Brushback Baseball began the week as an underdog coming into Albuquerque but the narrative quickly changed thanks to gritty wins, clutch hitting and dominant pitching performances. After earning a spot in the semifinals the day prior, Brushback rode their momentum for two more wins on Thursday en route to the 2021 Pathway Albuquerque Upperclass Championship.
The 8 am semifinal slotted Brushback against a tough Marucci A's team that knocked out the top-seeded CBA Summit team on Wednesday. Brushback turned to ace Gabriel Barrett against the A's and he did not disappoint. Barrett was dialed in from the first pitch, spotting his 84-85 mph (top 87 mph) fastball and working in his breaking pitches. He was dominant against the A's, going the distance over seven innings and advancing Brushback to the title game.
In Game 2 of the semifinals, the always loaded NorCal Valley faced off with the Texas Oilers. NorCal jumped out early 5-1 lead and looked to be in control early with hard-throwing righty Ryan Zamora on the hill. Zamora was running his fastball up to 90 mph and mixed in a 77 mph slider what was nearly unhittable early on. It wasn't until the fifth that the Oilers mounted a comeback, scoring four runs in the top of the inning, to knot things up at 5-5. Zamora settled back in and held the Oilers at bay into the 7th as his team dropped a clutch bloop single that proved to be enough to send NorCal to the final.
The Upperclass Championship looked to be all Brushback Baseball, but offered the reminder that no lead is ever safe. Brushback took advantage of a worn down NorCal Valley starting rotation and slugged their way to an 8-1 lead heading into the seventh inning. NorCal Valley kicked things into gear down to their final three outs, cutting the lead down to 8-6 and creating a scramble in the Brushback Baseball bullpen. Brushback eventually turned to their reliable ace Gabriel Barrett yet again to shut the door on the NorCal comeback and secure the Pathway Albuquerque crown.
Thursday marked the end of another successful Pathway Albuquerque event in New Mexico. Pathway will release the All-Tournament Team selections for both the Upperclass and Underclass divisions on Friday, June 24 at pathwaybaseball.com.
Championship Day Notes
In the Upperclass Gold Bracket, the scrappy Rays Scout Team from El Paso, Texas finished on top, beating RA Academy 14-4. The Rays started off slow in the event, finishing pool play with 1-3 record but went on a nice run to win four straight to close things out and claim the Gold Bracket title.
