Las Vegas Road Trip III

The third edition of the Las Vegas Road Trip is in the books with one repeat champion and two new ones. Sta. Cecilla takes the crown once again in the AA/AA-Major division, while El Paso Steel and the Carribeans earn the titles in the A-Major and A divisions respectively.

The weather was nice but the wind kicked up more than usual at times on Sunday and it did affect play on balls hit to the outfield. Players made their adjustments and forged on to see who would be the champions in their divisions.

Overall, 27 teams made the trip out to play, making this the largest turnout yet for a Road Trip. The current economic woes of the nation did keep some from playing this year and it is hoped that things turn around for everyone and they can get back to things they enjoy doing.

As of now, next year the Road Trip is scheduled back for the first weekend of April, depending on the parks recreation schedule and availability. Thank you to those that came out and help make the tournament fun.

AA/AA-Major - Sta. Cecilla 13, Rude-Pac 6

Sta. Cecilla earned their way into the championship game with a close 5-4 win over Rude-Pac in the winner’s bracket final. With a 3-0 record, they once again squared off against Rude-Pac in the championship game with Gabriel Marquez in the circle against Rude-Pac’s Gerald Pyle. The first 3 innings were fast and furious with 9 runs scored between the two.

In the first inning, Arturo Soto tripled and scored on an error to open the game. Rude-Pac came back with 2 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning on 3 hits and an error, including a double by Ronnie Brennan. Sta. Cecilla took the lead again in the top of the inning when Daniel Rochin tripled in Edgar Presichi. Rude-Pac tied it again in the bottom of the inning, putting together a couple of hits and moving the ball around.

Sta. Cecilla took the lead again in the top of the third. Soto hit his second triple of the game to score Mario Hernandez. A few hits and a sacrifice fly later and Sta. Cecilla was on top 6-3. In Rude-Pac’s half of the inning, with one out Keith Barker doubled and came into score on a single by Canyon Vance. Panfilo Valdez came in for relief of Marquez after Vance’s single. Rude-Pac made a threat but Valdez got out of the inning without allowing a run.

Mark Bennett came into the game in the top of the fourth for Rude-Pac and both sides went quietly in the inning. In the fifth though, both teams scored with Sta. Cecilla getting 3 runs and Rude-Pac scoring 2 to make the score 9-6. In the top of the sixth Rude-Pac brought in Cory Avery and Sta. Cecilla’s hitting streak continued, scoring 2 more runs in the inning.

Valdez kept the Rude-Pac batters off base for the next two innings and with two more runs in the seventh inning, Sta. Cecilla finished the game with a 13-6 score and a perfect 4-0 record in the tournament. What was very impressive in addition to Sta. Cecilla’s hitting, was the speed that their line-up carried. Outfielders had to be alert to get the ball back into the infield so that they were not taken advantage of.

Rude-Pac came into the winner’s bracket final with a 1-0 record, courtesy of a bye during the draw. In a close game they beat Si Senor 2-0. In the lower bracket final they once again faced Si Senor and won 9-2 to advance to the championship game.

A-Major - El Paso Steel 10, Long Beach Black Sox 0

El Paso Steel went into the championship game as the undefeated team with a 3-0 record, only allowing 2 runs while scoring 21 in the 3 games. Facing the Black Sox for the second time on Sunday, El Paso beat the Black Sox in the winner’s bracket final 6-0, the championship game had El Paso’s Antonio Mancha in the circle against Ronnie Rupp of the Black Sox.

El Paso Steel struck first, scoring four runs in their first at-bat for a quick lead. The big blow in the inning coming on Manuel Cerecere’s triple with the bases loaded. Randy Clay entered the game for the Black Sox in the second inning.

El Paso Steel added a run in the third to increase their lead to 5 and in the fourth scored 5 more runs to end the game 10-0. In the fourth, Yuri Loya & Hector Garcia doubled and Heney Cedillo homered to end the game. Antonio Mancha was big in the circle as he no-hit a very good hitting Long Beach team, striking out 7 of the 12 batters he faced.

The Long Beach Black Sox finish the tournament with a 3-2 record, including a 6-4 victory of Maccabi USA to get into the championship game. The Black Sox went into the winner’s bracket final with a 2-0 record.

A – “IF” Game - Carribeans - 16. Albuquerque Hitmen - 5

The A division went to the “IF” game as the Albuquerque Hitmen came from behind in the Championship game and scored 5 runs in the last two innings to steal the championship from the Carribeans. Paul Silva was in the circle for the Hitmen against Francisco Cruz of the Carribeans. In the “IF” game, the Carribeans bats came alive early with Norman Baca scoring two on a home run in the first inning. The Hitmen answered back in their half of the inning with Jose Gonzales opening the bottom half of the inning with a home run as well. The Hitmen scored one more in the inning to tie the game up.

In the fourth inning, George Silva came in for the Hitmen in the circle. In the next two innings the Carribeans scored 8 runs on little ball to take the lead 10-2. The big blow came in the fifth inning where the Carribeans scored 6 runs, 4 of them on Ramon Gonzales home run. The Hitmen did score in each of the last 3 innings, but the Carribeans had built up enough of a lead to end the game in the fifth. Francisco Cruz went the distance for the Carribeans for the win.

The Carribeans went into the winner’s bracket final with a 3-0 record and finished the tournament at 5-1. They defeated the Hitmen earlier in the day in the winner’s bracket final, 6-5. The Hitmen also went into the winner’s bracket final with a 3-0 record, allowing only 2 runs in the 3 games, and then faced a tough Liberty FP team in the lower bracket final to continue on in the championship game. The Hitmen finished their first Las Vegas Road Trip with a 5-2 record.