[img]2013|exact|||no_popup[/img]
Westchester Babe Ruth teams pause on their way, they hope, to continued success.
Westside Baseball’s Westchester Babe Ruth’s 15-and-under and 14-and-under teams won their respective state championships this past week, and each now advances to the Pacific Southwest Regional Championship round in Arizona this weekend.
Westchester Babe Ruth encompasses players from Culver City, Westchester, Hawthorne, Ladera, Inglewood, Playa del Rey, Santa Monica, Venice and various areas in Los Angeles.
15-and-Under
Managed again by John Lopatto, Westchester bested Torrance in a doubleheader to win the State title. As the 14U representative last year, Westchester advanced to the World Series, finishing third overall.
This season’s team has 11 players returning from that World Series team. Westchester won the District title by beating El Segundo in the deciding game. The 15s traveled to Torrance to face off against teams from Heartwell, Simi Valley, Torrance and La Crescenta.
After losing to La Crescenta in the opening round, Westchester fought its way through the loser’s bracket, winning three straight before matching up with Torrance in the finals. To advance, Westchester needed to beat Torrance twice in one night, at Torrance’s Kendall field.
Westchester jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening game behind the pitching and hitting of Jay Sterner. He reached base three times in four plate appearances, scoring two runs. Catcher Anthony Chavez had a key three-run double to give Westchester the huge lead. Torrance was not done, however, battling back for two runs off of Sterner in the sixth inning.
Torrance scored three more times in the seventh, and had the bases loaded before Angel de la Torre came in. He induced Torrance’s Casey Wissler to ground out to Westchester second baseman Christian Amador to end the game.
Westchester breezed in the second game against an evidently discouraged Torrance team. Westchester scored a single run in the second inning as Carlos Jacobo drove in L.J. Gilliam. Westchester broke open the game in the third inning, scoring four times with the help of a two-run homer by Sterner. Torrance couldn’t figure out Westchester pitchers del la Torre and Jacobo, who combined on a four-hit shutout.
On Saturday, Westchester will travel to Tucson, for the Southwest Pacific Regional championships. Westchester faces Southern Utah on Saturday, followed by Northern Utah and host Kino-Tucson on Sunday, and Hawaii on Monday to complete pool play.
14-and-Under
After losing to Torrance in the District championship, 12-0, Westchester’s 14U team charged back, beating El Segundo, 16-2, and Torrance twice (5-0 and 10-4) en route to the District 2 championship. Westchester advanced to the State final, hosted in La Crescenta and Glendale.
After an easy victory over Simi Valley, Westchester played host La Crescenta. Second baseman Justin Morris went four-for-four with three stolen bases, and Nolan Martinez doubled twice to lead Westchester to an 8-0 win. Saul Martinez, Kailin Woodard and Eli Saucedo combined to pitch seven shutout innings.
On Sunday, Westchester traveled to Glendale to face La Crescenta in the title game. A berth in the Pacific Southwest championships was at stake.
Westchester struck early with two runs in the first inning as Kelvin Murillo and Aaron Greenfield scored on a Saul Martinez single. Westchester added four runs in the second inning, with Jonathan Phelps, Dailin Lee, Morris, and Murillo scoring.
Starting pitcher Derek Marshall breezed through the first three innings, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Five straight La Crescenta batters reached base, knocking out Marshall. Dominic Johnson came on for relief, and shut down the La Crescenta rally, keeping the score at 6-3.
Murillo scored again for Westchester in the top of the sixth, extending Westchester’s lead to 7-3. La Crescenta couldn’t figure out Johnson, who blanked La Crescenta for the last 3 2/3 innings, preserving Westchester’s 7-3 victory.
Westchester, led by Manager Hector Zamora, travels this weekend to Surprise, AZ. where it will play twice on Monday, facing Hawaii and Nevada, followed by single games on Tuesday (Arizona) and Wednesday (Nevada).
Mr. Zeidman may be contacted at scott.zeidman@laslots.com
