PPBA Trio Leads Top Level 14U Team to USSSA World Series Championship

Three Palisadians paced their Top Level 14U Elite Baseball Team to the Easton Elite World Series Championship last week in Melbourne, Florida. Brandon Bendel, Jimmy Levy and Jett Teegardin, all Pacific Palisades Baseball Association players and incoming Palisades High freshmen, played instrumental roles in helping their Top Level team to a 7-0 record, including a 6-1 victory in the championship game against 5Star Performance, the top-ranked team in Texas.

Levy played for Pali Black in the Pony Division in the spring while Teegardin pitched for Pali Blue. In late January, all three helped Top Level Elite 14U Gold to the USSSA Frozen Fury Tourney championship in Baldwin Park. Bendel and Levy were previously teammates on the PPBA’s Bronco 11U All-Star team that finished 12-7-2 in PONY sanctioned tournaments in 2019.

Bendel was a major contributor last week with the bat and in the field, going 8-of-16 at the plate and scoring 11 runs with six walks and zero strikeouts in the lead-off spot while sporting a .941 fielding percentage at shortstop. In the championship game, he belted a two-RBI double and he even turned an unassisted double play to halt the Texas team’s comeback.

As a pitcher, Levy posted a 2-0 record, tossing eight innings while allowing only two hits and two runs with seven strikeouts. He also contributed at home plate, hitting .375 with eight RBIs. In the final game he sprinted 50 feet to catch a long fly ball deep in the left field corner to prevent a run-scoring triple.

Teegardin also contributed mightily to the team’s ultimate triumph, batting .500 and going 8-of-16 with five runs scored and six RBIs. On the mound, he came in two separate times to squelch an opponents’ rally, including a save to close out the semifinals against a tough squad from North Carolina. Palisades’ trio helped Top Level become the first Westside 14U team to capture the Easton Elite World Series title. One of their teammates on the 14U squad is pitcher and third baseman Gavin Kirtley, son of Executive Director of the Palisades-Malibu YMCA.   

In addition to last week’s World Series win the Top Level 14U team, coached by Eric Beckerman, is No. 1 in California in the USSSA power rankings. Rounding out the  talented roster were Owen Boelke, Jaxson Ehlers, Anthony Guerra, Aaron Heirigs, Teddy Levin, Luca Marucci, Robbie Peppel and Jack Stutz.