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10u Lightning Represents Well in Home Tournament

By Eddie Gomez, 10/31/18, 4:00PM PDT

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The 10u Lighting played very well in pool play going 4-0 and obtaining the 1 seed in their division. Pitching was their biggest strength of the weekend as all of the starters gave quality starts putting their team in positions to succeed. Relievers came in and filled up the zone with strikes giving our defense opportunities to make plays. Although the bats were relatively quiet, they did a great job of developing counts and finding ways to manufacture runs.

Game 1 vs Gwynn Baseball: Sawyer V jumped on the bump for game 1 and gave up just one run in his two innings. Cameron G followed in relief a put up a 0 in the third. With a chance to dominate game 1 up 13-1 in the top of the fourth, the defense stumbled and allowed Gwynn Baseball to crawl back into the game 13-8. Ethan S came in shut the door as the defense finally found ways to get outs. Luckily those cheap runs did not come back and haunt LVBA later in the tournament. Jayson M and Malachi A added two hits. Jayson M also had 4 big RBI’s. JD N blasted a big double late in the game.

Game 2 vs Utah Grays: This was the best pitching matchup of the tournament. Both teams threw their two best arms and let them dual it out. LVBA saw a strong lefty with three plus pitches. Their big righty came in to relief and he was a body as well. LVBA struggled with only one hit. But what hit it was! Cash C hit a 2-run double to right that felt like a big dagger to the Grays. Brayden L came in to finish the game striking out 1 in his appearance to give LVBA their 8th strikeout of the game and the 8-3 victory.

Game 3 vs Redland Rebels (Red): Day two consisted of two HUGE pitching performances. In game 1, Malachi A threw a 4 inning gem. Even though he allowed 6 hits and 4 walks, the defense picked him up and made plays when he needed it the most. Trevor H wore two pitches in this game as he was an on-base machine all weekend. The Lightning won 12-3.

Game 4 vs Team Texas (Black): With a chance to secure the 1 seed, Cash C accepted the challenge and delivered 4 strong innings in his 13-3 win. Similar to game 3, Cash C gave up 6 hits and 4 free baserunners. He grinded his way through adversity and used his defense to get out of jams. As most out of states teams do, they bring their own style of baseball and energy. Team Texas was loud and high energy. Unfortunately for them Preston P was having NONE of it. He made all the plays at second and put the ball in play while in the box. He picked up a hit and created a lot of pressure in the contest. His running mate up the middle Ethan S assisted him with a triple to start the game and a few eye popping plays of his own on defense. Not to be lost on defense was the greatest youth baseball catch I’ve seen in my time here with LVBA. Malachi M SOLD OUT to make a diving catch a ball in deep right center after his coach moved him out of position. ESPN never posted my video submission but it definitely would have been number 1 on the Top 10 Plays of the night.

Game 5 vs West Coast Federals: The Bolts fell 11-1 to an underwhelming team. To the Federals credit, they put balls in play and created a lot of pressure on LVBA’s defense. The Lighting defense did not make the routine plays and get outs when they were presented. A slow and sluggish start carried throughout the game. Logan G did a great job courtesy running all weekend stealing bags left and right and scoring a ton of runs while battling an arm injury.

The boys put forth a great effort and played well enough to go 4-1 in a major west coast tournament. They are showing maturity at the plate and in hostile playing environments. Growth on the last day of tournaments is needed to go to the next level.