2025 Val Lewis Sacramento Father/Son Tournament a Huge Success

Submitted by Alan Van Ness, Sacramento MSBL League President

The Championship Sunday was very enjoyable, and I was fortunate enough to manage such a persevering team. The Sacramento Cannons of the Central Division went 4-0, and the championship game versus the Boys of Summer was a classic!

The Cannons scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 12-11. Six of those runs came with two outs! MVP Father was Skye Ropke, who hit a bases-loaded triple and scored the winning run on a wild pitch. The Co-MVP sons were Titus Mejia and Jared Moen.

The National Division champions were once again the Sacramento Braves, for the fifth time. This year, they copped the hardware over the Tri-Valley’s top team, TABU. This game had an MLB, two-time World Series Champion, San Francisco Giants pitcher, and of course, this year’s Father MVP, Jean Machi. The son CO-MVPs were Adrian Rubio and Rudy Aldama.

The final American Division championship game was memorable for all. We had the founder of this great event, Val Lewis, out on the field and taking part in the action. All shirts, jackets, and prizes have Val Lewis’ Father/ Son Tournament logo on them. Val is 83 years old and still took an at-bat. His team won a close game and their first championship here at home over the Hammerdogs, 6-3. The Crew Father MVP was Josh Bell, and the Son MVP was Zac Newbold.

The Raffle this year raised $1,500, which was less than expected but still better than zero. We are using the money to help with the shipping of donated baseball gear to Nicaragua, where SMSBL has gone every January for the last 10+ years to teach baseball. This is a non-profit that SMSBL HOF legend Hal Young has created.

I’d like to especially say THANK YOU to my wife Teena Van Ness, for such a tireless effort to organize this event.  From raffle prizes to food and drinks. I’d also like to thank Mike Pankow for being the Tournament Director and communicator with so many teams and players from out of town.

Next up is our 4th of July Tournament, then the SMSBL Hall of Fame Ceremony, July 26th. The “Capital City” Charity Labor Day Tournament will be here before you know it!  This year’s chosen charity is “Tunnel 2 Towers.”

Below is a short pictorial journey of the festivities!