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Attack 12U Red Schedule

Posted by Jim Quilici on Sep 02 2013 at 05:00PM PDT

12URedTwinCreeks12U Red Tournament Schedule: 

September 7 & 8 - Twin Creeks
September 21 & 22 - Manteca
October 5 & 6 - Concord
October 26 & 27 - Tracy
November 9 & 10 - Fremont
November 16 & 17 - Fremont

A GREAT SEASON CLOSES IN FREMONT - 11/16 & 11/17

In Saturday's first game at Walters Junior High, the South Bay Crushers trotted out a much harder thrower than 12U Red had seen when the teams met in September.  After a scoreless first, Dallas Rider opened the second with a walk and was doubled to third by Tristan Good.  Joe Depinna bounced a single into right for two runs, then was driven in by Joe Gibbons's line-drive double to center.  Gibbons later scored on a passed ball to take a 4-0 lead.  In the fourth, Gibbons singled in another run, as did Darren Taira behind him.  Jackson Saulovich completed the 8-0 win by doubling in Ari Chertock.  Gibbons and Depinna combined to allow only three hits and no walks, striking out six in shutting out the Crushers.

The beat continued into the second game of the day vs. the Bandits.  The Bandits stranded a runner on third when first baseman Bubba Seelenbacher made the play of the year, rumblin', stumblin' and bumblin' into foul territory to snare a foul pop-up on his knees.  In the home half, it was Good again doubling to left, followed by a walk for KW Quilici.  With two out, Saulovich, Depinna, and Gibbons all stroked RBI hits, making the score 5-0.  In the second, Joe Boyden singled to lead off and with two out, the floodgates opened.  Chertock hammered a double to center, Good walked, Quilici singled in a run, Rider belted a two-run double, and Saulovich singled home one more to make it 10-1.  Quilici and Chertock combined to hold the Bandits offense in check, while the defense made only one error the entire day.

Sunday's contest vs. the Blaze was one of the more bizarre games you'll ever see.  Facing perhaps the softest thrower they had seen all season, Red neither walked nor struck out once the entire game, but collected only six hits and was victimized by arguably the stingiest infield defense they had seen in 25 games.  In the first, Good singled and was forced at second by Quilici, who took second on a wild pickoff attempt.  Rider then singled him in to take a 1-0 lead.  In the second, the Blaze took advantage of an error, two singles, and a balk to cash in three runs and slither out to a two-run lead.  And puzzlingly, that is how it ended, a 3-1 loss.  Depinna, Chertock, and the defense were brilliant, retiring the final 14 Blaze batters in a row and walking none.  The Blaze pitcher breezed through five innings on only 55 pitches, getting countless first-pitch outs.  The only batter to see more than four pitches was Seelenbacher, who lined a single to right center in the sixth, but was stranded as the curtain fell on Red's 2013 fall campaign.

SO CLOSE...AGAIN...TO A TITLE IN FREMONT - 11/9 & 11/10

Saturday's first game pitted 12U Red vs. Alameda's 12U Black team at Walters Junior Hgh in Fremont.  Some nice plays in the field and sturdy pitching by Eli Ottaviano, Seamus McGuinness, Joe Gibbons and Tristan Good kept the game scoreless after three innings.  In the fourth, however, Red would finally dent the scoreboard when KW Quilici walked, stole, and scored on Gibbons' RBI single. Gibbons and Good would eventually score as Red built a 3-0 lead.  Red put the game away in the fifth as Ari Chertock walked, Jack Saulovich and Quilici rapped RBI doubles, Good and Joe Depinna both singled, and Darren Taira bunted to load the bases.  Joe Boyden cleared the bags with a drive to deep left, Tomas Dumont singled to put runners on the corners, Chertock singled in another, and Quilici closed out the scoring with a 2-run double.  Joe Depinna retired the side on only six pitches in the final inning as Red won it 12-0.  Shout out to Sean Cook and teammate Patrick, who each banged out two hits for Black.

A lunch break only helped fuel Red's rampage at the plate in the afternoon contest vs. Bay Area Bombers.  In the first, Saulovich walked and took third on a deep double to left by Quilici.  Gibbons drove in one, then Good worked a walk to load 'em up.  Depinna and Dallas Rider each singled in a run, followed by RBI walks to Boyden and Dumont.  When the dust had settled, Red led 7-0.  Alert Red defense and poor baserunning by the Bombers minimized their lone rally in the third, after which Red 7-3.  In the bottom of the third, Quilici got all of a changeup, sending it up and out to right center to make it 8-3.  Good later singled and scored to make it 10-3.  In the fourth inning, Depinna collected his third hit of the game and scored the clinching run on Rider's laser double to left for a 11-3 time-shortened win.  

Red can beat you in many ways and Sunday's semifinal against the San Carlos Lightning was a prime example of how excellent pitching and defense can smother an opponent. In the full six innings, Gibbons, Depinna, and Chertock combined to strike out eight, walk NONE, allow only one hit, and see only one harmless error made behind them in a sparkling 7-0 shutout.  Offensively, the boys scratched for runs here and there, with Good, Depinna, Taira, and Dumont (who continued his resurgence with two RBI) reaching base twice apiece.  The fireworks were provided by Rider, however, who rifled a double in the second and led off the fourth with a laser roundtripper into the schoolyard in dead right field. 

The championship game vs. Santa Clara Rage was a tight, tense battle of which team would cash in their opportunities. In the first, Red garnered three walks but only pushed across one run, leaving the bases loaded. Rage would return the favor by coming up empty and leaving the sacks jammed in the second.  In the third, Rage strung together four straight singles and plated all four with the help of a couple of misplays in the outfield to take a 4-1 lead.  For Red, Taira was left stranded at second and Quilici left on third in subsequent innings, but in the fourth, Depinna singled, Taira bunted for a hit, and Boyden walked to load the bases.  Brimming with confidence, Dumont then smacked the first pitch he saw for a 2-run single up the middle to cut the lead to 4-3, but that's all Red would get out of the rally.  Depinna was excellent in relief, allowing only an unearned run in the final three innings and being aided by the arm of catcher Boyden, who cut down a would-be thief at third.  In the fifth, Red cut the deficit to 5-4 on consecutive singles by Good, Depinna, and Rider, but again left two runners on.  Credit the Rage closer, who saved his hardest stuff for a 1-2-3 sixth inning that sent Red to a tough 5-4 loss.  T-shirts and necklaces were still a nice haul as the sun set on a mild, blue-skied weekend in this reporter's hometown.

ANOTHER HARD-EARNED SECOND PLACE FINISH FOR 12U RED IN TRACY - 10/26 & 10/27

A nasty pre-Halloween brew of enemy baserunners put Red in a 10-1 hole after an inning and a half in Saturday's first game vs. the Tracy Bulldogs, but Red would make a game of it.  While Joe Gibbons and Ari Chertock combined to shut out the 'Dogs on 39 pitches in the final four innings, the bats got going in the bottom of the second on a leadoff double by KW Quilici. The pressuring speed of Chertock and Darren Taira turned grounders into Tracy miscues; all three runners would score to cut the deficit to 10-4.   Taira and Joe Boyden strung together hits to cut the lead to 10-5 in the fifth.  In the 6th, Dallas Rider's walk forced in a run with none out, but Red would go down to defeat 10-6 when Joe Depinna's smash to second turned into a double play and Quilici's deep drive to left was tracked down.

Another slow start to Saturday's nightcap put Red in a 4-0 hole to San Joaquin Valley, but again they would recover, this time in more dramatic fashion.  Zack Karch led off the third with a sharp double to left; Chertock doubled him home, then scored on a wild pitch.  Jackson Saulovich then ran for the "cycle" by reaching on a dropped third strike, moving up on a wild pitch and a steal, then scoring on a passed ball.   Depinna was stellar in relief, keeping the score at 5-3 heading to the bottom of the sixth.  Taira's speed killed again as he bunted his way all the way to third on a poor throw to first.  Boyden drove him in; after a couple of walks, the bases were loaded with two out for Saulovich, who lashed the first pitch he saw into left field for two clutch RBI and the walk-off win 6-5.

Red is at their best at 8am and Sunday's contest vs. Atwater was no exception.  Gibbons and Depinna were again very efficient, needing only 61 pitches to hold Atwater to a single run in five innings.  The bats went crazy; Chertock walked, singled, and tripled in the leadoff spot while Tristan Good began a monster day by homering well beyond the left fielder.  Depinna, Rider, Taira, Karch and Bubba Seelenbacher all reached and scored in the second.  Tomas Dumont began a perfect 1.000 on-base average for the day by walking and doubling.  And again, it was Saulovich with the walk-off, only this time he cranked a three-run inside-the park home-run to right center as Red won in five, 10-1.

Sunday's semifinal bore a rematch with the Bulldogs and super lefty Ari Chertock on the bump for Red.  The tables turned swiftly for Red, who exacted revenge with four runs in the first.  Good bombed a triple to drive in Saulovich, Gibbons walked, and Quilici singled in another.  RBI hits by Depinna and Rider rounded out the scoring.  The Bulldogs got two unearned runs back, but in the second, Dumont continued his winning ways with a leadoff walk, Seelenbacher singled him over, and Chertock drove him in.  Saulovich netted another on a groundout, then Good slammed a RBI double to center to take a 7-2 lead.  In the fifth, Good and Gibbons spanked consecutive doubles and Quilici singled to make it 9-2.  Dumont laced a RBI single to left in the sixth to complete the scoring. The real hero, though, was Chertock, who dominated on the mound, retiring 17 of the last 20 batters and throwing 57 of 74 pitches for strikes.  He struck out only four, scattered three more hits, and benefited from errorless defensive play in the final five frames as he went the distance in arguably Red's most complete game of the year, a 10-3 win over Tracy. Working fast and throwing strikes keeps a defense on its toes.

Alas, an unforgiving gale-force wind blew away not only half of the infield dirt but Red's chances at a championship, as they fell 11-0 in four innings to a talented, but excessively intense Danville Baseball Club team.  Trophies and dignity were still a nice haul for the runner-ups' drive home. 

12U RED BREAKS EVEN IN CONCORD - 10/5 & 10/6

An 8-run second inning propelled 12U Red to a 12-3 win over the Sonoma Valley Stack in the first game of the day on Saturday at Willow Pass Park in Concord.  Tristan Good scored three times out of the leadoff spot, Bubba Seelenbacher roped a pair of singles and scored twice, and Joe Gibbons had 4 RBI.  Gibbons and Ari Chertock walked none, throwing a mere 17 balls in the entire game. 

In the afternoon game versus the Napa Nationals, Dallas Rider launched a mammoth triple to right field and Good had three more hits.  The rest of the 9-2 defeat, however, is probably best left to the imagination. :(

A frigid Sunday morning matchup versus the Tribe (Winters, CA) kept everyone entertained as the teams stayed close throughout.  With two down in the first, Joe Depinna blooped a double off the right field line, Gibbons smashed a RBI single, and KW Quilici beat out an infield hit to plate another run.  Leading 2-1 in the second, Gibbons struck out two to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam unscathed. In the third, Quilici blasted a triple to deep left and was driven in by Jackson Saulovich's rope to right center for a 5-1 lead.  The Tribe struck for three runs on a clutch double in the bottom half, but Red would make it 6-4 in the fourth as speed bandit Darren Taira raced home all the way from second on a grounder to the pitcher(!).  Down to their last strike in the 6th, the Tribe would tie the game at 6-6, but could have gone ahead had it not been for a nice catch in deep right by Zack Karch.  In the bottom of the sixth, Joe Boyden worked his patented late-inning magic to draw a leadoff walk.  Taira then laid down a short bunt, but the Tribe catcher overthrew first by a good ten feet, sending the ball into the corner and Boyden home from first with the 7-6 victory.  

The afternoon finale pitted Red versus the Vacaville Bulldogs.  After three hard hit balls netted two runs for the Bulldogs in the first, Red answered with a run on base hits by Chertock and Depinna, and yet another RBI by Gibbons. In the third, Vacaville widened their lead to 5-1, but solid defense kept it right there.  Saulovich rapped a single through the middle in the fourth to close the gap to 5-2.  In came Chertock, who mixed speeds brilliantly to shut out the Bulldogs in the final three innings on only 25 pitches.  In the fifth, hard-luck Karch was left stranded after his second lead-off hit of the game, but in the bottom of the sixth, with props to the boys for hanging in there, Red mounted one final rally.  With one out, Gibbons fought off several off-speed pitches before lacing a triple to left.  Quilici waited out a walk.  Saulovich came through yet again with an RBI single and Boyden would walk to load the bases, but none got any further as the 5-3 defeat came to a close.

Special shout-out goes to the fine defense all weekend long at first base by Bubba Seelenbacher.  Smothering grounders, proper footwork, digging throws out of the dirt - he was a busy man who made it look easy.

Click here for past tournament write-ups: 2013 12U Red Fall Results. 

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