Big League Dreams Perris:
12-Under:
Four game guarantee tournaments present an interesting way for the events to unfold on Sunday. Because all teams need to play a fourth game, pool play continues into Sunday, and the championship game is between the 1st and 2nd Seeds after four games of Pool Play. This eliminates the exciting underdog victories, but it also forces all teams to play their best baseball all weekend long. One loss, or one extra run allowed could not only drop you a seed, but eliminate you from the finals all together.
1st Seed Temecula Gamerz and 2nd Seed Riverside Spartans would battle for the Championship, but earlier in the day, they had already met once. Both 2-0 entering Sunday, The two teams met for an early Sunday Pool Play game. The Temecula Gamerz came out on top with a 6-3 victory, and with a fourth win in Pool Play, they advanced to the Championship.
The Riverside Spartans, now 2-1, went into their second game knowing that they needed a win to clinch the 2nd Seed position, or else it would come down to tie-breakers. Buckling down, they held on to a 5-4 victory, advancing them to the finals as the 2nd Seed, where they would face the Gamerz for the second time in a day.
With both teams on their third game of the day, fuel reserves were obviously running dry. Fresh off their one run victory, the Spartans jumped out to an early lead, and never looked back. With a score of 7-3, the Spartans clinched 1st Place and got some payback at the same time.
Huntington Beach:
12-Under:
The 12-Under at Huntington Beach was a perfect example in how one run can make a difference. With three teams tied at 3-1 after Pool Play, tie breakers would have to be used. Head to head competition would have to be thrown out, since all three teams beat each other. The next tied breaker is runs allowed. Phenom, after giving up an uncharacteristic nine runs in their first game, only gave up 2 runs over their next three games, advancing as the 1st Seed. The Stingrays beat the Defenders in the last game of Pool Play, but because Head to Head was already thrown out as a tie breaker, the Defenders advanced to the finals by giving up one less run than the Stingrays in Pool Play. So just remember, that run does matter.
The Defenders had beat the Phenom in the first 12-Under game of the weekend. After that loss though, Phenom were borderline perfect. They gave up four runs in the Championship, but they didn't let their bats slow down, putting up 8 runs, and savoring a little payback with their 1st Place trophy.
Thank you to all the teams that played in our Irish tournament. Here is a list of the Champions and Runner-Ups:
See you on the fields
-AC
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