San Benito 13-year-old All-Stars eliminated in Lompoc; Babe Ruth
14s to play for Central California state title tonight
n By Scott Campbell
Sports Editor
Lompoc – San Benito’s contingent in the Babe Ruth postseason is down to one team. After winning its first six playoff games, the 13-year-old All-Star team lost two straight games, the second a 3-1 defeat to Madera Wednesday that eliminated the team from the Central California state tournament.
A dominant showing in the District 1 playoffs saw San Benito Babe Ruth crown two district champions among its three entrants, and once the 13- and 14-year-old teams both won the first two games in their state tournaments, the possibility of winning two state championships appeared more than plausible.
But now, the 14-year-old All-Stars are the only team left standing, playing Lodi at 5pm tonight at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Hollister for the Central California state championship.
As his team packed up its bags and began the drive back to Hollister, Jerry Sepulveda, the 13-year-olds’ manager, said a cold streak at the plate appeared at a most inopportune time.
“We were a couple of hits away from winning this thing or playing for the championship tomorrow,” Sepulveda said by telephone. “We had some opportunities and it pretty much mirrored (Tuesday). We just didn’t execute the way we normally do.”
Both teams scored a run in the first inning, but from that point on, San Benito couldn’t plate any more runs against a scrappy Madera squad. Pitchers Ricky Garcia, Oscar Ramirez and Darin Gillies kept the team within striking distance, but also gave up two leadoff walks, base runners Madera was able to parlay into solo runs both times.
The 13-year-old All-Stars threatened in the fifth inning, putting runners at first and third with one out. But in a disastrous base-running sequence, Garcia attempted to steal second and was thrown out, while Kallin Corotto, who took off from third base, was gunned down at the plate in a scary collision with the Madera catcher.
The inning-ending double play not only ended San Benito’s threat, it also landed Corotto a trip to the hospital. The second baseman was released after having a cast wrap his broken left wrist.
After posting convincing wins throughout the district tournament and defeating its first two state opponents by scores of 3-0 and 14-1, San Benito never re-gained its ability to come through with timely hits.
“It’s almost like the kids were over aggressive,” Sepulveda said. “We just never could quite get on track. We just couldn’t quite stay within ourselves to put the ball in play and keep it fair.”
The 13-year-old All-Stars knew they had an uphill climb heading into Wednesday’s contest. A 6-4 loss to host Lompoc Tuesday sent San Benito to the losers’ bracket, meaning the team needed a win over Madera and then a double-header sweep of Lompoc today to claim the state title.
Meanwhile, the San Benito 14-year-old All-Stars enjoy an enviable position in their tournament. Not only will they play for the state championship tonight on their home diamond, they will also play a tired opponent they have already beaten twice.
Lodi, a 5-4 victor over Northwest Bakersfield in Hollister Wednesday, fell to San Benito 11-2 in the District 1 title game and then again in Tuesday’s state semifinal contest, by a score of 6-1. As the host team, San Benito received an automatic bid to the Central California state tournament, while Lodi advanced as the District 1 representative.
Lodi needs to defeat San Benito twice today to claim the championship. The potential decisive title game would start shortly after the 5pm title game finishes.
