Easton Overcome By Waves in Wood Bat Title Game
By Scot Sweet / PCBL Staff Writer
This is one day I’m sure we were all grateful that this Championship game was played after the sun went down! It was a sweltering hot day in the San Fernando Valley and it was just starting to cool off as we convened at Birmingham High School on a warm Wednesday night for this years’ Summer Wood Bat Championship between Team Easton and the Vestal Waves.
With Team Easton failing to score in the top half of the 1st inning, The Waves came up to bat in the bottom of the inning to try and draw first blood in this contest. They sent up their leadoff hitter, Jarrod Schwartz, to get things going. He draws a walk, paving the way for shortstop Will Morrow who also draws a walk. Nestor Martinez is the next batter and he singles to load the bases for Eric Martin who goes down swinging. With one out and bags full, Justin Collins is the next batter. He hits a sacrifice to right to score a run. The Waves end up with one run on a hit and two walks and take an early 1-0 lead.
Easton would come up in the top of the 3rd inning, still down 1-0. They would lead off with Billy Minnis who would reach safely by way of a fielding error. The next batter would be retired, sending up catcher Billy Pickets who singles home Minnis. Robert Mendoza is next for Team Easton, and he too reaches base thanks to an error. Paul Contreras counters with a single and Marty Orozco gets on due to a fielder’s choice. In the end, Team Easton comes up with two runs on two hits and an error and they take the lead for the first time in this contest, up 2-1.
But the third inning would be a charm for the Waves. Leadoff hitter Jarrod Schwartz starts things off with a single and then steals second shortly thereafter. Will Morrow responds with a single to score Schwartz. The next batter is Nestor Martinez who draws a walk. The next batter strikes out, sending up Justin Collins with two on and one out. He singles home a run, clearing the way for Adam Geery, who hits a sacrifice fly to center to score another run. Third baseman Roger Acuna follows with a single to join the hit parade, followed by Kjavik Majon who gets an RBI single of his own. The Waves comes up with five runs on five hits and take a 6-2 lead through three complete innings of play.
But Team Easton tries to pick away at the Wave lead in the top of the 4th inning. First baseman Frankie Morales singles and then later advances to second on a pass ball. With one out, Billy Minnis singles home Morales. Team Easton settles for one run on two hits in the inning and cut the lead to threee, down 6-3.
Team Easton would come to bat in the top half of the 6th inning still down by a 6-3 tally. They lead off with center fielder Marty Orozco who hits a ground rule double to start the action. Mario Bonilla follows with a single and later steals second. With runners at second and third with one out, Franky Morales grounds out to short, scoring Orozco. They come up with one run in the inning and cut the Wave lead to two, down 6-4.
The Waves come up empty in the bottom of the 6th inning, bringing Team Easton up in the top of the 7th inning with a chance to further cut the gap. They send up Billy Minnis who hit an RBI single in his last at bat. He singles again to getting things rolling for Team Easton. The next batter is leadoff hitter Jesus Campos, who singles to put runners on the corners for Billy Picketts. Picketts flies deep to center to pull of the sacrifice, scoring Minnis from third. Team Easton scavenge for yet another run and now trail the Waves by one, down 6-5 through 6 1⁄2 innings of play.
The score would remain 6-5 going into the bottom of the 8th inning, with the Waves holding on to the narrow 1-run lead and hoping to add some insurance. They lead off with Will Morrow who singles to get the rally going. Nester Martinez follows with a single of his own, putting runners on first and second for Eric Martin, who reaches safely when the right fielder miscues a fly ball. With bases loaded, Justin Collins steps up and hits an RBI single, scoring two. The Waves would settle for two in the inning as they go into the top of the 9th inning with an 8-5 lead and are three outs away from a
Wood Bat Championship.
Team Easton came up in the top of the 9th and led off with Franky Morales who singled to keep their hopes alive. However, the next three batters would
go down in order, leaving Morales stranded on base and officially naming the Vestal Waves as 2007 Summer Wood Bat Champions! Congratulations to the Waves for holding off a worthy Team Easton and for doing just enough to claim the title!
Although the Waves victory was indeed a team effort, MVP honors would have to go to Justin Collins, who provided the first as well as the last RBI’s of the contest. The first RBI got them on the board to start this contest and the 2-run single in the 8th gave them the cushion they needed to hold off the always competitive Team Easton Squad. Honorable mention on the Waves offense also go to Will Morrow and Nestor Martinez, both of which had a pair of singles and a walk in the game; not to mention they accounted for half of the Wave runs in the contest.
Pitching Stats
Waves: Adam Romo (5 inn, 3 runs, 6 hits, 1 K’s, 2 walks)
Larry Kowalski (4 inn, 2 runs, 5 hits, 3 K’s, 1 walk)
Easton: John Calmus (8 inn, 8 runs, 10 hits, 9 K’s, 4 walks)
Game Time: 7:10pm - 9:43pm ( 2 hours, 33 minutes)
Umpires: (Plate ) Carlos Trujillo
(Bases) Chris Chegwin
PA Announcer: Scott Keene
Scorekeeper: Scot Sweet
Technical Asst: Dave O’Dude
Scoreboard Operator: Edgar Olmos
Scoreboard Assistant: Kevin Olmos
“Take Me Out to the Ballgame” performed by American Idol contestant Sherman Pore
