The FW Rebels had another successful tournament this past weekend as they went 3-1 in the PPS Spring Fling tournament in White Settlement.  Pitching was a definite highlight over the weekend as Rebel pitchers combined to strikeout 39 batters in 20 innings pitched.  The Rebels outscored the opposition 35-11 in their 4 games and improved their overall record to 7-2 on the season.  Here are the game by game recaps:

FW Rebels 17

Texas Generals 4

The Rebels first game came against the Texas Generals who had already won a tournament this season and sported a 9-1 record on the season.  The visiting Rebels got on the board right away when Carlos Guerrero smacked a solo home run deep to left-center field to make it 1-0.  Evan Smith & Quentin Enos then hit back to back singles and with two outs, Bryson Snow doubled to right to score both Smith & Enos.  Charlie Rusk then singled in Snow and the score was 4-0.  Guerrero was dominant for his two innings striking out 6 while allowing just 1 baserunner.  The game was 4-1 heading to the 4th when the Rebels broke the game open.  Smith & Enos both singled to open the inning.  Wyatt Baccus singled to center to score Smith to make it 3-1.  Bryson Snow yet again drove in two runs with an RBI single making it 6-1.  The Generals gifted the Rebels a run when Christopher Calabrese reached on an error by the Generals shortstop with two out.  This sent Caden Spurling who had walked to 2nd.  Kameron Mantyh singled in Spurling to make it 9-1.  The Rebels were able to tack on 8 more runs and won 17-4.  Again, the Generals weren't a bad team as they ended up winning the Silver Bracket championship so a solid victory for the Rebels.

FW Rebels 11

Texas Giants Harmon 1

Once again the Rebels jumped out to a 4-run 1st inning.  Jace Franke singled to open the game and then stole second.  Evan Smith followed with a walk and Quentin Enos reached on an error but was credited with an RBI as Franke scored to make it 1-0. Wyatt Baccus drove in Smith & Enos with a single to make it 3-0. Coleman Peck hit a Sac Fly to score the final run of the first.  Wyatt Baccus got the start on the hill for the Rebels and allowed 1 unearned run in 2 innings of work while striking out 4.  The game remained close at 5-1 heading to the 5th and final inning.  Caden Spurling opened the inning by getting hit by a pitch.  Christopher Calabrese reached on a fielder's choice with Spurling retired at second. Calabrese then stole second and went to third when Kameron Mantyh reached on an error by the Giants shortstop.  Evan Swindell singled to right-center to score Calabrese to make it 7-1.  Evan Wainright reached on an error to score Mantyh. Franke blasted a ball to left center allowing Swindell to score from second to make it 8-1.  Enos & Baccus added RBI's and the Rebels shut down the Giants the rest of the way to win 11-1.

FW Rebels 7

Express All Stars 2

The Rebels earned the #3 seed and faced Express All Stars in the quarterfinals.  Wyatt Baccus got the start on the hill and dominated with a perfect mix of a well placed fastball and biting curveball.  In total, Baccus went 4 innings, allowed a hit and two unearned runs while striking out 7.  The Rebels started fast again at the plate with 2 runs in the first inning and 5 in the second.  Kameron Mantyh had the big hit with a bases loaded single that scored two runs in the second inning. Jace Franke walked to score Caden Spurling, Carlos Guerrero walked to score Mantyh, and Evan Smith walked to score Evan Swindell.  Rebel bats went quiet at that point but the pitching of Baccus and reliever Mantyh held the All Stars in check for a final score of 7-2.

NTX Gators 4

FW Rebels 0

Evan Smith has been on the FW Rebels from the very beginning.  He and Evan Swindell & Christopher Calabrese are the last of the original Rebels.  Smith's 5-inning pitching performance vs a very good Gators lineup was probably the most impressive outing on the mound for Smith in his Rebels career.  Smith threw 68% of his pitches for strikes and kept the Gators guessing with a blazing fastball and bending curveball.  Smith struckout 8 in his 5 innings and walked just 1.  Unfortunately, the Rebel bats fell silent vs the Gators who sported one of the better pitchers they had faced this season.  Only Charlie Rusk & Christopher Calabrese singled in the game.  The Rebels defense failed Smith a few times and the tournament ended with a 4-0 defeat.

Still....many positives from the weekend as the Rebels move forward in the season with some more exciting tournaments to follow.