Sellers, Yelverton combine for no hitter in travel ball
Published 9:58 am Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Adam Sellers and Luke Yelverton of Demopolis led the Marucci Elite 15U team to a no hitter shut out over the Akadema Prospects last weekend at the University of Louisiana Monroe.
Yelverton got the start and pitched four scoreless innings, recording four strike outs, three walks, no hits and no runs.
Sellers came in to close the deal in the bottom of the fifth inning with a 5-0 lead. The southpaw pitched two complete innings recording two strike outs, two walks, no hits, no runs and one pick-off to preserve the no hitter as Marucci Elite cruised to an 8-0 victory over their rival Akadema.
The duo turned in a similar performance in their first outing of the season in the Marucci Classic held at the University of Tulane. They combined for nine strikeouts, issued three walks while surrendering just 6 hits but did not surrender a run.
Yelverton leads the team with an amazing ERA of 0.00 while Sellers is second with an impressive ERA of just 1.13.
Brian Sellers, who has been the duo’s pitching coach since they were nine, believes their best performances are yet to come.
“Luke is doing a great job of getting ahead in the count, but then he is leaving too much of the ball in the zone,” Sellers said. “We like to get ahead with strikes, but get outs with balls. Most of the hits, which haven’t been many, were allowed when he was ahead in the count. On the other hand, Adam is not getting ahead in the count and having to pitch from behind; however, he is doing a good job of not giving in, and he has come from down in the count on several occasions to record a strikeout. But sooner or later pitching behind in the count will get your team into trouble.”
Sellers believes his two pitchers will continue to improve as they learn to cope with the pressures of playing in front of scouts in large stadiums against batting orders with hitters from top to bottom who can make you pay for one errant pitch.
The squad will travel later this week to compete in the 15U National Championships in Atlanta, Ga. According to Perfect Game, who is the host and sponsor of the tournament, this is one of the largest and most prestigious invitation only tournaments of the season. In this age division alone, 192 elite teams from across the nation and Puerto Rico will battle it out over a seven-day period to earn the title of National Champion. Marucci teams have won three national titles and finished in the top eight three times.
The 15U National Championship celebrates its 10-year anniversary and the alumni who have played in it is second to none. Over 300 player alumni have been drafted in the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft and nearly 2,000 player alumni were college commitments.
Marucci Elite is well known for supplying players to college rosters, especially SEC teams.
This year alone, 62 Marucci players have committed to colleges across the country; 59 to Division I schools and 25 will be on SEC rosters. Since 2009, 32 Marucci players have committed to LSU and 13 to Mississippi State, two teams competing in the 2013 College World Series. Spencer Turnbull, originally from Demopolis, played for Marucci and was one of four players from the program to sign with Alabama in 2011.
While those are impressive and encouraging numbers, Sellers also believes that is the kind of information that can distract a young player and cause him to create a lot of unnecessary stress.
“In the end, no matter what level you play the game, no matter the stakes, it remains a game and you have to enjoy it one play at a time,” he said. “If you become occupied with the end results, you’ll miss the reward, which is the journey, and extinguish the fun. I know, because it has happened to me as a player, coach and parent.”