Triple Crown has found the mountain escape of Park City, Utah, to be one of the most suitable and satisfying destinations for championship events in the diamond sports.
This year’s baseball World Series event there welcomes the 9u and 12u age groups, set to run July 22-25. While many teams chose this event to conclude their busy summer schedule, there are moments and reason to slip away and enjoy any of these five diversions. Historic Downtown Park City – Independent boutiques, one-of-a-kind restaurants, restorative spa sessions, maybe a ride on the town lift to play in the mountains … Park City has done it right. Meander around the sidewalks and pay close attention to the amazing art galleries. https://historicparkcityutah.com/ Fly Fishing – Both the nearby Provo and Weber Rivers are full of brown and rainbow trout, among other species, making it one of the top fishing spots in the country. If you've always wanted to give fly fishing a try, sign up for a half- or full-day excursion and check out the best fishing holes in the region. http://parkcityonthefly.com/ Alpine Mountain Coaster – Utah’s longest Mountain Coaster winds through more than a mile of loops and curves at speeds up to 25 mph. Just like your favorite roller coaster, but with the refreshing mountain scenery of Park City. https://www.parkcitymountain.com/explore-the-resort/activities/summer-activities/alpine-coaster.aspx Horseback Riding – We all say we’ll do it someday, so make it happen! The horses stabled by Park City guides are kind, responsive, and emotional creatures. Plus, they love to go out on the mountain trails having made the journey countless times. https://www.visitparkcity.com/things-to-do/sports-outdoors/horseback-riding/ Kimball Art Center – Get the team together and see how their creative skills can grow. Located just a few blocks off Main Street, the KAC features exhibits by regional and national artists and offers more than 300 classes in painting, drawing, photography, stained glass, pottery and other visual arts https://kimballartcenter.org/ Coaches, Parents and Fans,
For those of you attending the World Series Tournament this July 24th-28th, Triple Crown has IMPORTANT information you are going to need prior to arrival. Triple Crown is using a new baseball facility, Emerald Park. This facility is very beautiful, and it is the first time Triple Crown has been allowed to use it for this event. It has VERY LIMITED PARKING. To avoid parking issues for the facility as well as the surrounding neighborhood, we have created an alternative parking plan. The Steamboat Ski Corp has allowed us to use Meadows Parking lot for the length of the tournament. Triple Crown is HIGHLY RECOMMENDING that EVERYONE use this parking lot. Our lodging partner resorts have offered to run their shuttles from Meadows to the Emerald Park every 15-30 minutes. It is roughly a mile and a half distance between the two facilities and will take 6-8 minutes of travel time. They will run from July 24th through July 28th for teams with games at Emerald Park. Each team will be given four (4) parking passes to use for the duration of the tournament. You will find this inside your welcome packet that you will be given at check-in. Our recommendation is that only COACHES and PLAYERS car pool and use these passes. These are mandatory for Emerald Park and need to be visible on your dashboard. TC Staff will be at the entrance of the lot to check for parking passes. Please, DO NOT park on the neighboring street of Pamela Lane that runs adjacent to the parking lot. It is off limits and clearly marked for residential use only. There are approximately 25 spaces on the street across from the back of the Hampton Inn (near the shuttle drop) for parking lot overflow, but they will fill quickly. Please plan accordingly. If there is no parking available at the time that you are arriving, it could mean a 45-minute LATE arrival. Steamboat is using this plan as a trial run for the 2020 season. They are watching how the parking is impacting the Emerald Park community as well as the effects on the individuals traveling into Steamboat. We are asking for your full cooperation on this shuttle and parking plan. Thank you! FORT COLLINS, Colo. – In one of the all-time upsets in sports history, beloved YouTube baseball mainstay Domingo Ayala has yet to be signed to a major league deal – their loss is your gain, as Triple Crown Sports has announced plans for eight stops on the 2019 TC Baseball Domingo Ayala Tour.
This will be the fourth year TC baseball and Domingo have joined forces. He has performed in a variety of settings, from indoor sports facilities, sports complexes, youth baseball fundraisers, corporate events and even in MLB locker rooms. Ayala’s unconventional journey to excellence provides a great deal of comedic material that sports fans have embraced over the years. His batting and pitching stats are awe-inspiring, as are the following numbers: YouTube: Over 175 videos, 33 million+ views and 160,000 subscribers Facebook: More than 265,000 followers Instagram: 218,000 followers Twitter: 82,500 followers Here’s the schedule for the 2019 Domingo Ayala TCS Tour: March 16 – Arizona Spring Championships, Phoenix May 26 – Bend, OR Elks Memorial Day Tournament June 13-14 – Omaha SlumpBuster, Session 1 June 20-21 – Omaha SlumpBuster, Session 3 July 5 – Big South Regional Championship, Nashville TN July 16 – U.S. Club Nationals, Atlanta July 22 – TCS World Series, Park City, UT July 30 – TCS World Series, Steamboat Springs, CO “Triple Crown Baseball has always pushed the margins when it comes to what a tournament experience can look like, and we are very pleased to partner with Domingo Ayala for yet another season,” said Sean Hardy, VP of Sports at TCS. “His skills as a player are only topped by his abilities as an entertainer, and his command of an audience creates that extra level of fun for all ages.” Look for details on upcoming appearances at www.domingobeisbol.com About Domingo Ayala At the age of 2, Domingo Ayala started playing baseball. It wasn't long after that when he became one of the best players in his hometown of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. In his pursuit to make it to the MLB, Ayala packed his bags and moved to the United States. Now, the self-proclaimed best baseball player in the world still claims to be 17 years old. Though many believe him to be slightly older, no one has seen a birth certificate to disprove his claim. As he travels the world teaching baseball, his ultimate goal is still to make it to the big leagues. About Triple Crown Sports Based in Fort Collins, CO., Triple Crown Sports has been producing college and youth events for more than 35 years, with more than 90 events scheduled for 2019 in the arenas of youth baseball, fastpitch, basketball, lacrosse and volleyball. The TCS footprint includes both the preseason and postseason WNIT basketball events and the men’s and women’s Cancun Challenge tournaments in November. Triple Crown is also powering “WNIT” concept events in D-I softball (NISC) and volleyball (NIVC), with those two events debuting in 2017. TCS youth fastpitch tournaments (including the 900-team Sparkler/Fireworks event) draw the nation’s finest club programs, and hundreds of college coaches attend TCS events for recruiting purposes. The 11u Elite Chino Hills Thunder gave its fans a scare in its first game of the 2018 Triple Crown World Series, sliding by Dallas Tigers-Bazzell by one run, 5-4. Since then, it’s been smooth sailing for head coach Rene Lopez and his boys.
No other team crept within four runs, including Chino’s 11-1 championship-capturing contest Sunday against Santa Clarita Clutch. “That’s probably the best we’ve hit as a collective unit,” said Lopez. “All year long, the key to our success has been our pitching and our defense. We come out to this tournament and all 11 guys were on fire. It was fun to watch.” Starting pitcher Jerry Mendoza began his day with confidence, forcing a quick fly out to start the game. Two batters later, Trajveer Brar sent one right back off Mendoza’s leg, redirecting to first base for the second out of the inning. Mendoza would take a couple of moments to gather himself and elected to stay in the contest. “After I got hit, I thought it’s time to throw strikes now,” Mendoza said. “I didn’t want them to hit the ball anymore. I’m not going to lie, every time the ball was put in play, I was a little scared of being hit but my infielders and the guys in the outfield did a great job all day of making plays.” If Mendoza’s confidence was going to waver after an understandably nerve-rattling moment, it was going to come in the next at-bat when Clutch lined one toward the pitcher once more. The undeterred 11-year old stood tall, though, ending the inning with his second assist of the inning, this one a little more conventional. The Thunder looked to continue its hot offensive streak heading into the bottom of the first inning. Chase Davidson led off with a single, stole second and third and came scampering home on a Clutch throwing error putting Chino Hills up 1-0 in a hurry. Jacob Arreguin didn’t need that kind of speed when he got to the plate. The clean-up hitter hammered an impressive opposite-field shot over the right field fence, scoring two more runs for the home side. “It was a simple fastball on the outside corner,” said Arreguin. “Whenever I see that pitch, I’m just trying to take it the other way and elevate it.” Chino scored a fourth run in the first inning thanks to Justin Lopez’s RBI-single. The Thunder were in complete command as Mendoza headed back the hill. For the second consecutive inning, Santa Clarita could not figure out the right-hander. On the day, Mendoza would finish with four innings pitched, gave up just six hits and one run, while letting his defense do most of the work. “That kid is a bulldog,” said Lopez. “He’s actually tougher on himself than we are on him, which makes him one the best competitors on the team.” After adding a fifth run in the second inning and Mendoza dealing, Chino looked to break the game open in the bottom of the third. Arreguin sparked the Thunder’s second multi-run inning with a double. In fact, the first nine batters of the frame would at least reach first base. Scoring five more runs, the Chino raced out to a daunting 10-0 lead. Brady Stull, Justin Lopez and Jerry Mendoza all came up with run-scoring hits in the big frame. Santa Clarita ended its scoring drought in the bottom of the fourth inning to make it 10-1. Chino Hills needed just a single tally in the bottom end to claim the 11u Elite crown. Fittingly, with the bases loaded it was Mendoza who walked the plate. Already with two hits and two RBI on the afternoon, Mendoza completed a perfect outing, lining the first pitch he saw up the middle to score Joshua Springer, sealing the win, 11-1. “It was a knuckleball that he left hanging,” said Mendoza. “I really just tried to hit the ball in the air, but I guess I hit a line drive over the shortstop’s head but it got the run it. That’s what matters.” Chino Hills didn’t need much time to acclimate to the mountain conditions in Steamboat Springs, CO, completing a perfect 7-0 run to the 11u Elite title. Taking down a fellow Southern Californian squad made it even that much better for the Thunder. “We’ve seen them a lot,” said Arreguin. “The Clutch are a great team. They’ve beaten us a couple of times but today was our day.” “It means a lot to these guys,” Lopez said. “We have a couple of guys that have been with us since they were five or six years old. It’s nice for us to come to such an elite event and win a championship.” With the Saddleback Cowboys Black (CA) rumbling through the top of the bracket at the 13u Elite Triple Crown World Series, it was flat-out shocking to see them yanked to a stop.
But blessed with an offense capable of springing to life at any time, the Cowboys got right back to work Sunday in the championship game against the Utah Yard Dawgs, scoring seven runs in the second inning and eventually posting a 13-3 run-rule victory in five innings at Howelsen Hill in Steamboat Springs. Going 6-1 overall, the Cowboys prevailed as the Dawgs made an impressive run through the loser's bracket by winning one game Friday, two on Saturday and one more Sunday morning. The Yard Dawgs scored two runs in the top of the first as Kaden Miller and Hunter Gatti reached to start the game and Evan Atkinson brought them in with a double. In the bottom of the frame, the Cowboys began with a double, a double and a single, but just got one run when Zach Fjelstad hit into a double play. Utah brought another across in the top of the second when Miller singled in Daxton Maroney. The Cowboys immediately responded as the first five batters reached, and the next two also got on thanks to two errors. Dylan Werhas contributed a key two-run single, and Fjelstad added his own two-run, two-out hit after falling behind in the count 0-2. "I took a deep breath and regrouped at 0-2, told myself this was a new at-bat that had nothing to do with the double play. I took one the other way on an outside pitch," Fjelstad said. "We all stayed pretty positive after (the first inning), got off the bench and were cheering our teammates. We started hitting again in the second and it all felt better." "These guys have been good about putting up runs all tournament, and all summer. They usually find a way; they are a competitive group and don't shy away from anything," said Cowboys coach Richard Mercado, whose team came back from an 8-0 hole Saturday to win. "Zach grounded into that double play, and he's going to be down a little after that. He came up with a big hit, and that speaks to him and all our players, how they stay mentally prepared and move on to the next pitch." Luke Spiridonoff launched a two-run homer for the Cowboys in the third inning to extend the lead, and the finishing blows came in the fifth. Werhas reached after being hit by a pitch; leadoff hitter Blake Wilson singled, Landyn McKeown also singled and Drew Rutter closed the afternoon with a two-run single to invoke the run rule. "I like leadoff because usually the first pitch is a fastball and usually a strike, so it's pretty easy to hit. That perfect pitch, you can hit pretty far," said Wilson, who had three hits and three runs to go with an RBI. "We felt pretty good after the first, and maybe some were a little down after that double play. But we were all hyped and pumped up. We were always one game at a time, but all of us expected to go pretty far in the tournament." Cowboys starter Luke Shulga also deserved some recognition after throwing 3 1/3 solid innings. Fjelstad came in to close the game, allowing one hit and two walks. "(Shulga) didn't have his best command today, but that's a good team over there that was here for a reason," Mercado said. "They played a lot of games; we expected them to put up a fight. But we thought if we could get up and score some runs early, ideally we could wear them down." In the 13u division that was also decided Sunday, Premier BBC Purple held off Bad Rock BBC, 15-3. Fans cannot complain about the excitement the 13u Elite Saddleback Cowboys bring to the table.
Through six games in the 2018 Triple Crown World Series in Steamboat Springs, CO, the Cowboys have put together double-digit run totals in all of its contests. The only black mark on Saddleback’s record is a 13-12 loss to Slammers Armour. In Saturday’s semifinal matchup against BC KC Rawlings Prospects, Saddleback battled back from an eight-run deficit to win, 16-10. “To be down eight to nothing is tough in any game you’re playing in,” said head coach Richard Mercado. “I know these boys. They can score runs with the best of them. They just have to stay positive and confident.” Saddleback dug themselves a mighty hole to climb out of right out of the gate. The Prospects tallied six runs, including a two-run blast from Easton Wasinger. After two more runs in the second inning, KC had a sizable advantage and virtually all the momentum, leading 8-0. “With our hot bats, we knew we could score runs,” said the Cowboys’ Blake Wilson. “We just had to keep our heads together and hit the ball.” Adjusting to the speed and power of the Prospect pitching staff, Saddleback began the long road back with a duo of timely hits in the bottom of the second inning. Dylan Werhas and Dominic Smaldino each batted in a run to get the Cowboys on the board. The journey continued with Wilson leading off the third frame. Wilson’s single sparked four consecutive hits from the California kids, resulting in four runs, creeping within two, 8-6. “We weren’t seeing a ton of off-speed pitches,” Wilson said. “Especially that second time around, I was really concentrated on looking for the fastball and hitting it the opposite direction.” Sensing the momentum swinging to the opposite dugout, the Prospects rallied for a response of their own in the top of the fourth inning. Wasinger, KC’s run machine, drove in his third of the afternoon in a two-run effort that put the Prospect back on top by four, 10-6. There would be no stopping the Saddleback offensive locomotive, however, as Mercado’s boys went back to the plate hungry for more in the bottom end of the inning. For the first time since the opening frame, Saddleback would draw level, 10-10, with back-to-back RBI doubles from Blake Wilson and Landyn McKeown. Back in the game, Mercado tabbed Wilson to head to the bump to keep the Cowboys in the contest. Right away, Wilson’s precision stunned the Prospects as KC went down in order in the fifth inning. “Drew (Rutter) did a great job early throwing strikes against a good hitting team,” Mercado said. “Blake came in there and did what he does best. We couldn’t have asked anything more from him.” The Cowboys vaulted into the lead in the bottom end of the fifth, capitalizing on a pair of KC errors. Wilson, with his team now ahead 11-10, remained focused on keeping the advantage. “I was trying to keep them inside the ballpark,” explained Wilson. “I knew if they hit a home run, it would either tie it up or they would go ahead, and we would lose our momentum.” Not only did Wilson keep them off the base pads, he nearly kept them off first base altogether in the sixth inning, giving up just one hit before exiting the inning. With Wilson dominating on the hill, Saddleback may not have needed extra insurance but the Cowboys were determined to give it to him anyway. By the time Drew Rutter stepped into the batter’s box, the bases were loaded and there were no outs. As the wind whipped in from centerfield Rutter managed to pierce through the mountain air and send a rocket over the wall for a grand slam. “It was a new pitcher and I hadn’t face him before,” Rutter said. “The first pitch was outside. I tried to drive it to the left side of the field and it worked.” The Cowboys tallied two more, giving Wilson six runs to play with for the final three outs. Throwing up his third consecutive shutout inning, Wilson slammed the door shut on KC, sealing the win and a championship birth in the 13u Elite division, 16-10. “These guys are the same animal they’ve been all year,” said Mercado. “They’re competitive and they’re hungry for more, certainly after a win like this.” Saddleback moves into Sunday’s championship game where they’ll await the winner of the BC KC Prospects and the Utah Yard Dawgs. Sitting atop the winner’s bracket, the Cowboys just need one win to take home the crown. “We just need to stay positive,” said Rutter. “We don’t need to do much else, we’ve been playing pretty good baseball and I know we ’ll keep it going tomorrow.” Whenever trouble brewed for the Premier Baseball Club Purple (WA) on Saturday, the players had an amazing ability to turn down the heat.
The 13u squad built a small lead against Bad Rock BBC (MT) heading into the late innings of their Triple Crown World Series game in Steamboat Springs, then preserved the edge with just enough defense at the end to claim a 7-5 victory and move into Sunday's championship. The double-elim format means Premier can lose their first game Sunday and still get a chance to play for the title; they'll face either Bad Rock or the Laguna Lightning (CA), who will swing it out in the loser's bracket. In the top of the seventh Saturday, Bad Rock hit three stiff line drives and had a runner reach on a misplay of an infield grounder. But Premier chased down the long shots and chased away any thoughts of stumbling at the finish line. "All coaches know, the last three outs are the hardest. We get a routine grounder to the right side, pitcher doesn't cover, so we gave them four outs that inning," said Premier coach Tyler Long. "All the outs were hard-hit balls, so we had to earn it, for sure. The boys, their hearts and minds are in the right spot, and I'm just sitting here enjoying the ride. I told them before the game, we're already top three, so go out and have fun." Bad Rock took a 1-0 lead in the first, as Jacob Polumbus walked and scored on a groundout by Mike Glass. In the bottom of the frame, Premier started with a triple from Graysen Reveal and a run-scoring hit by Stephen Hammergen, and Gavin Fugate added a long two-run homer. Bad Rock 's Fynn Ridgeway brought in a run on a grounder, but Premier was ready to respond offensively as Hammergen and Jayden Rippelmeyer each hit substantial solo home runs in the third inning. Bad Rock brought across three runs in the fourth to tie the game at 5-all, two scoring on an error, and that's when Long turned to Fugate for a steadier touch on the mound. Fugate handled the pressure just fine, even when Premier faced those scary moments in the seventh. "I just had to not worry about what anyone else was thinking. I just had to get back on track," Fugate said. "I wanted to focus on the job, throw strikes and let the defense go to work. We were just over the top (emotionally) today, more than usual." "He's been money this whole tournament, our best pitcher hands down," Long added. "To come in that high-stress situation like that and deal ... he's got the stuff, and he trusts his stuff." The go-ahead run for Premier came with two outs in the fourth, as Connor Noah brought in a run with a triple. "I was looking for a fastball to hit, and then I got a curve ball. I just waited on it and drove it to left," said Noah, who had struck out in his first at-bat. "We were pumped up for this big game and to get to the championship. Gavin did an amazing job and pitched through all the roadblocks out there." Ty Schwaiger had three hits and scored a run for Bad Rock. A 2-1 record out of pool play and a 16-1 rout in the first round of the bracket had Bombers Baseball Club feeling confident in the 13u Division of the Triple Crown World Series. After a misstep against Premier Baseball, Bombers showed its grit, outlasting NW Premier in a tension-filled 7-6 win.
“Even when it got close at the end there if you looked at any of them, you couldn’t tell that it was a one-run game in the final inning,” said head coach Brett Grayson. “At any point in the game, you couldn’t tell what the score was. They all competed like it was any other pitch, and I love that.” Much the delight of Grayson, his players were locked in early. Back-to-back one-out walks gave Grant Selig the opportunity to drive in the game’s first run. Selig did not waste the early opportunity, singling to score Max Rubalcaba. Five players crossed home plate before the end of the top of the first inning, including a two-RBI triple from Luca Bove, the inning’s only extra-base hit. “Premier’s pitcher had a little velocity,” said Bove. “I didn’t want to try to do too much. I was just looking for a pitch to drive up the middle. Luckily, I made it a bit farther.” After NW Premier plated a run in the bottom of the first, Bombers recaptured its four-run advantage with an answer in the top of the second. “I think if you ask any one of the coaches in this tournament, they would all say getting off to a hot start is in your favor,” Grayson said. “We chose to be the visitors, and any time we can get out and throw the first punch, we’re going to. The first couple of innings played out just the way we wanted.” Down by four once again, Premier rallied once more in the bottom of the second inning to chip away at the Bomber lead. Two runs came across to narrow the margin, 6-3. “They were a great hitting team,” said Bombers pitcher Kent Goodman. “The only way to get past them was to keep them off balance.” For the next two innings, the Bombers pitching staff did just that. Dylan Eshoff and Preston Lee both found the right buttons to press in the third and fourth innings, limiting Premier to just two hits before handing the reins to Goodman. While the Bomber defense was maintaining a lead, the offense stayed stagnant until the fifth inning. Rubalcaba stretch the lead from three to four with an RBI single, an important insurance run heading into what would be the sixth and final inning. The bottom of the sixth inning began with a harmless walk. However, as time went on, Premier began pushing runs across, increasing the level of excitement on both sides. “Damage control was key,” Goodman explained. “My mentality in those final moments was to go back to what was working, keep them off balance and limit any major mistakes.” Three runs from Premier made it a one-run game. With runners on second and third, a hit could represent a walk-off. A poised Goodman confidently struck out the final two batters, sealing the win, 7-6, and keeping Bombers tournament hopes alive. “As long as these guys have a little energy, I think we have a chance,” said Grayson. “It’s day four and it’s a long time to be at altitude. We had it today and I’ll be looking for that energy tomorrow.” The Bombers' long road to the championship game continues on Saturday, where they’ll need to win three consecutive games to stay alive. Despite the lengthy stretch ahead, Bombers Baseball remains optimistic. “We just need to play our brand of baseball,” said Bove. “If we play like we usually do, play hard and stay positive, we can win any game.” For the Cascade Crush Orange (WA), the 13u Elite World Series has reached the all-or-nothing juncture, where the next loss will send the team out of the loser's bracket and on their way home.
As it turned out Friday in Steamboat Springs, the Crush scored all their runs against the East County Rattlers in one inning, and nothing felt finer than walking away with a 7-5 victory. The Crush are the highest-seeded team from pool play left in the loser's bracket, and they will face the Omaha Pacesetters at 9 a.m. Saturday at Howelsen Hill. After the Rattlers jumped ahead 1-0, the Crush brought home seven runs in the bottom of the second and did a nice job of simply outlasting their opposition, turning two double plays and riding some stellar pitching. Other than a bumpy third inning when the Rattlers scored three times, Crush starter Clayton O'Larey was in control, and Dylan Strom pitched a perfect seventh for the save. "I love the effort level of the players. They were loose the whole time -- Clayton does a great job rolling ground balls, and the defense played great behind them," said Crush head coach Kevin Bolt. "That's what is going to win these ball games out here. We have to come out and win three tomorrow to make it to Sunday; it will be a tough task, but you have to do it one pitch at a time. We've got plenty of guys who can throw the ball and get guys out, so it will depend on the defense and how we swing it in tough situations." In the big second inning, Jacob Mason doubled and Isaiah Carlson walked; Jacob Hayes couldn't get a bunt down, but he responded with a two-strike single that brought in a run. O'Larey moved the runs over and reached first base, and Cade Slayton drove in a run with a single. Strom then came up and absolutely pummeled a pitch way over the left-center fence to close the scoring. In the sixth, the Rattlers got leadoff hitter Shane Bailey on via an error, and the next two runners reached to load the bases. But the Crush then turned a double play, which kept the damage to a minimum. "I was just trying to throw strikes and get ground balls. I wasn't feeling real comfortable on the mound (in the third inning), like I was slipping," O'Larey said. "But after that, I was good. We had to score those runs to get in the lead, and then go out in the field and shut them down." "I was just trying to swing the bat and make contact, hit the ball far," Strom said if his monster home run. "I know this is a good team that can make plays. Clayton did a nice job and got us a lot of ground balls." Jacob Jackson had two doubles, two runs and two RBI for the Rattlers. Luke West reached base three times and also drove in two runs. The 11u Elite Utah Grays had not trailed in the 2018 Triple Crown World Series until they came across Twelve Gold in its opening-round matchup in bracket play. Trailing by four midway through the contest, the Grays flipped the script, erupting for nine runs in one inning, and outlasted Twelve Gold, 12-8, moving into the quarterfinals.
“Right from the first pitch I knew we were in it,” said head coach Jed Chrisman. “Twelve is a phenomenal baseball team and we knew we had our work cut out for us. “It doesn’t matter if you’re the first seed or the 12th seed, anything can happen. Once we pumped in that first strike, I knew these boys were locked in and ready to go." Starting pitcher Cy Chrisman not only hit the strike zone with his first pitch but set two of the first three batters down with ease. Twelve Gold were desperate to strike first, though. Terri Lawrence’s double scored Tanner Galik, and Lawrence himself scampered home two batters later on a passed ball. Utah waited until the second inning to begin chipping away at the Twelve lead. Alex Vernon, on the second pitch he saw, rocketed a ball over the centerfield fence. “I knew I was going to swing at the first strike that I got,” said Vernon. “It was a fastball right down the middle, and I was able to make a good swing.” Despite the solo home run, Twelve went right back to work in the top of the third inning. A couple of Utah mistakes combined with Terri Lawrence’s second RBI knock of the game stretched the Twelve advantage, 5-1. “It was a big moment for the team,” Vernon said. “We needed to come up with big hits. Guys were a little down in the dugout and we needed something to cheer us up.” The Grays’ cheering began with Abraham Atencio’s single to kick off the bottom half of the frame. Atencio quickly made his way to third via a stolen base and a double from Peyton Ingram before scoring on a sacrifice fly from Xaviah Patch to make it 5-2. Utah’s next out wouldn’t come until four batters came to the plate and three more runs had scored, including the Grays’ second long ball, this time from Cy Chrisman. “It was a really exciting inning,” said Atencio. “We all just wanted to stay positive and keep the wheel turning.” In total, Utah brought home nine runs, turning the game on its head, 10-5. Back in familiar territory with the lead, Utah’s defense began to look just as sharp as its offense. Atencio, coach Chrisman’s shortstop, was the focal point as the youngster would come up with five assists on the afternoon and turned two double plays. “We replicate those plays every day in practice,” Atencio said. “When it comes to a game, we all have faith in each other to make the play.” The Grays added two insurance runs in the fourth inning on Vernon’s second RBI of the day and a passed ball that allowed Max Johanson to scamper home. Carrying the lead into the fifth inning, Utah was just three outs away from an 11u Elite quarterfinal appearance. Andrew Nice was charged with digging up the final three outs for Utah. Though Nice gave up a pair of runs, the game would come to a close with a flyout to center. “This win was really more about the guys that weren’t playing in the game but were being great teammates from the bench,” said Chrisman. “They were up in the dugout, keeping the starters in it, hustling in and out of the dugout, keeping everything moving. As long as everyone was moving and staying active, it keeps the mindset there to play five, six or seven innings.” Utah draws the Chino Hills Thunder in the quarterfinals, a familiar opponent they faced just two weeks prior. Though the heavyweight bout looms on Saturday’s schedule, Chrisman will be looking for his players to enjoy the picturesque Steamboat Springs setting. “I want these guys to enjoy where they are,” Chrisman said. “I want to see them go fishing. I want to see them have some fun. We’ll come back here as long as we can but it’s important for these boys to have a little fun and take their minds off things before we get back at it tomorrow.” |