2014 So Cal Snappers Claim 35+ National Crown
SoCal Snappers 11, San Joaquin Giants 6’Snappers Cop Fourth Desert Classic Title’
By Alejandro Rodriguez, MSBLNational.com
INDIO, CA., Jan. 20, 2014 — Greg Martinez was 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs and Matt Graves went 3-for-4 with two doubles as the So Cal Snappers defeated the San Joaquin Giants 11-6 to win the 35 National division championship at Indio High School.
It was the fourth Desert Classic title for the Snappers and their first in the 35 National division. They were 25-and-over champions last year, and claimed MABL titles in 2007 and 2011. They have appeared Desert Classic finals seven times.
The Snappers scored twice in the second inning on a two-run single by Matt Wagner. The Giants tied it up in the third with a couple of infield singles and a fielders’ choice, and then took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fourth on a home run by Bobby Glazer.
Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth, Tony Daily slugged a two-run homer to give the So Cal Snappers a 4-3 lead, and then added one more run to take a 5-3 lead.
The death blow was a six-run fifth inning that put the Snappers out of reach. Manny Pimentel also went 2-for-4 with two doubles for the Snappers and Chris Hill pitched five innings, giving up three runs to earn the victory, Jeremy Spillman pitched the last four innings in relief, striking out seven.
For the Giants, Glazer went 2-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBIs and Geno Ballardo went 2-for-4 with one RBI and Eddie Hernandez went 2-for-3.
Snappers Manager Frank Sansone was proud of his team’s victory in their first year playing in the 35 division. “Overall, it was a great time, great weather, we were able to get a lot of the older guys on our team some playing time. The pitching definitely carried us throughout the weekend.” Sansone said. “We look forward to returning next year to defend our championship” he said.The Giants road to the finals was paved with an exciting 5-4 win over the defending champion Montebello Angels earlier in the day. The Giants scored four runs in the ninth frame to win that game. Despite the finals loss, Giants manager Pat Tressler was still proud of his team. “Our group is a baseball family, we always enjoy being around each other and playing together, it’s a nice little trip down here every year, we always enjoy ourselves.” Tressler said. “The way we came back in the semifinal game was a complete team effort, the guys never gave up, they played until the last out and it got us a victory,” he said.