The Ontario Blue Jays defeated Team Louisiana, 6-1, to win the 2018 Program 15 New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series 2020 Grad Class Tournament on Monday afternoon.
Sean Travers’ team capped off an undefeated week with a win, including a semifinal victory over Primetime Black earlier in the day, finishing up 6-0 and cementing their status as the best team in Texas.
“It’s great,” Travers said. “A lot of our higher ranked guys, I think everybody knows about, but I think this tournament was all about the entire team. All 16 guys contributed, especially the pitchers.”
Ryan Kush turned in a superb effort in the title game, allowing just one run over a complete game win.
“That’s Ryan Kush, he’s going to go right at you,” Travers said. “He’s probably 5-foot-6, and he’s really like 6-foot-5. He fears nothing, and he’s fun to watch.”
Kush was one of several players who stood out over the week, including Dasan Brown and a much-improved Jaden Brown, who homered earlier in the week and showed great improvement since attending Program 15 events last year.
“It was great,” Brown said of the event. “Everybody competed well, but the best team won.”
Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked eight Super Bowls, 12 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,300 games covered in his career.
An avid trading card enthusiast, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son, future No. 1 overall draft pick in 2042, William, their beloved dog, Bailey, and occasionally well-behaved cat, Smokey.
