San Benito 10U baseball team goes 4-0, outscores opponents by
48-16 margin at tournament in Bakersfield
BAKERSFIELD
The San Benito Smashers probably aren’t terribly liked in the Bakersfield area.
Playing in the 2008 Veterans Day Invitational, the 10U travel baseball team went 4-0, defeating two different Bakersfield opponents twice by a combined 48-16 margin.
It is the Smashers’ eighth tournament victory.
“It was fun. We had a great time,” manager Frank Soto said. “And it was the same concept. It takes everyone to contribute, over and over.”
San Benito cruised early on when they defeated the Bakersfield Blaze 12-6 behind three innings each from pitchers Alex Soto and Josh Zanger.
In their second contest, the Smashers downed the Bakersfield Renegades 13-3 behind starting pitcher Izzack Olejnik, who went three innings. Matt Hill and Drew Williams combined for the remaining three innings in relief.
After their second victory, San Benito awaited for their next opponent which, despite being a five-team tournament, turned out to be the Renegades once again.
And while the Smashers easily defeated the Bakersfield team 13-3 in the previous game, they managed to put the Renegades away early the second time as well en route to a 15-0 win.
DaVonte Butler started on the mound and threw three innings for San Benito, while Derek Moeller pitched one inning. The game was called in the fourth due to the 10-run rule.
In the championship, the Smashers were up against the Blaze for a second time.
“And that was a heckuva game,” Soto said. “They were a pretty good little team.”
In the bottom half of the sixth, with the score knotted at 6-all, the Smashers had the bases loaded with Moeller at the plate. A pass ball by the Blaze, however, allowed Tim Manderson to score from third base for the go-ahead run.
San Benito won the championship, 8-7.
Manderson and Butler combined for six innings on the hill.
The Smashers will play in their final tournament next weekend after the Thanksgiving holiday in Manteca.
