Wiregrass Cardinals ready for AAU Tournament

Ready or not, the Wiregrass Cardinals 19-under baseball season peaks this week when the team competes in the AAU Baseball National Championship tournament at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

“We’ve got quite a few guys returning who went with us last year,” Cardinals coach Sammy Frichter said before the team left for the tournament Sunday morning. “They’re ready to go. The kids who haven’t been are in for something special.”

Frichter said last year’s first visit was memorable — not just for the consolation bracket championship the Cardinals earned.

“We’ll play two games in the main stadium, where you’ve got 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 people in the stands,” he said. “If you can’t get ready for that, you shouldn’t be in baseball.”

Teams will play two games each today and Tuesday. The 20-team tournament includes four five-team pools. The competition is tremendous, Frichter said, particular in his pool — which includes the Cardinals, Brazos Valley Renegades White, Puerto Rico White Sox, Baton Rouge White Sox and West Florida Young Guns.

“We open Monday morning with the Baton Rouge White Sox, which is probably the team to beat in our pool,” Frichter said. “But we need to play the best to be the best. Then we’ve got West Florida in the afternoon.”

Tuesday, the Cardinals play in the stadium against Puerto Rico at 8 a.m., then against the Brazos Valley Renegades at 10:30 a.m.

A number of Cardinals made the trip last year, including Sam Judah, Shane Lewis, Jazz Coachman, Dwayne Whitten, Cass Abercrombie and Sloan Simmons.

The team is 20-9 this summer, which has Frichter concerned.

“We had more rainouts this summer than anytime I’ve seen since the 1970s,” he said. “Last year we were 40-10, or something like that. We’ve missed a lot of baseball this summer.”

There have been surprises. Frichter said shortstop T.J. Rivera, who played at Wallace, has been excellent. “And he can hit, too, out of the two or three hole,” the coach added.

Blake Martz, who had to replace Brett Chamberlain — an all-tournament catcher at last year’s national championships — has had a standout summer. Martz is a redshirt freshman at Troy, and Chamberlain signed with Troy.

Charles Henderson teammates William Teal and Logan Pierce have also surprised Frichter this summer.

“Teal is starting to get command of his slider and change,” the coach said. “If he gets ahead in the count, he’s really tough. And Logan Pierce is a pure hitter. He hits the ball hard as much as anybody. And he’s got some raw power.”

Another pitcher, Shawn Harrison of Chipley, who sat out last year after rotator cuff surgery, has returned and could surprise in this tournament.

“There are college coaches and scouts who will be at this — and not just from the Southeast,” Frichter said. “That gives the kids a lot of exposure to a lot of people.”