How does a newly formed team from northwest Miami-Dade County make it to the national spotlight? With hard work, dedication and perseverance.
Those were the key ingredients to the success of the Miami Outlaws Elite, and after winning the regional USSSA Championship, the Outlaws are advancing to the Disney Sports USSSA Thanksgiving Baseball Super NIT at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
The Outlaws’ success started this past Summer, when a merger of four Outlaws and six Miami Cobras team members would define the face of national champions.
The first sign of success came during the state championship tournament in Tamiami, where the Outlaws, the surprise travel baseball team based at Country Village Park, defeated the nationally ranked Miami Phenoms 11-3 in the championship game.
Head coach Jorge Marin always believed the talent and drive were there.
The next step was competing against the top 38 teams in the nation in the Elite World Series. The Outlaws defeated some very tough teams like the Marucci Tigers and Foundation Bulldogs to get to the semi-finals against a talented Miami baseball team.
In their third game of the day, the Outlaws lost 4-0 to Miami baseball, which went on to win the Elite World Series, leaving the Outlaws with a 3rd place finish.
It set the table for the “Road to Memphis National Championship” journey of a lifetime.
The boys arrived in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday morning after some hectic overnight flight delays in Atlanta. It affected the Outlaws as they played at 4 p.m. on Thursday and ended up losing a very tight 4-3 game to Gameday Shockwave. The Outlaws finished their seeding games with an unimpressive 2-2 record but it would later be a smart move for Marin who was able to save pitching for the elimination series.
The biggest test for the Outlaws came when they had to defeat Yabolusha Giants who were ranked 3rd in the nation, not once (5-4) but twice (4-2) in elimination to advance to the Championship game against the Rawlings Patriots.
The national stage was set for what was to be an epic nationally televised championship game for the Miami Outlaws Elite.
The Outlaws defeated the Rawlings Patriots 7-4 in extra innings after coming back to tie the game 4-4 in the 5th inning. Great pitching by Joel Enriquez and Manny Marin held the power hitting Patriots to 4 runs. Clutch hitting by Jeter Polledo helped put the Outlaws ahead twice in the game.
During the November 5 Miami-Dade County Commission meeting, Commissioner Barbara J. Jordan honored the Miami Outlaws Elite traveling baseball team for winning the regional USSSA Championship and issued a proclamation declaring November 5, 2014 as Miami Outlaws Elite Baseball Day.