Palm Springs I

So Cal ASA - Class B - Palm Springs, CA - March 25-26, 2006

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASA ALLIANCE TOURNAMENT SERIES

Panteras Win Five in a Row Enroute to Palm Springs I Title

[PALM SPRINGS, CA - 03/25/06] -

After dropping their first two round robin games on Saturday, Fernie Ramirez's Panteras squad reeled off five consecutive wins, including three in Sunday's single elimination bracket play, to capture the first So Cal ASA "A/B" league weekend tournament title of the 2006 season. The Panteras saved their best for last, posting a convincing 13-3 run-rule victory over Rude-Pac in the championship game. Along the way, the Panteras knocked off two teams in Sledgehammer's California Top 10, # 6 Savala Rounders and # 9 Rude Pac, the latter twice, making a strong case for inclusion in the next set of rankings.

Panteras starter Bobby Lara went the distance for the win, after Jesse Duncan pitched the squad to a 6-2 semi-final win over the Black Sox to get the Panteras into the final. If you were looking for a player of the game (and day), it might well be Anthony Rocha, the power hitting shortstop for the team. Rocha hit a key home run against the Black Sox in the semi-finals, then homered and doubled in the same inning (the 10 run fifth), driving in 3 runs in the championship game. Eli Salazar nearly matched him, also homering in the semi-final win over the Sox, and hitting a triple and single in the championship game, and driving in 3 runs.

In round robin play on Saturday, the Panteras lost a pair of one run ballgames, by identical 4-3 scores, to the Black Sox and the Young Bucks. By the time their third game of the day rolled around, a 4pm matchup with the tournament's top ranked team, the # 6 Savala Rounder, things weren't looking too good for the Panteras. But a 7-3 win over the Rounders, followed by a 6-4 win against Rude Pac put them back in the hunt for a decent seed for Single Elimination Sunday. As fortune would have it, 5 of the 7 teams wound up with 2-2 records, and the Panteras runs allowed/run scored formula gave them the # 3 seed.

Championship Game Scoring Recap:

Rude Pac First: Rude Pac third baseman, batting in the 3 spot, put his team on top in the bottom of the first inning with a two run homer. (Score: 2-0, Rude Pac)

Rude Pac Third: Left fielder George Colon, batting in the 9 spot, got things started in the bottom of the third with a single to left. Leadoff hitter Scott Pulsifer got the bunt down, but was called out when the throw from catcher Mike Manliguis hit him on the shoulder, when running outside of the runner's box. With one out, 2-hitter Mark Barstead singled to left, with Colon going to third when the throw came in off the mark. Ruben Lopez struck out, but reached on a dropped third strike. Colon alertly came home to score, with the throw back to the plate coming in too late to get him. (Score: 3-0, Rude Pac)

Panteras Fourth: The Panteras finally got on the board in the fourth, rallying to tie the game at 3. Cleanup hitter Jimmy Buentello led off the inning with a single to right, and scored on an RBI single by Tony Beeson. Eli Salazar reached on a dropped third strike, and advanced to third on Raul Ramirez. Mike Manliguis drove home the tying run on an infield single to deep short. (Score: 3-3 tie)

Panteras Fifth: The inning started innocently enough, with the score tied at 3. Anthony Rocha hit an inside the park homer to right center, sliding in safely, just ahead the throw. After taking the 4-3 lead, the Panteras never looked back, scoring 10 runs in the inning, on 9 hits. Following the Rocha home run, Jesse Duncan tripled to right, Jimmy Buentello singled to center, Ron Rupp reached on an error at second base, Tony Beeson tripled to deep left field, Eli Salazar doubled to right. Raul Ramirez flied to left for the first out, but Trino Ramirez singled to left, Mike Manliguis reached on an error by the first baseman, Keith Barker flied to left for the second out, bringing Rocha to the plate for the second time in the inning. Rocha stroked a double to center, driving in two more, following by an RBI single to right by Jesse Duncan, followed by a triple to deep right center by Jimmy Buentello, driving in the 9th and 10th runs of the inning, before Rupp grounded out to short for the third out. (Score: Panteras 13, Rude-Pac 3)

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