The San Benito 15-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars avenged their
loss from earlier this week, upending Lodi 11-1 and advancing to
the championship match at the 2007 Central California State
Qualifier Tournament.
Staff Reports
Stockton – The San Benito 15-year-old Babe Ruth All-Stars avenged their loss from earlier this week, upending Lodi 11-1 and advancing to the championship match at the 2007 Central California State Qualifier Tournament.
The local All-Stars eliminated Lodi in what was the semifinals of the loser’s bracket on Friday in Stockton. Lodi had previously beaten San Benito 8-7 on Monday in nine innings.
San Benito will now head to the championship round, and will need to defeat undefeated Manteca twice to move forward to the state tournament, which will be hosted in Lodi.
“When we lost to Lodi (on Monday), we knew we were the better team and this was the way the boys stated it,” Manager Noel Provost said on Friday after the game. “We’re looking forward to it. We have to play two games [Saturday] and we’re going to win two games [Saturday].”
After Monday’s loss to Lodi, San Benito was placed into the loser’s bracket, but have since battled their way back to the championship round with wins over Ripon, Tracy, and on Friday, Lodi.
The team has gone 3-0 since their first loss in the double-elimination tournament, outscoring their opponents 41-3 in the process. All three of those games ended in five innings due to the 10-run rule, and Friday’s game was no different.
“The boys went out there confident. They were loose,” Provost said. “They put aluminum on the ball and they hit the ball hard. They ran hard. They defended hard. They threw hard.”
San Benito combined for 13 hits on the night, with Chad Whitehead, Justin Schlie, Tyler Provost, and David Alvarez each contributing a pair of hits. Tim Christenson, Fred Larios, Isaak Ramos, Anthony Alvarez, and Jay King also had a hit.
Starter Anthony Alvarez threw four innings, scattered four hits, and struck out a batter to get the win. Reliever Will Cross came in and pitched the final inning, allowing one run on one hit.
San Benito had an 8-0 lead after two complete innings after a five-run second. In the second, San Benito manufactured some of its runs, scoring three times with two outs.
While Lodi plated one run of their own in the top of the fifth, San Benito closed the game out in the bottom half of the fifth by scoring three runs.
Provost said it was a team effort, while outfielders Ricky Rodriguez and Jay King were like “vacuums.”
“Defensively, we had one error. The guys’ gloves were working overtime,” Provost said. “We just hit the ball and ran, that’s how we got our runs. They just put the smack on the ball.”
Today, San Benito will face Manteca in the championship. To advance, San Benito must defeat Manteca twice, while Manteca only needs to beat San Benito once.
Provost said the tough part will be rest. While San Benito played Friday and will need to play twice on Saturday to advance, Manteca has been off since Wednesday night.
With that, though, the manager remains confident.
“Our pitching staff will be unaffected by having to play one extra game because we have so many pitchers to choose from,” Provost said. “[San Benito is] playing their ‘A’ game right now.”
Provost also highlighted the hospitality of the people of Lodi, including both the team and the parents. “They are a great bunch of people,” he said.
The championship between San Benito will take place today in Stockton at 9am. If San Benito wins the first game, the second game will commence approximately 30 minutes after the previous game.
