The 11U Delta Dawgs Fall Ball team rang in the Veterans Day holiday in style, capturing the Nation’s Baseball Freedom Bowl Championship in Tracy. The Dawgs dominated Stockton’s Western Ranch All Stars in their tournament opener, 11-1.

Backed by the dominant pitching of Isaac Buchanan and Nick Liechty, the Dawgs bats opened up on all cylinders, with two hits from Maximus Cappello and two doubles and two RBIs from RJ Jackson.

In the Saturday nightcap, the Dawgs battled friendly cross-town rival Elite Baseball to a 9-9 tie. Trailing 9-7 in the final inning, the Dawgs showed their fangs with Keanu Menganhauser leading off the frame with a lightning bolt of a triple. Noah Cleland then brought Keanu home with a perfectly placed bunt single down the third base line. Nick Liechty and Blaine Robbins then followed up with consecutive singles to tie the game.

On championship Sunday, the Dawgs and Elite Baseball met in a nail-biting rematch. Keanu Menganhauser paced the offense with a two-run single in the first.

Crafty Wood kept Elite off balance for four innings with his nasty spinners. With the game on the line in the final inning, Dawgs closer, Maximus Cappello entered the game with the tying and winning runs on base and nobody Out. Used to these pressure cooker situations that his dad throws him in, Cappello promptly retired three consecutive batters on a total of seven pitches, nailing down the save and helping push the Dawgs in to the championship game.

In the title game, aided by the return of Blaine Robbins and Peyton Cleland (who had been playing in yet another championship game earlier in the day, one of the pigskin kind), the Dawgs bats opened things up with their fire power on full display.

The 1-2 lead-off punch of Nick Liechty and Robbins did their thing, getting on base, allowing Cappello to knock in the first run. Jeffrey Wexler then roped another single, knocking in two more runs. Not to be shown up, young RJ Jackson flexed his muscle with an opposite field bomb – a two-run home run.

By the time the first inning was over, the Dawgs has tallied a whopping 11 runs. With pitcher Isaac Buchanan in his typical, fine form, the Dawgs were well on their way to bringing home their first title. With the Dawgs tacking on five more runs and Buchanan facing just two hitters over the minimum, the umpires raised the white flag and halted the game due to the mercy rule with the Dawgs dominating the Stockton All-Stars 16-1.

The Dawgs make something very clear to all: this team, assembled less than two months earlier, was learning how to play together and the sky is the limit for these outstanding boys.

– Contributed by James Cappello