San Benito Babe Ruth 14-year olds take 8-0 postseason record to
Sacramento
Hollister – Two tournaments. Two championships. And no losses.
As they pack their bags and head to Sacramento this morning, the San Benito Babe Ruth 14-year-old All-Stars have one main goal in mind – to keep their winning streak going. Set to open play in the Pacific Southwest region tournament Friday, the team retains the tunnel vision that has led it to undefeated runs through the District 1 and Central California state tournaments.
“Just one game at a time,” first baseman Tyler Provost said. “Just to go one team at a time. Win four games in a row.”
Even though the coveted words have hardly been spoken by its players or coaches, San Benito sits four victories away from the pinnacle of the sport – the Babe Ruth World Series. The All-Stars begin that quest by playing Santa Rosa (Northern California) in the region tournament’s first round.
Seven other teams complete the field: Phoenix (Arizona), Citrus Heights (Southern California), West Reno (Nevada), Vallejo (Northern California), host East Sacramento and the champions from Utah and Guam.
Yes, Guam, the Pacific Island nation.
Asked what came to mind when he thought of Guam, Provost said: “An island. New people. New friends.”
As San Benito gathered for its final practice at Veterans Memorial Park Wednesday, the All-Stars agreed that they will stop to appreciate just what they’ve accomplished so far, advancing to the Pacific Southwest region tournament.
“It’s a pretty big deal for us,” center fielder Ramiro Chapa said. “Not a lot of kids get to do it. It’s a pretty good experience for us as ballplayers.”
Added Adrian Garcia: “I’m excited. This is the highest level I’ve played at. . . . (I’m) proud because not many people get to represent Hollister in the regionals.”
With near-error free ball complementing the team’s vaunted pitching and defense, San Benito enters the region tournament with a deep arsenal of ways to win games. After a four-game romp in the district tournament, the All-Stars thundered past their Central California opponents in the state championship, enjoying a ridiculous scoring margin of 52-2 in their four victories.
“Pitching’s been helping us, been carrying the team so far,” said Chapa after Kyle Vallejo, Anthony Alvarez and Justin Terrill recorded complete-game victories in the state tournament.
Or maybe it’s the team’s defense.
“Our pitchers just let (opposing batters) hit the ball and we’ll be able to make the play,” outfielder Ryan Sabbatini said.
Or maybe it’s both.
“Defense and pitching,” replied second baseman Garcia when asked the keys to San Benito’s success. “If we’re not hitting well, they keep us in the game.”
But when has San Benito not hit well? After a 21-0 shellacking of Lodi in the state title game July 27, it’s not as if the All-Stars’ bats have been lacking.
“We’re just smoking the ball,” Sabbatini said. “We’re seeing the ball really good. No matter how fast or how slow their pitching, we’re just pounding the ball.”
Add it all up and the team heads to Sacramento with a great deal of confidence and momentum.
But San Benito has still been working hard at maintaining its edge and finding ways to take its game to another level.
“Practices have gotten a lot more serious now,” Chapa said. “We’ve been working on some of the things we haven’t perfected in the earlier tournaments. Hopefully, we can perfect them now.”
Asked what those improvements were, the San Benito center fielder said “mainly situation-wise and bunting, covering … small-game stuff. We don’t want to beat ourselves in the game.”
Set to take the field at 5pm Friday for its opener, San Benito draws one of two teams in the nine-team field that didn’t win a state championship to gain its region bid. While East Sacramento had an automatic bid as the host team, Santa Rosa, the All-Stars’ first opponent, was runner-up to Vallejo in Northern California.
“We obviously got off easy not having to play the Northern California champions (in the first round),” assistant coach John Whitehead said. “Vallejo can hit the ball.”
Countered fellow assistant Dave Zozaya: “I don’t know about easy though. All these guys are tough. The best of the best.”
San Benito is right at home.
