Roger Dean Sports Complex

Jupiter, FL

Last weekend the Marlins and Cardinals opened the gates of their spring training facilities for Under Armour’s annual Memorial Day Classic, a tournament style venue that aims to showcase competitive high school baseball talent. The Easton Rockets looked to continue their successful start to their 2015 summer campaign after claiming two champions at the 2015 SACSN Torre Invitational.

The 16u Rockets earned top program honors by going undefeated en route to their championship game match up against a tough Tallahassee based program in Next Level Baseball. A strong start by Cameron Lauer allowed Rockets hitters to be patient in a low scoring game. Kris Armstrong followed in suit, keeping NLB hitters off balance after taking over for Lauer. Late into the game,  Armstrong was able to belt a double in the left center gap, bringing home center fielder, Aldrich De Jong to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead. An NLB miscue in the field allowed one more Rocket to cross the plate, making the score 2-0, where it would stand throughout the rest of the game. Following the game, James Marinan would be named tournament Most Valuable Player, after exceptional performances from both sides of the plate, including a grand slam and a three run homer prior to the championship game.

Both 17u and 15u Rockets teams had successful weekends as well. Playing up in the 18u division, Rockets 17u went into playoffs as the number 1 seed before falling to a strong Florida Legends 17u team by score of 5-2. Rockets 15u, also playing up one division in the 16u tournament, earned a spot in the semi-finals after a 4 game win streak of their own. They would finish their weekend 4-1, losing only to the tournament runner-ups in NLB. All three teams look to keep the ball rolling as they cleat up again next weekend for the Prospect Select Vero Beach Classic at historic Dodgertown.