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10u RUSTY in MLK tournament 2019

By Eddie Gomez, 01/31/19, 8:15AM PST

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The new look 10u team quickly jumped into the 2019 year by playing in the MLK Dreams Classic. Without much practice time to acclimate new players and shed the rust after a long break, the boys were bound to have their ups and downs. They ended up outplaying their expectations and really only had 3 disappointing defensive innings. A rough game 4 may have left a sour note on the weekend, but the group did a nice job developing chemistry and grinding through different roles and opportunities.

Game 1 vs SoCal Blackdogs was a tight one. Brayden L took the bump for game one and fought through almost 4 innings of work. A third inning full of physical and mental errors put the Lightening behind the 8-ball.  Fortunately, the Lighting’s offense struck back in the top of the 5th to tie the game. Lincoln M and Brayden L each went 2-3 while Jayson M and Justin C crushed two doubles to the fence. The Blackdogs ended up walking off in the bottom of the 5th though to win the game 6-5.

Game 2 vs the PCH was a different story. LVBA put forth a dominating effort against the eventual tournament champs. Justin C pounded the zone with a good mix of pitches in a 4 inning CG shutout effort. The defense behind him played outstanding rolling two double plays with runners in scoring position to get out of multiple jams. Trevor H added a couple of nice plays in right field including what would have been and insane 3rd double play had the throw reached the bag. Cameron G and Lincoln M led the offensive charge by each going 2-2. Santiago W put an exclamation point on a great game by tattooing a moonshot homerun to left field.

Game 3 was a tight ball game against a scrappy Aztecs BBC. LVBA took control of the game early but gave up a 4-run fifth inning and never recovered. Lincoln M pitched well to a tight zone but 5 walks ultimately was his demise. 3 defensive errors against a quality team also didn’t do LVBA’s pitching any favors. Cameron G came in and stopped the bleeding in a great relief effort. Austin H was a bright spot on offense with two big hits. Preston P added some great situational hitting picking an RBI by hitting a ground ball to second base with a man on 3rd and less than two outs.

Game 4 vs SN Bruins was one to forget. A clean 3-3 ball game suddenly turned into a 15-3 route. Sawyer V pitched well against a tough zone for 3 innings but falling deep into counts led to a rising pitch count. A 12 run inning for the Bruins turned into an absolute snowball fight for the Lightning. LVBA committed 6+ errors and walked 9 batters; a recipe for disaster. An uncharacteristic inning was challenging for the boys but not indicative of the strong ball they played for the majority of the weekend.

This new group showed their dominating potential and their need to develop into different and challenging roles.