The season for the 14-year-old San Benito Babe Ruth All-Stars ended Thursday one round short of a second-consecutive berth in the Pacific Southwest Regional championship game. Needing to win two games to advance to play Friday, San Benito could muster a victory in only its first game and was eliminated.
The day started strong for the All-Star team in a 10-0 blowout win over Fallon, Nev. Behind strong pitching from Vinnie Parker and David Werolin, San Benito never allowed Fallon to find any consistent offense.
At the plate, the All-Star team started its scoring early. San Benito got on the board in the second inning after an RBI single by Daniel Hopkins knocked in Jackson Starke, who led off the inning with a double.
The following inning, San Benito erupted for two more runs on a Hopkins single and RBI groundout by Adam Gonzales. In the fourth inning, San Benito put the game out of reach with five runs. Werolin’s 2-RBI double opened the scoring floodgates for San Benito.
Nolan Carmona, Shawn Penzo and Hopkins each added an RBI in the inning.
The momentum didn’t last long, though. In the second game of the day, San Benito fell behind early and couldn’t catch Taylorsville, Utah in a 14-7 loss.
After the first four innings, Taylorsville held a commanding 7-0 lead over San Benito. The All-Star team finally got on the board, though, in the fifth inning, scoring three runs.
With one out, John Barrientos tripled in San Benito’s first run. Carmona, the next batter, then drove in Barrientos with a single. Werolin closed the inning with another RBI to pull San Benito within four runs.
Starke scored an additional run after a walk in the sixth inning, stealing home after an error by the Taylorsville catcher.
But down 14-5 in the final inning, San Benito threatened and scored twice but couldn’t pull closer. Hopkins hit the lone extra base hit in the inning – a double – to knock in Josh Nehme.
On the mound, San Benito struggled after an injury to Gonzales, who left after one inning because of arm pain. The All-Star team used six pitchers but could never solve the hitting of Taylorsville in the loss.
After the extreme heat and San Benito’s fourth game in three days, the All-Star team was tired and it showed, manager Darin Hopkins said.
“It was hard,” Hopkins said. “I think the heat kind of caught up with us. I wish we could have played Taylorsville the next day. Playing a double header in that heat is hard. It’s not a good place to play a double header.”
Despite the elimination, San Benito finished the season for the second-straight year as a top-4 team in the Pacific Southwest Region. San Benito finished the regional with a 2-2 record after opening the tournament with a loss.
“It’s two years in a row,” Hopkins said. “The last couple of months have been an amazing experience. All 14 of my players contributed. These kids are good ballplayers. I am thankful.”
