The Savannah Elite U16 baseball team has taken to the road to improve this summer by participating in Perfect Game (PG) Baseball Tournaments. The Elite 16U team consisted of mostly rising juniors and two sophomores from Benedictine Military School. There is one lone player from Calvary Day School.
The team has played in four tournaments so far and compiled an 8-5 record winning the last four games in the previous PG Tournament at the Hog Mountain Complex in Flowery Branch, Georgia. According to Head Coach Brian Tuten, the Elite 16U team started the competition in a PG tournament in Charleston on June 5th but rained out after the first game.
After a tough 2-3 start this summer, the Elite 16U have won six out of their last eight games. "Playing in these Perfect Game Tournaments helps the players get better by playing better competition. We won four games in a round-robin format at the last tournament, and you can see the improvement" said, Tuten. "We have players that have made a difference and are stepping up."
Pitchers that have stood out are Landon Andrews (Calvary) and Peyton Fogle (Benedictine). "Both these players don't jump out at you with the big fastball; they keep the hitters off-balance," said Tuten. Andrews has pitched in five games, and his last outing threw a two-hitter, striking out five, and did not allow a run in an 8-0 Elite 16U win. Fogle has thrown in four games and, on June 12th, went seven innings for a complete-game win. Only allowing two hits, one earned run and struck out seven batters in a 6-1 Elite 16U victory.
Five Elite 16U players are batting over .300 and one right at .400. Leading the 
team is Colin Kucera (Benedictine), with a .400 average and a 1.225 on-base percentage. Colin has played in two PG Tournaments going 4-10. Ross Ducey (Benedictine) was 5 for 15 with a .333 average. Peyton Fogle 8-25, a .320 average, Kaden Tuten (Benedictine) 12-38 at .316, and Clay Dean (Benedictine) 11-35 at .314. Miles Clemons (Benedictine) leads the team with nine rbi and six extra-base hits.
According to Tuten, catcher Robert Carver (Benedictine) has been big 
offensively and defensively for the Elite 16U team. "Robert has been consistent for us as a hitter and catcher. When you play in the heat of the summer, it takes a toll on catchers. Robert has been outstanding," said Tuten.
Next, the team will play their last Perfect Game Tournament of the summer at the PG North East Invitational. "After this weekend, we will lose some players to football. We will, though, put a team together to play in the fall," said Tuten. "Next year, we will look to play in the PrepBaseballReport.com tournaments. The PBR tournaments are big-time recruiting exposure tournaments."
The Elite 16U team will have tryouts to fill spots to play in the fall. So be aware of when those tryouts might occur by checking the Savannah Elite 16U Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SavannahEliteBaseball.
Photos - Savannah Elite 16U Baseball
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