Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Minor baseball teams have mixed results at South Valley

Jason W. Brooks News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jbrooks@news-bulletin.com

Albuquerque No rain fell Monday at South Valley Little League, but the effects of a Sunday storm were still being felt.

A planned Junior-division game between South Valley and Westgate couldn't be played due to a soggy field, and the Minor-dvision field wasn't in the best of shape either. However, the SVLL staff managed to ready the Minor field enough for a pair of games to be played on it, and a pair of Valencia County teams helped get the 2008 District 9 Little League All-Star Tournament under way.

In a game that started about half an hour late, Enchantment Minors' Blue team beat South Valley II, 9-1, and Yucca fell to Westgate I in the nightcap, 13-6. The second game ended about 10:30 p.m.

Enchantment Blue was set to take on South Valley I late Tuesday after News-Bulletin press time, while Yucca will face Westgate II on Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Enchantment in an elimination game.

South Valley will host 10-11 baseball and Junior softball later this week. Enchantment and SVLL are co-hosting Minor baseball.

Enchantment Blue 9,

South Valley II 1

Paced by some early aggressive hitting and 3 and 2/3 innings of two-hit pitching from Kenneth Peña, Enchantment Blue pushed South Valley II within one loss of elimination, and advanced to the next round.

The ELL representatives scored three runs in both the first and second innings and two more in the third to lead 8-0. Leadoff hitter Shawn Faustman scored twice and had three RBI, while Gabe Salazar had three hits and knocked in a run. Anthony Ogas scored twice and pitched a scoreless sixth inning, aided by some good defense, to nail down the win.

"We talked about playing hard, and continuing to play hard," said Enchantment Blue coach Gilbert Perez. "The heat was a little bit of a factor, but we stayed in it."

The hot, humid afternoon seemed to drain both teams a little as the game dragged on for about two hours. Perez said he was impressed with how well Peña pitched despite having recently returned from a two-week vacation that included a trip to Disneyland.

"I guess he was tired of 'Mickey Mouse,'" said Perez.

Westgate I 13,

Yucca 6

After the lead changed hands four times, Westgate I scored three times in the top of the fifth inning to take the lead away from Yucca for good, and added six insurance runs in the sixth and final inning.

Westgate's pitching was inconsistent, but Yucca was never really able to take advantage. The resilient Westgate squad allowed baserunners in every inning but one, but never gave in to the big inning.

Yucca ran itself out of the first inning and struck out with runners on base to end both the third and the fourth. Yet the Bosque Farms team was still up 5-4 at the start of the fifth.

A play that seemed to turn the tide came in the bottom of the fourth when the third out was seemingly recorded, but the teams were ordered to retake the field by the umpire after a lengthy discussion with both coaches. The next Yucca batter struck out to end the inning, and Westgate went up 7-5 with two key hits in the top of the fifth.

Westgate had six hits in the sixth off two different Yucca pitchers, and then Yucca managed two hits and a run in the bottom of the sixth. A pop-up with the bases loaded ended the game.

Daniel Cable knocked in a run and scored twice, while Ruben Hernandez, Yucca's starting pitcher, had a run-scoring double and walked twice.

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