Recent LVBA 8U News
8u Lightning Complete 2016-2017 Season With 9u Silver State Bash Title
The 8u LVBA Lightning team completed an incredibly successful 2016-2017 season with a championship in the 9u Silver State Bash Tournament during the June 3rd and 4th weekend. Competing in the 9u division the boys endured the heat, faced stiff competition and showed tremendous progress to finalize their 8u season.
In game 1, the 8u Lightning battled against Tri City Venom. Dominant pitching and great offensive execution led to a 6-2 lead. A few bad breaks went against the boys and Venom came back to force a tie in the bottom of the 6th. Despite controlling most of the game the team was determined to not let a little hiccup effect their performance the rest of the tournament. In the next game against the Rebels, the Lightning bounced back with a big 17-9 win. Combining a recipe of throwing strikes on defense and taking advantage of mistakes on offense. Going 1-0-1 on pool play they earned the 2 seed into championship day.
On day 2, they opened against Team Adidas. Stellar pitching allowed the Lightning to jump out to a big lead, eventually securing the 8-2 victory in the semifinals. Onto the championship, the 8u Lightning continued their hot bats jumping out early on the Rebels. The boys never let up and persevered the warm day with a 16-8 win in the championship. This was a great way to end the 8u season proving the determination to learn the 9u rules and real baseball would be beneficial in the long run. The team is set to be highly competitive going into next year when moving back to playing kids their own age consistently.
The entire organization is extremely proud of these boys, and cannot wait to see what is in store for them in their actual 9u season. Congratulations on a great tournament and a great season to the 8u players and coaches! Enjoy the break, and be ready to come back hungrier than ever.
The 8u Lightning team is back in the swing of things with winning their first tournament of 2017. During the March 11-12 weekend they ended up winning the 8u division in the Battle Born Tournament.
Game 1 against the Nevada Elite Gorillas, the Lightning jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The bats came out hot, like the weather for the weekend. Capitalizing off key mistakes from the other team the 8u players continued to extend their lead. Stellar pitching performances by 3 Lightning players limited the Gorillas offensive production.
Later in the day, the 8u Lightning played the CBA Pumas in a fantastic pitchers duel. Parker Lueck started the outstanding performance for the Lightning with 3 shutout innings. Chase Griffith came in and sealed the deal with 3 more innings of 0 runs allowed. Outstanding defense, pitchers attacking the strike zone, and timely hitting allowed the Lightning to become victorious 2-0 over the Pumas. Santiago Williams was all the offense the Lightning would need, driving in both runs, and producing the only runs scored for either team.
After going 2-0 in pool play the 8u team earned the number 1 seed. First game on Sunday they came out on fire again. The Lightning beat the Gorillas 10-0 playing sound baseball. Next up was the championship and a rematch against the CBA Pumas. With revenge on the Puma's mind, the 8u Lightning came out eager to not let it happen. An outstanding pitching performance by Matthew Maurice kept the Pumas' bats quiet. A complete team effort allowed for the team's best performance of the weekend winning 15-2 in the championship. The team put all three phases of the game together with excellent pitching, defense, and hitting.
The 8u team will look forward to continue their hot roll as they travel down to Phoenix to face some of the best 8u teams in the West Coast. Good Luck Lightning!
LVBA Participates in KLUC Toy Drive, Surpassing Its 2015 Output
In 2015, LVBA contributed 41 bikes to the KLUC Toy Drive, an incredible event put on by 98.5 KLUC and Chet Buchanan. This year, LVBA outdid itself, donating 43 bikes, 11 scooters, and a tremendous amount of other toys.
These community involvement experiences are ones that the Las Vegas Baseball Academy really prides itself on. Between the Rescue Mission and the Toy Drive, these players really learn to appreciate what they have, and how important it is to be a giving part of the community. It is an experience for everyone that is always humbling.
A big thank you goes out to Loraine Driscoll (yes, again!) for organizing and setting up the community involvement that LVBA always does, specifically with the Rescue Mission and the KLUC Toy Drive.
Another big thank you goes out to the parents and families of this great organization. None of what we do would be possible without you guys. With this time of the year, the staff and organization cannot express enough how thankful and appreciative we are of all of you. Thank you everyone, and enjoy the holidays!
Lightning Teams Spend Thanksgiving Week at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission
- By Dan Jaffe 11/28/2016, 10:30am PST
Newest and Youngest Lightning Team Wins First Tournament Ever
- By Chase LaComb and Dan Jaffe 10/05/2016, 7:30am PDT