Facing the same Lodi team that it beat on Tuesday by scoring 14
runs in the seventh inning after trailing 10-4, San Benito scored
nine runs in the first three innings and cruised to a 10-0 win in
the District 1 championship game in Lodi.
LODI
The San Benito Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Stars made sure on Thursday that it didn’t need to repeat the epic comeback necessary in its 18-10 victory over Lodi.
“That was pretty wild,” San Benito manager Angel Rueda said. “That was an interesting game.”
Facing the same Lodi team that it beat on Tuesday by scoring 14 runs in the seventh inning after trailing 10-4, San Benito scored nine runs in the first three innings and cruised to a 10-0 win in the District 1 championship game in Lodi.
“In the championship game, I’d say we played a little more defensive,” said Rueda, whose team now advances to the Central California State Tournament, which begins July 16 in Fowler.
“We went out a little more defensive and it paid off in spades,” Rueda added. “We caught everything and it just worked out really well for us.”
San Benito couldn’t capitalize on first-inning singles by Michael Breen and Richie Beltran, however, but its pitcher, Skyler Shaw-Fuss, put up a zero in the bottom of the inning to keep the game square.
In the second inning, Ray Rueda led off with a walk but a double play quickly slowed the momentum. With two outs, Tyler Pina singled and stole second, Shaw-Fuss walked and Breen followed with his second hit of the day. Dalan Hoskins drove a ball to left center, which was misplayed by the outfielder, allowing Pina and Shaw-Fuss to score, putting San Benito up 2-0.
Beltran then clubbed a three-run home run to right-center field to make the score 5-0.
Shaw-Fuss kept Lodi off balance in the bottom of the second, walking the first batter but having him erased from the bases by a back-door pick-off throw to second by catcher Jacob Tonascia. Shaw-Fuss surrendered three walks on the day, struck out two and allowed just two hits in five innings of shutout ball.
With one out in the third inning, San Benito struck again, when Rueda singled and scored on Pina’s double, making it a 6-0 game. With two outs and Shaw-Fuss having reached on an error, Breen then doubled to right center, scoring two more runs. Hoskins singled to score Breen, putting San Benito up 9-0 after three innings.
After a scoreless fourth for both teams, San Benito’s Justin Patterson reached on an error, was sacrificed to second by Shaw-Fuss, went to third on a wild pitch and later scored when Jose Guzman was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Shaw-Fuss induced two pop-ups and had a strikeout in the bottom of the fifth to secure the 10-0 championship game win.
With both the 13-year-olds and 14-year-olds claiming the District 1 championship earlier this week, Thursday’s title victory in Lodi provided a San Benito sweep at all three Babe Ruth levels.
The 15-year-olds will now await their opening-round opponent for the state tournament. San Benito’s first challenge will be the runner-up from District 6, which could be Arroyo Grande, Santa Maria or San Luis Obispo.
“I really like our chances,” Rueda said of the state tournament. “I think we definitely have a good chance of going to state, winning some ball games, and hopefully competing and give ourselves a chance to play in the championship game.”
