Rylee Sumner seems to be at his best when the stakes are the highest and the pressure at its toughest. Battling in a sudden-death swing-off at Chase Field in Arizona, Sumner dug deep and delivered his biggest swings of the 18th annual POWER SHOWCASE to win the 13U Championship.

Sumner connected for two home runs on his three swings, and when local Arizona product Mason Pap was unable to match that total it was time for Sumner to celebrate.

“Facing the challenge, you’ve got to capitalize on the moments that you can. This was kind of crazy,” Sumner said.

This marks back-to-back POWER SHOWCASE titles for Sumner, who is from Melbourne, Florida. He also won the 12U crown last year at Globe Life Field in Texas.

“I feel like I’ve put enough effort into this, and enough time, to where it definitely matters. It’s really big for me,” Sumner said.

The victory did not come easy. Both players went into the 13U finale after having earlier played in an action-packed Rookies All Star Game, a 13-11 decision. Pap was 1-for-2 with a triple, two RBI and a walk, and Sumner was 0-for-1 with two walks and two runs.

“Mechanics-wise, it is definitely a little bit different going from a game to a home run derby,” Sumner said. “But it was definitely a good thing to have back-to-back, because I was pretty loose. It didn’t feel like I was starting up again.”

Mason Pap led off in the head-to-head showdown for the 13U championship. He earned his place in the finals by placing second in the preliminary round with 12 home runs, narrowly edging Adam Villa in a tie-breaker, as Pap hit four in-a-row and also had the group long on 416 feet.

Pap kept swinging a hot bat in the finale. His very first swing sent the baseball 380 feet, which was well past the 13U parameters of 305 feet all around. He launched home runs in bunches as he worked through his 15 outs, connecting for two straight five total times. His longest blast went 389 feet and his highest exit velocity was 103.3, and he closed with one final homer on his final out to set a tough mark of 14 home runs.

Sumner led the prelims with 14 home runs, and that was exactly the number he now had to match in the finals in order to force the swing-off.

After getting off to a slow start, Rylee was also streaky to help his cause. Once he got on the board, he hit four straight. He hit two consecutive, then three in-a-row twice, going down to his final two outs and needing two more homers to tie. Sumner took a moment to collect himself, and then he slugged two in-a-row, the second going 398 feet to tie it up.

After recording his last two outs and unable to walk it off, Rylee then stepped right back in to bat first in the three-pitch swing-off. His first swing sent the baseball 372 feet for a massive home run when he needed it the most.

“That was a big one,” Sumner admitted. “I didn’t really get super-hot until the end of the last round, so it definitely carried through. I was a little more focused in the swing-off, it seemed like. It definitely carried through.”

He iced things off by going 378 feet on his second swing, going 2-for-3 in the swing-off.

When Pap was unable to do the same, the title was finally claimed.

With so much success at such a young age, Sumner now finds himself on a unique path in POWER SHOWCASE history. Should he continue his journey next year in Miami, he would have the chance at elite company as a three-peat champion, while extending a streak in winning every age group along the way.

But for now, it is to relish the moment and enjoy each experience. Playing at Chase Field was an incredible opportunity for him.

“This field is great,” Sumner said. “It’s beautiful. The weather is great. It’s just an amazing experience.”