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Tournaments  | Championship  | 10/13/2020

WWBA Freshman belongs to Canes FL 2024

Jerry Miller     
Photo: Canes FL 2024 (Perfect Game)
Before the championship contest of the 2020 WWBA Freshman World Series began on Monday afternoon at the 5-Plex in Ft. Myers, every parent, fan, scout, umpire, and PG event staff member knew that The Canes were going to walk away with the championship trophy from the annual crown jewel of PG tournaments. The aforementioned is truly easy to explain. Playing on Field 2 in front of a very energetic crowd of supporters were two undefeated teams - the designated visiting team, the Canes National club, based in Fredericksburg, VA, and the designated home club the Canes FL 2024 out of Boca Raton. After falling behind early by a score of 2-1, the Canes FL 2024 club mounted a furious, almost unrelenting rally in the 5th and 6th innings when they plated four and two runs respectively, to take a seemingly comfortable, 7-2 lead. The winning Canes FL team had some anxious moments in the top of the 7th when they had to hold off a hard charging Canes National nine. The Virginia club scored one and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs. A ground out to shortstop, however, set off a jubilant celebration in the Canes FL dugout. The comeback was not to be, as Canes FL 2024 held on to defeat Canes National 7-3.

The championship game, after the long grind of five brutal and exhausting days of competition, pitted two outstanding clubs against each other. Both had manipulated their way through the gauntlet of pool play and two grueling days of playoff baseball. Both Canes teams had to win two tense playoff games on Sunday and two more anxiety filled games on Monday to even earn the right to play in the final contest.



The gritty, physically talented Canes FL 2024 club is a regionally based south Florida group. According to their skipper, Sam Luppino, “all of our kids know each other and are true friends. They live within two hours of each other. To say we are a TRUE team would be an understatement”. The first thing any baseball fan would take note of regarding the Canes FL bunch is their baseball savvy. These young players approach their craft with a veteran player’s purpose. They understand the game. They pay attention to detail. They make the routine plays without duress and the tough plays with a calmness usually reserved for players much their senior.

Case in point, Rivers Kurland (2025, Tampa, FL) is in the 8th grade. He was playing above his usual age group. All the young southpaw did was limit one of the top hitting clubs in the entire tournament, to three runs on eight hits. Holding down the vaunted Canes National offense would have been tough for a high school senior with experience. Rivers is in the 8th grade. He is still in junior high, and he pitched like a veteran hurler with years of experience against one of the best collections of offensive talent in the WWBA. He threw a gutsy 6 2/3 innings and was only pulled after he had reached the PG mandated daily pitch count limit. From his body language, the competitive lefty didn’t want to leave the hill. Luppino said, “What can I say about Rivers? His performance was GINORMOUS”. “We don’t win without his effort. We had one pitcher after Rivers and he had 20 pitches left. If Rivers doesn’t do what he did, we probably are in bad shape.”

This tight knit south Florida group gets obviously outstanding support from their family and friends. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the individual and team disposition starts at home and is further built by Sam Luppino and his staff. The Canes FL 2024 is a team that hit the ground running on Thursday and never looked back. Their enthusiasm and energy was palpable. Although each individual would undoubtedly speak highly of the entire club, there were some individual performances that must be noted.

The Canes FL lead-off hitter is a long time veteran with the organization. Rylan Lujo (Coconut Creek, FL) had a monster tournament that was emphatically highlighted by his performance in the championship game. The 6-foot-1, 170 pound high school freshman went 2-for-4 on the day. He scored a run and drove in another. His outstanding day was completed when he stepped in to calmly close the ball game out on the mound. The long and lean righty threw six pitches and walked off the bump with possibly his biggest career save to date.

Another big contributor for Canes FL is a relative newcomer to the organization. Their three-hole hitter, Mateo Gray (2024, Weston, FL) was a force at the plate, on the infield and the mound. Although Mateo just joined the club this year, he fit right in with the culture that the Canes have created. He is a solid infielder and has the quick feet and the strong arm that is needed to play the hot corner. He threw nine, much needed quality innings on the mound during the tournament when depth of a pitching staff is tested continually. His bat plays and plays big. Hitting in the third spot in any line-up, at any level, is a prime spot for managers to place, usually, one of their more reliable hitters. Mateo filled that bill all weekend.

The Most Valuable pitcher award in the WWBA Freshman World Series went to Evangelical Christian HS freshman, Maddix Simpson (2024, Lehigh Acres, FL). All the 6-foot-1, 175 pound right-hander did was appear in four games on the hill and dominate each time he was out there. He closed out the Canes 4-2 quarterfinal win over 5 Star 15U White. He worked an inning and a third, allowing only one hit, while striking out two. Already heated from closing the quarterfinal game, Maddix started the semi-finals against a very talented USA Prime club and went four gritty innings, giving up only one run on four hits. He struck out five and only walked one. As if his mound performances weren’t enough, Simpson also played second base and centerfield almost flawlessly. When asked about the many noticeable attributes that Maddix brings to field, Canes skipper, Sam Luppino, said,” I don’t have enough words. Maddix was simply outstanding all weekend.”

The tournament's Most Valuable Player was Canes catcher extraordinaire, Niko Benestad (2024, Coconut Creek, FL). The sturdy backstop, who is a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS was, without question the offensive star of the tournament. To list all the hits, extra base hits, and RBI's the obviously gifted Benestad had during his run to the MVP trophy would fill a book. He can flat out hit the ball. He has a great feel for the barrel and when he triggers his swing he does so with force. He makes consistently loud contact. Niko’s coach, Sam Luppino said that Niko “is a great young man who is emblematic of who we are as an organization” and that he was “clutch” all weekend.

When the dust finally settled on the many fields that hosted the 2020 WWBA Freshman World Series in Fort Myers, the well-coached, fundamentally sound, and highly enthusiastic Canes FL 2024 club walked away with the big silver cup, emblematic of their well-earned championship. Kudos to all the teams who participated in this year’s event. Congratulations to all the clubs who battled through pool play and made the playoffs, a feat that is reserved for only the very best teams in the country. A big tip of the cap to this year’s runner-up team, Canes National. A hearty congratulations to the 2020 WWBA Freshman World Series Champions, The Canes FL 2024. You played the toughest and beat the best!

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