tournament that included many of the best summer club teams in the country.

"It's obviously a great accomplishment," said Harrison. "We go into every game knowing that we're going to win, expecting to win. And if we play how we should and stay focused throughout the game, we'll come out on top."

The Bulldogs faced a tough opponent Monday in the East Cobb Astros and star pitcher Kaleb Cowart, an Aflac All-American who was clocked at 94 mph, but Cowart ran into control problems in the fourth inning and loaded the bases with two walks and a hit-batter. A bloop single plated one run, then two more singles by ABD batters knocked in two additional runs and chased Cowart from the mound on the short end of the score.

"He's tough," said ABD shortstop Tony Wolters, another Aflac All-American. "He's got good stuff and good movement on his fastball. But we're good enough hitters to pick that up."

Trevor Williams, a 6-foot-2 righthander from San Diego, pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs. He escaped a few jams and held the good-hitting Astros to four runs with an 89 mph fastball.

"My first few innings were a little rough,'' said Williams, who hit three batters and allowed two runs in the first two frames, "but then I got dialed in and hit my spots. It felt pretty good."

The East Cobb Astros, who went 9-1 in the tournament, used seven pitchers in the seven-inning game. The Astros stayed close and trailed by only two runs, 6-4, before the Bulldogs put it away with five runs in the top of the seventh.

Michael Lorenzen went 3-fo-4 for the Bulldogs and drove in two runs. Christian Yelich was 2-for-5 with two RBIs and Stefan Sabol also drove in two runs. All told, eight ABD batters drove in runs.

The Bulldogs played single games on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, then played two games apiece on Saturday, Sunday and Monday to finish 10-0 in seven days. They spent a lot of time at the ballparks in Georgia this past week.

"It's hard, but everyone just works through it," said Wolters. "There were people hurt and there were people tired, but everyone gave 100 percent."

"It was a blast," he said. "I love this tournament."

"It was fun," Williams agreed, "but I want to get back home."

The championship game was the 566th and final game in the 17U tournament.

Will West, a left-hander from Tallahassee, Fla., was named the Most Valuable Pitcher in the tournament after throwing a pair of shutouts with 20 strikeouts for the East Cobb Astros.

By David Gurian-Peck / MLB.com

07/07/09 1:59 AM ET

PHILADELPHIA -- Greg Dobbs couldn't have expected to match the production of Raul Ibanez, who was having a career year before straining his left groin.

But Dobbs sure is filling in admirably.

The left-handed-hitting half of Phillies manager Charlie Manuel's platoon system should be in left field against the Reds and their righty starter, Aaron Harang, at Citizens Bank on Tuesday night. (Youngster John Mayberry Jr. has been playing against lefties.)

Dobbs was hitting just .172 (10-for-58) with a .556 OPS (on-base-plus-slugging percentage) before Ibanez was placed on the 15-day disabled list June 18. Dobbs had played in 50 games, but only started seven.

Now thrust into a bigger role, Dobbs has thrived. He is hitting .421 with three homers and nine RBIs in 14 games (10 starts) since Ibanez went down. That includes a career day on Monday, when he matched a career best with four hits and launched a two-run homer in the Phillies' 22-1 win over the Reds.

"Yeah that's a good thing, of course," Manuel said before Monday's game. "Dobbs needs at-bats. It's very important that during the summer that he gets some at-bats."

The Phillies know what he can do off the bench and in the fall. Last season, he was 22-for-62 (.354) with two home runs and 11 RBIs as a pinch-hitter. He also picked up seven hits in 14 postseason at-bats.

Dobbs will return to that backup slot when Ibanez is activated, likely this weekend. By then, though, Dobbs will have found the comfort zone that eluded him at the plate earlier. And until then, he has at least three more chances to

Greg Dobbs of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates with the World Series Championship trophy after their 4-3 win against the Tampa Bay Rays in Game Five of the 2008 MLB World Series in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. No longer the loveable losers that last year became the first American sports franchise to lose 10,000 games, the Philadelphia Phillies can put away their symbols of futility.

Arms dominate World Wood Bat tournament

By Nathan Rode and Matt Blood
October 27, 2008

JUPITER, Fla.—Monday marked the culmination of the World Wood Bat Championship and a winner was crowned, but not before drama unfolded in a day of epic playoff matchups.

The first round was underway bright and early with the winners of each pool taking each other on. Due to a rain delay on Sunday, the entire playoff portion was shifted to Monday. So all games were shortened to five innings, except for the finals. 

One of the pre-tournament favorites, the California-based ABD Bulldogs, went on to win the event, for the first time. Coached by international veteran coach and Braves part-time scout Mike Spiers, the Bulldogs have featured such recent alumni as Nick Noonan (Giants), Chris Parmelee (Twins), Josh Vitters (Cubs) and Matt Clark (Padres, 2008 Division I home run leader at LSU). This year's team took down Diamond Vision Elite and the South Florida Bandits to advance to the semifinals, where it beat All-Star Baseball 3-0, and ABD finished it off with a 7-3 victory over Cangelosi Baseball the finals.

ATLANTA -- In terms of Major League debuts, James Parr had reason to consider this one to have been a birdie.

Parr provided six solid innings and the recently struggling Braves' bullpen found a lead they could preserve during a 2-0 win over the Nationals at Turner Field on Thursday night.

While beating the Nationals for just the fifth time in 15 opportunities this year, the Braves saw Parr allow just two hits over six scoreless innings. The 22-year-old right-hander was given his first Major League start in place of Jo-Jo Reyes, whose wife gave birth to their first child on Wednesday.

Parr, who was 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA during his final three starts for Triple-A Richmond this year, registered three strikeouts and found the strike zone with 59 of his 101 pitches. The only hits he allowed came courtesy of Ronnie Belliard, who doubled with one out in the second inning and then singled in front of an inning-ending double play in the fifth inning.

Nationals starter Shairon Martis, who was also making his Major League debut, allowed two earned runs and issued five walks in five innings. The 21-year-old right-hander was victimized after walking three of the first four batters that he faced in the fourth inning, including Parr.