Our next Sweet Sixteen matchup is Carter Pharis vs Max Wood.

  • Pharis defeated the heavy favorite Michael Wielansky in the last round (57.3%-42.7%). His writeup: “Carter Pharis was a four-year starter at UAB who came to Strasburg after his freshman year in 2016. All he did that summer is hit .342/.440/.535 in 155 at-bats, with 35 runs scored, 13 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 30 RBIs, and a 21/19 BB/K ratio. He helped the Express to a 30-12 regular season record, and the franchise won its second straight title. He was ATVL’s fourth best hitter from that year, and made the All-Decade second team at third base. In four years at UAB, Pharis hit a combined .298/.390/.442 in 801 at-bats, with 125 runs scored, 57 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 137 RBIs, a 103/135 BB/K ratio, and 36 stolen bases while only getting caught twice. He played pretty well in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2017, but was not drafted after his senior season in 2019.”
  • Wood defeated Wes Clarke to get here (53.2%-46.8%). His writeup: “Max Wood, playing for Staunton, was the third best hitter in the 2017 season. He hit .390/.457/.626 in 123 at-bats, with 33 runs scored, 12 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 21 RBIs, and a 14/19 BB/K ratio. He finished third in the league in batting average, second in OPS, third in OBP, third in slugging percentage, fourth in total bases, tied for third in home runs, third in doubles, 10th in hits, and seventh in runs. He finished in the top five in seven different categories. After two seasons (2015-2016) at San Jacinto, he spent two seasons at Central Florida. He was not drafted.”

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And by the way, if you want to read a ton about either the 2015 or 2019 VBL season, be sure to check out this post on the 2019 Valley League Annual!

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Pharis- (Rich Cooley, Daily)
Wood playing for San Jacinto