Fools Gold Recap - April 10th, 2013

From the first pitch to the last out, every play is important and can alter the final outcome of the weekend.  This is both true in travel ball and Major League Baseball.  The Angels are off to one of their characteristically slow Aprils, and only time will tell if it will come back to bite them at the end of the season.  Though with the A's and Rangers already looking stronger than last season, and the Angels losing Aybar and Weaver to the DL, Angels fans could be in store for a long season (hopefully they surprise us).


13-Under - Big League Dreams:
Four game guarantee tournaments are even more proof that every pitch, every run, and every game matters. At the end of three games, the Colton Nighthawks, So Cal Canes, and Irvine Dolphins were all 2-1.  They had all beaten each other, so the Head-to-Head tie breaker was not used.  That left the tie breaker up to the Runs Allowed.  The Irvine Dolphins were the 1st Seed giving up 16 in three games, and the Colton Nighthawks were the 2nd Seed giving up 17 runs.  The So Cal Canes had a rough first game, and despite beating the 1st Seed in Pool Play, they did not advance to the Championship game on account of too many runs given up.

The Championship between the Dolphins and the Nighthawks provided a rematch of Saturday's Pool Play game.  On Saturday, the Dolphins, fresh and playing their first game of the day, were able to sneak past the Nighthawks with a 3-2 victory.  The Nighthawks were ready for the Dolphins this time though.  Jumping out to an early lead, they never looked back and took home an 8-3 Championship victory.

14-Under - Big League Dreams:
The 14-Under tournament became a showdown of the 13-Under teams.  With the tournaments being AAA / AA Only, Major teams could play only if they played up an age division.  Sunday's playoffs saw the 13-Under Phenom and 13-Under Cal Lumberjacks Black playing in a semifinal game.  These two teams have met before, but usually on a smaller field.  A hard fought game led to a 7-6 Phenom win.

They would advance to the Championship game, and play perfect ball, taking home a shut out championship victory.

10-Under - Huntington Beach:
After sneaking into the Gold Bracket as the 5th Seed, the 9-Under Easton Elite turned on the afterburners on Sunday.  Playing the team that handed them their loss on Saturday, they won their quarter final game in a convincing 8-1 fashion, getting some sweet revenge.  Moving on to the Semi-Finals, they upset the 1st Seed with a 10-5 victory.  Not letting the third game of the day slow them down, they faced the undefeated 3rd Seed head on.  Jumping to an early lead, they held them to just one run, and went home with a 6-1 Championship Victory.

12-Under - Huntington Beach:
The 12-Under in Huntington Beach had a similar experience as the 13-Under at BLD.  With three teams tied at 3-1, only two could advance to the Championship game.  A 12-0 loss in Sunday's Pool Play game kept the 3rd Seed from advancing.  The 1st Seed So Cal Vicious and 2nd Seed OC Swat found themselves in a rematch of the first game of the weekend, a game which OC Swat had won 5-3.

With both teams now on their third games of the day, pitching was running a little thin.  So Cal Vicious took advantage of this, putting up 13 runs and holding Swat to just 8.

Thank you to all the teams that played in the 2013 Fools Gold.  Here is a list of the Champions and Runner-Ups:

See you on the fields

-AC

Find us on Facebook