The locale was different, the
temperatures cooler, the competition
greater and the stakes
much higher.
But the results were still the
same for the Madera Babe
Ruth 13-year-old All-Stars as
they staged a 7-3 come-frombehind
win over Arizona in
the opening game of the Pacific
Southwest Babe Ruth
Regional tournament Thursday
in Eureka.
Never in the 57-year history
of Madera Babe Ruth has a
team ever even advanced to
the regionals, so in pulling out
a win, the Madera team has
now carved another notch into
their history-making season.
This was not only unchartered
territory because of being
at the regionals, but also
becauseMadera has not had to
deal with playing from behind
with the flame-throwing Scott
Roberts on the hill.
“They were a very good hitting
team and were getting to
Scott’s fastball but (Roberts)
never got rattled at all,” said
Madera coach Andy Gutierrez.
“And the coaches just
kept pumping up the players
and reminding them like we
have all along that the team
that battles and wants to win
the most will come through.”
But there was never a doubt
that Gutierrez would hand the
ball to his ace lefthander
Roberts, who has racked up 16
wins without a defeat on the
season.
And while Roberts was tested
more than he has been the
entire season, scattering 10
hits with three strikeouts, he
nonetheless walked off the
mound after seven innings
with the win to notch his 17th
win of the season without a
loss.
Roberts aided his own cause
going 2-for-4 from the plate
with an RBI whileWillie Cappelluti
went 2-for-4 with a
two-run double.
With its prolific offense,
Madera is not accustomed to
having to mount a come-frombehind
attack, but when Arizona
parlayed three hits into
three runs in the top of the first
inning, the pressure was clearly
on.
Madera got two runs back in
the bottom of the third as Sal
Martinez and Isaac Garcia got
back-to-back one-out singles
and advanced to second and
third on a wild pitch. Joseph
Mendrin then drew a walk to
load the bases before Roberts
came through with an RBI single
to put Madera on the
board.
“Even when we got down
early, we knew there was a lot
of game left,” Gutierrez said. “And when you have a kid
like Isaac (Garcia), you are
never out of a game. He has
great speed and great instincts
on the bases. When he’s on,
he’s going to go.”
Then with Roberts shutting
down the insurgents fromArizona
in the fourth, theMadera
offense got a much-needed
jumpstart in the bottom of the
fifth from speedster and leadoff
hitter Garcia who drew a
walk and promptly stole second
and third. Mendrin followed
by a run-scoring single.
Roberts added a single while
Donovan Bertoncini drew a
walk and Adriano Coronado
reached on an error to push a
run across.
The hit of the game came
next when Willie Cappelluti
hammered a two-run double
to stake Madera to a 5-3 lead.
“Willie had a tremendous
game defensively for us,”
Gutierrez said. “And he came
through with the big hit when
we needed it, breaking the tie
and giving us a two-run lead.”
Madera added to its lead in
the bottom of the sixth as Garcia
again drew a walk and
stole second,Mendrin walked
and Bertoncini reached on a
fielder’s choice to load the
bases. With Coronado at the
plate, a balk pushed another
run across before the final run
scored on an error.
Madera will face Alameda,
the Northern California champions
today at 4 p.m.
