slideshow

Here come the Dawg days

The Delta Dawgs 13U Blue team continues its red-hot play, currently riding the crest of a three-tournament win streak. The team's most recent title, its fifth in seven tournament appearances this season, came two weeks ago at the United States Specialty Sports Association's (USSSA) Cinco de Mayo Fiesta tournament in Martinez.

With their dominant play this season, the Dawgs' have earned the right to compete in Northern California Travel Ball's season-ending Tournament of Champions this June, an honor reserved for the top eight 10-14U teams. The Dawgs also received an invitation to enter the USSSA Western World Series, which will be held in Chino Hills later this summer.

Success doesn't happen by accident, Dawgs coach Bert Gough said to his team. It is the result of hard work and maximum effort. I am proud of their team-first attitudes: we have 11 MVPs willing to put others before themselves. That's why they are champions.

The Dawgs are 13-0 over the course of their recent three-tournament tear, and have amassed an impressive 24-4-1 record on the season, including wins in 22 of their final 24 games. Over that same stretch, the Dawgs have outscored their opponents by a 5-to-1 ratio, and have moved into the No. 8 position in the USSSA's Northern and Central California Majors division rankings, knocking off three top-10 teams along the way.

We have a long a season to go, and there is still plenty of work to do, said Dawgs coach Sean Halter. After each of our hard workouts in practice, we've always stressed the value of hard work to our players and that we cannot be complacent or rest on our laurels.

The next obstacle in the path of the Dawg juggernaut is the Baseball Players Association (BPA) Western Regional Championships, which will be held in Redding over this Memorial Day weekend.

The Dawgs 13U players are Justin David, Jerome Hill, Tyler Vistalli, Tyler Cox, Carlos Jauregui, Jordan Gough, coach Sean Halter, Dante Mayes, Michael Hutchings, Michael Allen, Austin Halter, Travis Volpe, and coaches Bert Gough and John David.

Blast off in Stockton

Last month the Brentwood Blast 10U baseball team treated itself to an outing at a Stockton Ports game after beginning its first season of competition 7-4-1, despite needing to play catch-up to teams that have been together significantly longer.

Blast manager and head coach Darren Chamberlain came up with the trip as a means of rewarding his team for its hard work and dedication. (The Blast didn't hold tryouts until December of '07 and didn't finalize its roster until this February, just one month prior to the beginning of the season.)

The team had a great time at the Ports game, and even took the opportunity to pose for a team photo with Ports outfielder Matt Sulentic (27) after the game.

Maniacs making noise

The East County Maniacs recently earned their first tournament title of the year, taking home the hardware at the Miken Invitational.

The championship performance comes on the heels of a second- and a third-place finish at a pair of mid-April tournaments. According to coach Jorge Perez, the Maniacs' success is an organic byproduct of a tremendous amount of hard work on the practice field and the execution of good, fundamental baseball come tournament time.

After finishing second at the USSSA AthruZ tournament in Elk Grove, the Maniacs' second runner-up finish of the season, the players knew it was only a matter of time before they put it all together and claimed a title.

We get better every practice. The boys work hard to get better and we are seeing the results, Perez said after the second-place finish at Elk Grove. It's only a matter of time until you see the Maniacs with their well deserved first-place trophy.

According to Perez, the tournament win was made all the sweeter by the level of competition the team beat to get there. He said the team doesn't hand pick which tournaments it enters based on its chances of winning, but rather seeks out the best competition available, striving to continuously elevate its play to higher levels.

We play who ever we draw. If the wins come, great. But if we fall short playing good baseball, that's great too, said Perez.

The East County Maniacs are Justin Sisneros, Nick Perez, Robbie Brunham, Kevin Petrangelo, Johnny Doherty, Derian Goins, Tyler Bergen, Oscar Moreno, Blaine Franke, Cody Luther, and coaches Jorge Perez, Mike Petrangelo and Rick Sisneros.