Moyer rings up video-game stats, Elevate Rijo-Sanders wins big at TC 13u World Series

By Kyle Koso

EDWARDS, CO. – The nickname falls right off the tongue: Moyer the Destroyer.
 
Kody Moyer stayed back and swung with great purpose Thursday for the Elevate Rijo-Sanders quad, pumping out three home runs to go with a double and driving in a remarkable 10 runs as the Elevate team rolled to a 23-2 victory over the Aspen Colts at the Triple Crown 13u World Series. It was a track meet for Elevate at Freedom Park in Vail Valley, a new locale for the event as they scored five runs in each of the first three innings before plating eight more (all with two outs) in the fourth inning.
 
With the win, Elevate (Seattle, WA) earned the No. 3 seed out of 24 teams in the championship bracket; action begins Friday, and Elevate will play again at Freedom Park at 10 a.m.
 
“I guess once in Little League I went 4-for-4 with four home runs … this was pretty good,” Moyer said. “You want to go for the right pitch , down the middle or maybe inside a bit, but stay on the ball and hit it … it will go far. We have to be confident in ourselves, make the right plays, and we will be good.”
 
The season started a bit shakily for Elevate, which is basically a new team from last year with six new players. A few were unable to make the trip to Colorado, so it’s a trim, slim roster of 10 players looking to get the job done.
 
“We’ve been able to come in and get three solid wins,” said Tim Thomas, who homered, doubled and singled, scoring three times and driving in two runs. “At leadoff, I like to take a pitch or two. It gives everyone else a way to time it up, and after that I’m looking for a strike or something I can get on base with and get things started.”
 
Carter Smith had three hits, two runs and two RBI; Brody Hallen added three hits and two RBI, Sam Lunder scored three times and Ty Duncan scored three times and drove in two. Jack Rankin also scored four runs, and Aiden Jones pitched through a lower body injury for two innings, striking out four.
 
“The pitchers are doing their job, doing what they are supposed to, and the hitters are taking care of business,” said Elevate coach Chris Jones. “We’re happy with where we are at right now. It’s a brand new team; we talked about leadership, integrity, working together and playing for each other. They bought in, and we’ve got 40-plus wins. We’re excited about the future for them
 
“We’ve talked about plate discipline all year, hitting their pitch. We talked about what pitch can you hit the hardest, which one do you see well? Kody hasn’t even touched his potential, and I’m happy for him because he was disciplined and played within himself.”
 
For the Colts (Aspen, CO), Dylan Mika hit a home run in the third inning and also singled and stole a base.
 
10u ROUNDUP – Four teams earned first-round byes in the 10u division, which also begins championship bracket play on Friday. The top seed went to Saddleback Vigilantes-Black, with Elite Baseball-Vais next at No. 2. The No. 3 seed is Saddleback Vigilantes-Cardinal, and No. 4 is Clutch Baseball.