SBA Orioles prepare return to Disney for elite tournament

They may be dawning new jerseys for a different organization but the SBA 11U Orioles still have in place all the ingredients that made them tops in the USA back in 2009.

As 10U members of the Virginia Generals, the traveling baseball team made headlines for grabbing the No. 1 ranking after plowing through tournament after tournament in the spring season following a so-so fall.

Now, manager Rich Solomon claims that his 11U boys are every bit as good as last year, if not better. They'll have a chance to prove their merit this weekend at the exclusive invite-only Disney World super national

"This team is a hitting team," said Solomon. "It’s possible one of the best hitting teams in the country."

What makes the SBA (Snyder Baseball Academy) Orioles a potent force is how the players handle themselves both on the rubber and inside the batter's box.

Solomon pointed out that five players hit 10 home runs in the course of one tournament, including Noah Goins, Tyler Solomon, Khalil Lee, Elan Goodwin and Nathaniel "Rock" Owens. Solomon’s "murderers’ row" of Lee, Solomon and Goins is especially threatening to opposing pitchers given that Solomon and Goins have friendly competitions about if they’re going to hit round trippers back to back when other teams may be happy to just have one.

"Noah has hit some balls that have made some people in North Carolina say, ‘I want to see his driver’s license,’" said the elder Solomon.

Then there’s the pitching.

Improving the team’s strikeout to walk ratio from two to one to closer to three to one, the team anchored on the hill by Lee, Goins, Solomon, Kyle Whitten, Miguel Williams and Brian Reinaldo can throw just about anything asked, from 70 mph heaters to dashing and darting knuckleballs.

Lee, a lefty, leads the charge with the fastballs and a "sick change up that dives right at the last minute." Goins is a fan of knuckleball legend Tim Wakefield of Boston Red Sox fame, adopting the legend’s classic pitch for his own use with a little extra velocity that makes it break while still being within the strike zone.

Right-hander Kyle Whitten may not have the zip on his pitch as Lee, but "the thing about Kyle is he has the most command of all our pitchers," said the manager Solomon.

He claimed the boys team is the first travel youth squad to be invited back to Disney in consecutive years since the land of Minnie and Mickey began hosting the tournament eight years ago.

After finishing ninth place in 2009, goals set by the team coaches and players alike have the team breaking at least the final eight of the 32-team competition.

With a record of 58-28 overall since the fall, the Orioles are used to playing against tough competition. They head into Disney with an 18-16 record against 12U competition and earned their berth to Disney by claiming the USSSA Maryland Super NIT championship, also winning crows at the Quad State Challenge in Mechanicsville, Triple Crown Baseball's "Best of the East" tournament and the VSC "Commonwealth Classic."

The Orioles also finished as runner-ups in three tournaments, including the VSC 12U "Ice Breaker" and even appeared in the semi-finals of the 12U AAA Old Dominion Baseball League tournament. That's helped the O's earn a No. 1 rating in Virginia