2012 18+ Wood Bat

So-Cal Buzz 7, East Bay Lumberjacks 4

So Cal Buzz — champions of the 2012 Desert Classic 18 Wood Bat Division

By Britten Gerrard

La Quinta, Calif. – For manager Anthony Bautista and the rest of the SoCal Buzz squad, playing baseball is an enjoyable outlet designed to get away from the everyday grind of work.

Winning isnt’ bad either.

The Buzz scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to beat the East Bay Lumberjacks 7-4 for the Desert Classic’s 18 Wood Bat title. “We’re out here to have a great time playing a game that means so much to us,” Baustisa said. “But pretty much all of us played college ball so we’re all competitive and it’s a great feeling winning the championship.”

With the scored tied 4-4 in the top of the eighth, Marcos Perez, Jose Casteneon and Ramiro Perez each singled to load the bases. All three would score as Oscar Barreras, Marcelino Escalante had sacrifice flies and Eric Martin added an RBI single.

“Those three runs were huge for us,” Bautista said. “Offensively we struggled in the middle innings and we needed a spark and the guys stepped up at the right time to give us a nice lead.”

The Lumberjacks had the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but Sammy Bruno popped out to end the threat. Buzz MVP pitcher Mike Kesten picked up the complete game victory allowing 10 hits and four runs. “It was definitely a back-and-forth game,” Kesten said noting that the Lumberjacks scored three runs in the second. “They (Lumberjacks) had some really good hitters and had a strong third inning but our team did a great job of bouncing back and I was able to settle down the rest of the game to help us win.” The Buzz take pride in being a tight-knit group. The night before the championship game, the team sat around by a campfire and discussed both baseball strategies and everyday life situations.

Buzz MVP MIke Keston

“We feel gelling off the field is important for our success so we enjoy doing activities that help us grow as a team,” Bautista said.

“It really doesn’t get much better than hanging out in Palm Springs with your best buddies playing baseball. The Buzz finished the Desert Classic with a record of 2-1-1. The team credited their victory to pitching and defense.”At this level everyone can hit so pitching and defense is extremely important to be successful in these type of tournaments,” Bautista said. “We had a great weekend both on and off the field and we’re looking forward to coming back next year.”WP- Sweet. LP- Marmalejo. Top Hitters: (YD) Sweet 3/5. 2B- Gadoy (YD), Sweet (YD), Arana (SC). HR- Martin (YD). SF- Galena (YD). DP- YD 3, SC 2.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Monterey Yarddogs	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	1	0		5	9	0
So Cal Scrappers	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0		1	5	0

WP- Sweet. LP- Marmalejo. Top Hitters: (YD) Sweet 3/5. 2B- Gadoy (YD), Sweet (YD), Arana (SC). HR- Martin (YD). SF- Galena (YD). DP- YD 3, SC 2.

The East Bay Lumberjacks were runners up at the 2012 Desert Classic in Palm Springs, CA.