18-Grip Shield Glory Days

Palm Beach League teams won both divisions of the 6th annual NABA Citrus Classic Wood Bat Tournament, which culminated on Monday, January 15 (Martin Luther King Day) at the Santaluces Complex in Lantana. The Caribbean Tigres completed an unbeaten 4-0 slate by overwhelming the Fordham Red Sox of the Westchester-Rockland League of New York 13-0, in the 18AA championship game. Wilson Ciprian, Gustavo Lopez and Jose Acuna combined to throw a one-hit shutout against the Red Sox, with the lone hit coming off starting and winning pitcher Ciprian with two outs in the sixth inning. The hit, by reserve Luis Amador, was about the only thing the Sox had to cheer about. The Tigres, meanwhile, won their third Citrus Classic championship with a 17-hit attack against two Fordham pitchers. Marcos Rodriguez led the way with four hits, including two doubles, and five runs batted in, to earn Most Valuable Player honors. Acuna had three hits, one of them a double, and he knocked in three runs. Marlon Hernandez also had three hits and drove in one run while scoring four times. Brian Fitzsimmons was 2-for-2 with three walks. Melvin Bruno, Francis Dinzey, Ryan Ghianda and Nick Adames had one hit apiece with Dinzey, Ghianda and Adames each picking up an RBI. Chris Lopez was the starter and loser for the New Yorkers, with Randy Shupe pitching the last three innings. The Red Sox did leave town with a winning record of 3-2, including a hard earned 7-5 semifinal win on Sunday against the Palm Beach Hammerheads. The Tigres also won the Florida World Series in November, finished second in the 18AAA division of the National Championship Tournament in Arizona last October, and captured the 2005 18AA national title in Arizona. If at first you don't succeed, try, try and try again. That philosophy finally paid off for Fernando Miranda, whose Culver City USA team captured the 18A championship in their fourth Citrus Classic appearance. They edged the Palm Beach Pirates 5-3, scoring three runs in the decisive 5th inning. That gave the Culver City squad a 5-1 lead, and after the Pirates tallied two unearned runs of their own in the 7th inning, Mike Smollon relieved starter and winner Perry Menschel, inheriting a two on, one out jam and getting out of it to maintain the two-run lead. He followed that up with a perfect 8th inning. Tristan Miceli closed it out with a scoreless ninth. Menschel, struck out eight and allowed only one earned run, was selected as the game's Most Valuable Player. Troy Sorrells led the Culver City offense with three hits, including a double and an RBI. Placido Estevez had a pair of singles and knocked in a run, and Rusty Sams had two hits and two steals. Carlos Sanchez had one hit, and ended the game with a diving catch of a line drive hit by the Pirates' Blair Breen. Chris Linsinbigler had two of the Pirates' six hits, one of them a double. Jason Strigle had an RBI single and Lucas Scuteri had a single. Jim Vance picked up an RBI on a fielder's choice. The other hits were by losing pitcher Luis Maldonado and Steve Clappi. The Culver City Team is made up of players from several NABA Palm Beach League teams and was named four years ago by Miranda and his brother Jaime, who grew up in Culver City, California. RESULTS, MONDAY, JANUARY 15 18AA Championship---Caribbean Tigres 13 Fordham (NY) Red Sox 0 18A Championship----Culver City USA 5 Palm Beach Pirates 3 ================================================================== RESULTS, SUNDAY, JANUARY 14 18AA Caribbean Tigres 6 Rochester, NY Renegades 2 (won pool, earned bye into final) Fordham Red Sox 8 Palm Beach Hammerheads 1 18AA Semifinal (Seedings in Parentheses) (2) Fordham Red Sox 7 (3) Palm Beach Hammerheads 5 18A Columbia Curve 8 DC Metro Royals 4 Palm Beach Pirates 7 Chicago River Bandits 7 (tie) Culver City USA 6 New York Thunderdogs 2 18A Semifinals (Seedings in Parentheses) (4) Palm Beach Pirates 7 (1) Columbia Curve 0 (3) Culver City USA 10 (2) Chicago River Bandits 0 ================================================================ RESULTS, SATURDAY, JANUARY 13 18AA Caribbean Tigres 14 Palm Beach Hammerheads 0 Fordham Red Sox 7 Rochester Renegades 6 Caribbean Tigres 17 Fordham Red Sox 4 Palm Beach Hammerheads 14 Rochester Renegades 11 18A DC Metro Royals 7 Culver City USA 6 Columbia Curve 8 Palm Beach Pirates 1 Chicago River Bandits 9 New York Thunderdogs 8 Palm Beach Pirates 14 DC Metro Royals 4 Culver City USA 4 Chicago River Bandits 4 (tie, 10 innings) New York Thunderdogs 11 Columbia Curve 2 Final Pool Standings 18AA--Caribbean Tigres 3-0, Fordham Red Sox 2-1, Palm Beach Hammerheads 1-2, Rochester Renegades 0-3 POOL WINNER---Caribbean Tigres 18A--Columbia Curve 2-1, Chicago River Bandits 1-0-2, Culver City USA 1-1-1, Palm Beach Pirates 1-1-1; New York Thunderdogs 1-2, DC Metro Royals 1-2, POOL WINNER---Columbia Curve TOURNAMENT NOTES--- Jason Plocek of the Palm Beach Pirates fired a no hitter as the Pirates shut out the Columbia (TN) Curve 7-0 in the 18A semifinals on Sunday. Lee Doloff hurled a one-hit shutout as Culver City USA whitewashed the Chicago River Bandits 10-0 in the other 18A semifinal. Wilson Ciprian, Gustavo Lopez and Jose Acuna threw a combined 1-hit shutout in the Caribbean Tigres' 13-0 championship win over the Fordham (NY) Red Sox. The two division championships extended the Palm Beach League's record of at least one division title in each of the tournament's six years. The league now has won eight Citrus Classic division titles.