18-Grip Shield Glory Days

CARIBBEAN TIGRES WIN CITRUS CLASSIC FOR FOURTH TIME The pitching-rich Caribbean Tigres of the NABA Palm Beach, Florida league roared to their fourth Citrus Classic championship and their second in a row, downing the NY/NJ White Sox 7-3 in the 18AA title game in Lantana, Florida on Monday, Jan. 21, 2008 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day). Three Tigres hurlers combined to strike out 17 batters. After taking over for starter Wilson Ciprian, who pitched the first five innings, hard throwing Victor Prieto earned the win, striking out nine batters in three innings while his teammates broke a 2-2 deficit with four runs in the sixth inning to take a lead they never relinquished. Jose Acuna finished up with a perfect 9th inning, striking out two. Ciprian had six strikeouts in his five innings. The rally began with a two base hit by Acuna. After Juan Veras drew a walk, Nick Adames stroked a one out single to left, scoring courtesy runner Francis Dinzey. Stalin DeLaRosa’s two out infield hit scored Veras, and the White Sox allowed two more runs on back to back infield errors, scoring Adames and DeLaRosa. The Tigres added an insurance run in the seventh on Acuna’s second straight double. Veras singled home the final Tigres’ run. The White Sox took a 1-0 lead in the fourth when Ray Montanez smashed a triple to deep right and scored on pitcher David Jiminian’s single to left. The Tigres came right back in the bottom of the inning with two unearned runs. After a two out infield error allowed Veras to reach first, he stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Diego Santos. Adames and Prieto both singled with Santos scoring on Prieto’s single. New York/New Jersey tied it in the fifth on singles by Ryan Postal and Adam Light and a double by Frank Pacifico. The Sox got their only run off Prieto in the eighth. Antuan Barnett and Jiminian singled. Barnett stole third and scored on a throwing error to complete the scoring. Tigres’ catcher Melvin Bruno had a double, two singles and stolen base to lead the Caribbeans’ fifteen hit attack. Emilio Vargas, Acuna, Veras and Adames all had two hits apiece. Light, Leyner and losing pitcher Jiminian had two hits apiece for the White Sox. Prieto was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. White Sox’ right fielder Barnett received the Goold Glove award, making three fine catches in right field.

IRON MEN OF CHARLOTTE TAKE 18A CITRUS CHAMPIONSHIP The Charlotte Astros of the NABA’s Charlotte, North Carolina league came to South Florida with only ten players, but won the 18A championship in the seventh annual Citrus Classic Wood Bat Tournament. The Astros outslugged the Dutchess Dodgers, made up primarily of players from the NABA Palm Beach, Florida league 17-13 at the Santaluces Complex in Lantana, FL on Martin Luther King Jr Day, January 21. After nipping the Dodgers 6-5 in their final pool game, the Astros took pool championship honors. The Astros, Dodgers and Culver City Leones (Palm Beach league) all had 2-1 records. The Leones were eliminated because they allowed the most runs (20) among the three teams, and the Astros won a head to head meeting over the Dodgers to clinch the top seed and home advantage in the title game. In the championship, Charlotte scored four runs in the second inning, three of them on a bases clearing double by Jeff Ronan, to take a 4-1 lead. After the Dodgers tallied twice to make it 4-3, the North Carolinians exploded for five runs in the fourth, three in the fifth and five more runs in the sixth to take a lead 17-6 after six innings. Key hits included Ryan Pflum’s two run double to highlight the Astros’ fourth; Charlie Pflum;s an RBI singles in both the fourth and fifth and two run single in the 6th, and Jim Berger;s two run single in the fifth. Charlie Pflum and Berger led a 17 hit attack with three hits apiece. The Dodgers made the score respectable by scoring seven runs in the last two innings. Manager Rob Wiley, who walloped a two run homer in the sixth inning, drove in another with a single in the 8th, and added a third hit in the ninth. Wiley and Perry Menschel had three hits apiece, as the Dodgers collected fifteen in a losing cause. Ryan Pflum earned Most Valuable Player honors and earned the victory in relief of starter Ronan in the third inning. Brian Fitzsimmons was tagged with the loss. Dodgers’ left fielder Cody Lei won the Gold Glove Award with a diving catch of a line drive headed for extra bases in the sixth.