EMERSON, Ga. – While Team GA 16u Gold has been dominating opponents all season, one might wonder why the Team Georgia team in the 16u PG World Series is Team GA/MBA. This team is actually a combination of Team GA Gold 16u and Mississippi Baseball Academy, two organizations that Chris McRaney runs. McRaney started Team Georgia in 2004 and that baseball experience brought him back to his roots to create MBA a few years ago.

“Initially I grew up in Mississippi and started my career at Mississippi State and then played junior college in Florida, and really, I’ve always just had a heart for the state of Mississippi,” McRaney said. “I still have family in the state, my mother still lives there and for me, it was about what can I do to help, aid, I can’t do it by myself, what can I do working with the high school coaches, the instructors, all of the above, to continue to help the product in the state.”

McRaney said that baseball in Mississippi has a lot of potential that is often not recognized or found. Many of the kids there do not have the resources as kids in baseball dominant states like Georgia do, so the creation of the organization was to bring that opportunity to those kids. MBA currently has indoor facilities in many different parts of the state, which are open to any member of an MBA team so that they can get the repetitions and training that they need to fulfil their potential.

“For me, as you want to leave a legacy in life with what you do, for me, I want to see baseball continue to improve, and if I can be a part of that in Mississippi, then that will be special to me personally and more importantly, the kids will benefit from that,” McRaney said.

On the Team Georgia side, McRaney’s 16u Gold team has experienced loads of success this summer, winning the PG-EC Invitational tournament, finishing runner up in the 16u WWBA Qualifier and making it to the round of 16 in the 16u WWBA National Championship. When Perfect Game talked to McRaney in June, he recognized the uniqueness of this group and he repeated those statements today, saying that being around them the whole summer has made him realize the special nature of the team even more.

“This has been a special group of players and parents, it really has been, and it’s really been a joy just to coach them, just to be a part of it. They’re played hard, they’ve competed each and every game,” McRaney said.

Not only is the team special talent wise, possessing a few top 150 ranked players in the class of 2019, but they are willing to get better, something that McRaney said separates them from other teams that he has had in the past.

“Just maturity, this is one of the best groups, maybe the best group I’ve ever had in relation to listening. They listen, they try to make adjustments,” McRaney said. “A lot of times, you’ll look at a kid, you’ll try to talk to them, ask them to make an adjustment, and they’ll look at you like you’re crazy, and it just is what it is, but these guys, they listen, they make adjustments in the cage, they ask a lot of questions, and I tell them, ‘Hey, look, there is not a bad question. If you don’t ask, then you will not know.’”

After showing well in many tournaments and possessing a roster full of talented players, McRaney’s Team Georgia team was invited to the 16u PG World Series, an event that features the top 30 teams from around the country. McRaney reveled at the opportunity to have his players finish in such a prestigious event.

“It’s awesome man. Anyone that says that this is not the best event in the country at 16, to see the teams that are in this event speaks for itself at the end of the day, so for our guys to be a part of it, you know, we didn’t come, honestly, just to be in it, we came to win the event, because I know we can win the event,” McRaney said. “I mean if this doesn’t excite you just to be around and be a part of this, whether you’re a coach, you’re a player, you’re a parent, then you don’t need to be playing this game, so we’re just appreciative of Perfect Game for the opportunity, and hopefully we can make them look good by putting us in the event.”

This was a perfect tournament for a merger of the two teams, providing an opportunity for both squads to face the best competition. Twelve players from Mississippi and 14 players from Georgia make up the roster, showcasing the talent on both teams. In Wednesday’s game, four Mississippi players started out in the field, while two pitched in the game. One of those starting position players was Southaven, Miss., native Kamren James, who went 1-for-3 at the plate on Wednesday.

"Kid can hit, flat out. He plays for our Mississippi Baseball Academy Royals group, and as a matter of fact, he plays for Mike Riley [the father of Braves prospect Austin Riley], but just watch his mentality man. Even the first at-bat, got a bad call, I thought, on an 0-1 pitch, stayed on it, hit a rocket that at-bat. Look at the physique too, everything plays long-term. You can see guys, and I haven’t been around him a ton, but you can just see he has feel for hitting at the end of the day He’s a great kid to go along with it. Everything’s ‘Yes sir. No sir,’ and he’s one of those guys, he’s only going to get better,” McRaney said

The 6-foot, 170-pound shortstop is the No. 11 ranked player in the class of 2019 per Perfect Game and the No. 436 overall. James is committed to Mississippi State where his older brother Keegan pitches. He has other ties to Mississippi State as well and said that those played into him committing to the school.

“I played down there one fall and they liked what they saw and I went down there, we talked with the coaches,” James said. “I’ve grown up a Mississippi State fan, and when they offered me, I knew there was no doubt in my mind where I wanted to go play. My dad played football there, my brother’s a pitcher there, so it was a no doubter for me.”

Another Mississippi native that appeared on the mound for the team on Wednesday was righthander Farmer Abendroth. The 6-foot-4, 170-pound Abendroth threw two scoreless innings in Wednesdays game, reaching 90 mph with his fastball and striking out two hitters.

“Really my fastball [was working for me today],” Abendroth said. “My two-seam has a natural tail inside to a righty, and that was working pretty good, and then my four-seam was working good away and my curveball was working pretty good, too.”

The No. 113 ranked player in the class of 2019 and the No. 6 in Mississippi has reached as high as 92 with his fastball, increasing each year he has attended a Perfect Game event. Abendroth attributes that to his work with McRaney, who he said has really instilled belief in him as a pitcher.

“The potential’s off the charts,” McRaney said. “If he’s not 96-97 by the time he leaves high school, I’d be surprised. The arm really, really works as you saw today. I think he’d tell you this, the big thing for him is just confidence and getting better and believing in himself, but the potential, I mean look, all you had to do is watch it, it’s special. The breaking ball, the slider is special, so just him being a part of this is just really cool.”

The efforts by both James and Abendroth led the TG/MBA to a 3-2 win over the Home Plate Chili Dogs in the first game of the PG World Series. Two runs were scored in the third inning by Home Plate, but TG/MBA would show resiliency, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game up. Even though they only collected three hits in the game, McRaney said that he was not worried about the offense moving forward and hopes that the combined squads can put it all together to end the season on a championship run.

“Be more aggressive. When the ball’s in the zone, be more aggressive and stop being more passive, but other than that, I’m really not worried about it to be honest with you, because if you don’t play for 11 days, then you can’t expect to come out and your guys bang the ball around,” McRaney said. “So, I was kind of glad that we got behind, showed a little character today in coming back, and I think you’ll see that we’ll get better from here on out offensively.”