Dateline Surprise, AZ – Westside Baseball's Westchester Babe Ruth 14-and-under team defeated La Crescenta, 10-5, yesterday, earning a berth in the semifinals of the Pacific Southwest Regional championship.
This morning, Westchester will face off with perennial power Tri Valley, from Northern California.
Westchester entered the game needing not only a win, but to hold La Crescenta to six runs or less. Otherwise, Westchester would have been eliminated in pool play.
“I was nervous,” said left fielder Dailin Lee about holding La Crescenta under a certain number of runs. “But I knew my teammates would get the job done.”
Westchester turned to Culver City High School pitcher Eli Saucedo to start. Saucedo had not yet pitched in this week’s series. When asked how he felt about getting the ball in, arguably, the most important game in his life, Saucedo was predictably confident.
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Pitcher Eli Saucedo, Westchester’s hero of the day. Photo, Aileen Zeidman.
“I knew that if I threw my game, we'd get it done,” he said. “The team is great, and our defense is fantastic.”
Westchester jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Aaron Greenfield singled in Justin Morris and then scored on a groundout by Derek Marshall.
La Crescenta tied the game by answered with two unearned runs in the bottom of the first.
Westchester came back with a single run in the second on a Jonathan Phelps walk, a single by Lee and a Morris sacrifice fly.
Westchester scored two more in the top of the third. Nolan Martinez scored on a Saul Martinez double. The latter Martinez scored on a Saucedo single off the third base bag.
Westchester scored again in the fourth on a Lee single and a double by Greenfield for a 6 -2 lead. Westchester struck again in the fifth inning, adding three runs to extend the lead to 9-2.
La Crescenta was not ready to give up, scoring two more unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth off of Saucedo. This cut Westchester’s lead to 9-4, putting Westchester precariously close to the maximum number of runs they could allow and still qualify for the semifinals.
Saul Martinez doubled and scored on a Phelps single in the top of the seventh for Westchester’s final run.
Dom Johnson, who had relieved Saucedo in the sixth, loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh. Johnson then induced La Crescenta center fielder Jake Zeidler to ground into a pitcher-to- catcher-to-first base double play. After a wild pitch, Johnson got La Crescenta's catcher to ground weakly to the mound, preserving the victory, and sending Westchester into the semifinals.
Saul Martinez and Lee were the offensive stars for Westcheter. Martinez had two doubles and scored three times. Lee, who is quietly having an incredible series, went two-for-three with two stolen bases and two runs scored.
Coach Chris Lynch summed up the tournament for Westchester. “Great facilities and great opportunities for the kids,” he said as he began to prepare for this morning’s crucial game.
Mr. Zeidman may be contacted at scz90230@yahoo.com
