The Watsonville Aggies inched another step closer to the Senior
Babe Ruth World Series on Tuesday night when they defeated Cross
Plains, Wisc., by an 11-6 margin to open the single-elimination
bracket in Newark, Ohio.
NEWARK, OHIO
The Watsonville Aggies inched another step closer to the Senior Babe Ruth World Series on Tuesday night when they defeated Cross Plains, Wisc., by an 11-6 margin to open the single-elimination bracket in Newark, Ohio.
The 16- to 18-year-old ball club, which includes Hollister’s Ricky Garcia, Kyle Zozaya and Justin Schlie, will square off against Portland, Ore., in Wednesday night’s semifinal round.
First pitch is 7 p.m.
The winner will advance to the championship final against either Licking County, Ohio, or Mobile, Ala., which previously defeated the Aggies in pool play last Thursday.
Portland, Ore., meanwhile, which is representing the Pacific Northwest region, compiled a 3-1 record during pool play, losing to Weimar, Texas, to open the tournament last Thursday.
Portland received a first-round bye to open the single-elimination bracket.
As for Watsonville, the local Senior Babe Ruth All-Stars earned their fourth straight victory on Tuesday night since dropping the tourney opener, although things didn’t start positively in bracketed play.
Cross Plains, Wisc., which was representing the Ohio Valley region, jumped out to a 6-0 lead through three innings of play when the Aggies awoke to 11 unanswered runs over the next four frames.
And Hollister product’s Schlie and Garcia provided much of the damage.
The first two batters in the order, Schlie and Garcia scored five times and stole two bases apiece, according to the tournament’s website. Schlie, who was awarded the Ron Tellefsen MVP of the game for the third straight game, also reached base four times via walk, added three RBI, and connected on a two-run double in the sixth to push Watsonville ahead by five runs.
Watsonville, which improves to 4-1 in the tournament, had just six hits in the game but took advantage of 11 walks and four Wisconsin errors.
