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13-Year
Old
All-Stars
State Tournament
State
Tourney Info
Playing
@ Mountainside (McKelvey Park)
July 16-22
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-- District Champions --
Alameda's 2011 13-Yr. Old All-Stars
Kenyon Ebert
Aaron Kees
Vincent Morten
Dominic Taylor
Patrick Yajko
Matt Graybeal
Mitchell Nakahara
Daniel Ratto
Vincent Republicano
Walker Tolbert
Alex Vick
Clay Harding
Robby Jackson
Steve Manzo
Michael Woodworth
Manager: Bill Garvine
Coaches: Dean Batchelor
State Game Results...
GAME 1: Alameda 4, Antioch 6
(Saturday, July 16)After losing first game, Alameda has to win to stay in
MOUNTAIN VIEW-Still battling to the end as it suffered its first defeat on Saturday, July 16, Alameda's 13-year-old Babe Ruth All-Star team was ultimately done in by a dose of its own medicine, losing 6-4 to Antioch in both teams' first game of the double-elimination NorCal Babe Ruth 13-Year-Old State Tournament at McKelvey Park.
After sweeping to the Babe Ruth District 4 championship with three straight come-from-behind wins, this time Alameda allowed Antioch to come from behind, with Antioch holding Alameda to just one run and three hits over the final six innings. Antioch surged ahead to stay with four "cheap" runs in the bottom of the fourth inning that resulted from a two-run single, a fielder's choice, three walks, a hit batsman, and two errors.
The game started aggressively for Alameda, who jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning as their first five batters reached base, and three successfully made it home. One of the ones who didn't, Kenyon Ebert, led off the game with a long single to right centerfield, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Vincent Morten followed with another single, Robby Jackson reached first on a shortstop error, Dominic Taylor drove home Morten with a bloop single to left (Jackson and Taylor advancing to third and second, respectively, on the throw home), then Alex Vick drove them home with a hard single to left, the first two of his three RBIs for the game.
Vick then took the mound to face Antioch, who battled back for a run in the bottom of the first. They overcame having their leadoff man picked off first by Alameda catcher Robby Jackson, who made a perfect throw to first baseman Matthew Graybeal for the tag. Their next batter walked, then Antioch clean-up hitter Andrew Gaskin belted one to the leftfield fence for an RBI double. Antioch picked up another run in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by starting pitcher Salvador Lopez, Jr., after a double by his catcher, Gabe Velasco.
But Antioch's biggest hero was left-hander Raymond White, who came in to pitch in the top of the third inning, and basically shut Alameda down for the rest of the game, after giving up a manufactured run that inning. White walked Jackson to lead off the third inning, Jackson stole second and third, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Vick to left field. Unfortunately for Alameda, that was the end of their scoring. They did have two nice defensive plays in the bottom of the third to keep the score 3-2. Right fielder Ebert ran down and caught a deep drive to right centerfield by Antioch's number three hitter, Nasser Issa, and second baseman Michael Woodworth made a nice running play on a grounder by Gaskin.
But it all unraveled for Alameda in the fateful fourth, resulting in a 6-4 Antioch lead that they wouldn't relinquish. Alameda had its moments toward the end of the game, but they weren't enough. Mitchell Nakahara came in to pitch for Alameda in the fifth and sixth innings and looked, sharp, facing the minimum six batters and striking out two. And Walker Tolbert and Steve Manzo had back-to-back singles in the seventh inning to try to start a last-ditch rally, but Antioch's White picked off Tolbert and retired the next two batters after Manzo to secure the Antioch victory, and a spot in the winners bracket of the tournament.
Alameda dropped into the losers bracket, where it faced BelMateo (Belmont-San Mateo, District 6) Sunday morning, July 17. BelMateo lost to Tri-Valley (East Bay, District 5) Saturday morning to face Alameda. The winner of the Alameda-BelMateo game moved on to play again Monday evening, the loser went home.
~ J. Eichel
GAME 2: Alameda
(Sunday, July 17)Not yet reported.
GAME 3: Alameda
(Sunday, July 17)Not yet reported.
District 4 Champions
Played
@ Rickey Henderson Field
July 2-7
Game Results...
GAME 1:
Alameda 8, Washington Manor 5
(Saturday, July 2 @ 9am)
OAKLAND, CA—Alameda’s 13-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars erupted for a total of eight runs in the third through fifth innings, and shut down a dangerous Washington Manor (San Leandro) team over the final four innings for a come-back 8-5 victory in the first game of the Babe Ruth District Four 13-year-old all-star tournament at Rickey Henderson Field in Oakland on Saturday, July 2.
Down 1-0 after two innings on an unearned run against starting pitcher Vincent Republicano, Alameda jumped to a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning on back-to-back two-out RBI singles by Daniel Ratto and Robby Jackson, finishing a rally started by the first of Patrick Yajko’s three walks for the game.
Washington Manor fought back, jumping to a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the third, on two hits, (including a two-run double by their leadoff hitter), four walks, and a sacrifice fly. But Alameda came back with six runs in the next two innings to regain the lead.
The key hits in Alameda’s three-run, fourth-inning, game-tying rally included an RBI single by Republicano, and a two-run, two-out single by Ratto, who had three RBIs for the day.
After a shutdown, scoreless bottom of the fourth, featuring three strikeouts by pitcher Alex Vick, Alameda surged ahead to stay in the top of the fifth inning. Highlights of this final three-run rally included a one-out, two-strike single by Mitchell Nakahara, a double by Kenyon Ebert, a two-run triple by Dominic Taylor, and an RBI single by Yajko.
After that, pitching and defense dominated the game. Vick pitched four and one-third scoreless innings in relief for the win, allowing just two hits and one walk, and posting six strikeouts. Jackson, who caught the entire game, backed up Vick in the bottom of the fifth inning with a fine catch on a high pop foul near the screen behind home plate. And Alameda’s outfield performed well, with centerfielder Vincent Morten and leftfielder Yajko capably handling several fly balls in their direction.
~ J. Eichel
GAME 2: Alameda 12,
Oakland 6
(Sunday, July 3 @ 9am)
OAKLAND, CA—For the second-straight day, Alameda’s 13-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars came from behind to win in the Babe Ruth District Four 13-year-old all-star tournament at Rickey Henderson Field in Oakland. This time, on Sunday, July 3, Alameda spotted Oakland to a five-run first-inning lead before tying the game in the fourth and pulling away with a six-run outburst in the fifth.
Staying strong and persevering were keys to Alameda’s comeback win. This was best personified by starting pitcher Dominic Taylor, who—after giving up five runs in the first inning on four hits, two walks, and his own error—settled down and pitched five solid innings to get the win, allowing just one more run (unearned) and two more hits.
Taylor took defensive matters into his own hands with four assisted outs on ground balls hit back to him, and two strikeouts. In addition, he shouldered his share offensively, going two for three (with a walk) at the plate with three RBIs, including a clutch two-out, two-run single during Alameda’s six-run fifth inning.
The rest of the Alameda team also picked up their pitcher during and after his first-inning struggles. Shortstop Alex Vick started a 6-4-3 double play in the first inning to stem the damage, then his teammates rallied in the bottom of the first two innings to significantly reduce Oakland’s early advantage.
In Alameda’s three-run first-inning rebound, Kenyon Ebert led off with a walk, then stole second, his third steal of the tournament. Vincent Morten then cue-balled an RBI double down the right-field line, his first of three hits. Robby Jackson followed with an RBI single, taking second on the throw home. Jackson promptly stole third, then scored on a wild pitch to leave Alameda down by just two runs.
Alameda threatened again in the second inning, starting with a Steve Manzo single, eventually loading the bases and forcing home another run on a run-scoring walk by Jackson (the second of his eventual four RBIs) to bring the score to 5-4.
Alameda also threatened in the third inning, when Michael Woodworth singled and stole second with two outs, but he was left stranded. The game-tying rally wouldn’t occur until the fourth inning, and the game winner wouldn’t be plated until the fifth.
After Oakland added its final run (unearned) at the top of the fourth inning, Alameda came back with two in the bottom of the inning to tie the game. The big hit was an RBI double by Jackson, a shot that dented the yellow plastic border running along the top of the high rightfield fence.
Jackson’s was the longest hit of the day, but the longest rally came in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Alameda sent 10 batters to the plate and six of them scored. Patrick Yajko started it with his fifth walk of the tournament, Alameda loaded the bases, then, in successive at-bats, Ebert and Morten hit RBI singles, Jackson hit a sacrifice fly, then Taylor ripped his two-run run single to centerfield to finish the turnaround and help send the Alamedans home happy.
~ J. Eichel
GAME 3: Alameda 4, Oakland 3
(Thursday, July 7 @ 5pm)
OAKLAND—Alameda’s 13-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars earned a spot in the NorCal Babe Ruth 13-Year-Old State Tournament, sweeping the District 4 tournament at Oakland’s Rickey Henderson Field with three straight come-from-behind wins over teams from San Leandro and Oakland.
Alameda manager Bill Garvine’s squad saved its most dramatic district tournament victory for the championship game, overcoming a solid and well-coached Oakland team with a walk-off three-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning to erase a two-run deficit.
Ironically, it was Oakland’s previously shining defense and pitching—which had stopped everything earlier in the game to keep Alameda scoreless—that developed holes that Alameda slipped through. Alameda’s Mitchell Nakahara delivered the coup de grace in the seventh, smacking a grounder to the left side that was misplayed, allowing Vincent Republicano and Steve Manzo to scamper home with the game-tying and winning runs. Earlier, Republicano and Manzo had worked walks from the struggling Oakland relief pitcher.
At first, it was Alameda that struggled, and it appeared to be Oakland’s day. Their stellar starting pitcher retired the first 10 Alamedans he faced, and didn’t give up a hit until the fifth inning.
Meanwhile, Alameda starting pitcher Alex Vick struggled, facing 20 batters through four innings and seeing 11 reach base, including five hits, an error, and three who were plunked by Vick’s pitches. But only one scored. Vick battled out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, striking out two and getting the third out on a nice foul catch by third baseman Nakahara.
In the second inning, Vick received more big assists from his defense. Alameda catcher Matthew Graybeal threw out Oakland’s first batter of the inning when he attempted to steal second base after a lead-off single. Then, after the next Oakland batter reached first on an error, stole second, and was racing home on a hit up the middle, centerfielder Vincent Morten gunned him down at the plate with a great throw to the waiting Graybeal. Oakland ended up opening a 1-0 lead that inning, but it could’ve been much worse.
Though Alameda threatened with baserunners in the fourth and fifth innings, the score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth, when Alameda tied it on an RBI single by Dominic Taylor, driving in Nakahara, who had walked, stolen second, and advanced to third on a fielder’s choice. But Oakland battled back in the top of the seventh, jumping to a 3-1 lead, and setting the stage for Alameda’s heroics in the bottom of the inning.
Patrick Yajko began the game-winning rally, reaching base (on an error) for the eighth time in ten district tournament at-bats. He went to second on Republicano’s walk, they both advanced 90 feet on a wild pitch, Manzo walked, then Michael Woodworth knocked home Yajko with an RBI single to right, putting Republicano and Manzo in scoring position. With one out and the district championship on the line, Nakahara knocked them home, making himself the winning pitcher (he had come in to pitch the sixth and seventh), to the noisy delight of the Alameda side, and the quiet dismay of Oakland.
Alameda now moves on to Mountain View for the NorCal Babe Ruth 13-Year-Old State Tournament, July 16-21, which will involve eight teams in a double-elimination format, to determine who will move on to the regional tournament, starting July 31 in Taylorsville, Utah.
~ J. Eichel
