The NorCal Titans 9U and 10U Titans team, comprised of players from East County, have racked up seven championships and two runner-up finishes in their first three months of play. The 10U Titans recently won their four straight championship at a tournament played in Sunnyvale.

The 10U Titans captured their first championship of the season in March at the St. Patrick’s Day Slam at Twin Creeks in Sunnyvale. Coached by Abel Ordaz, Ron Rivers, Mark Maday and Curtis Cunningham, the Titans dominated outscored their opponents 67-20, led by the hitting of Cody Maday, Carlos Rodriguez, Ryan Mucher and Kevin Lonergan. Ronnie Rivers, Joseph Fitzpatrick, Connor Cunningham and Noah Daubin led a pitching staff that stymied hitters throughout the two-day event. Cunningham, Rivers and Abel Ordaz were defensive standouts throughout the tournament, making play after play in the field.

In the championship game, the Titans played a tough River City Bandits team that posted a 5-2 first-inning lead. In what has become a Titan trademark, the team showed its resiliency by rallying for an 11-6 victory. Cunningham pitched seven innings in the tournament, allowing no hits and three earned runs while striking out 10 batters. Lonergan was named tournament MVP.

Two weeks later, the Titans won the 10U March Madness tournament at the Big League Dreams Park in Manteca. In the semi-final game, the Titans were down 11-3 to the Pleasant Hill Hawks in the bottom of the sixth inning – three outs from elimination. The defiant Titans mounted a furious comeback, scoring nine runs to win 12-11 and earn a spot in the finals. The Titans put together the big inning with four walks, a couple of errors, and hits by Rivers, Fitzpatrick, Lonergan and Mucher. Fitzpatrick delivered the game-winning, bases-loaded hit to score Makoa Copp.

There was no drama in the championship game, as the Titans jumped on the River City Bandits early and often and ran away with the convincing 20-4 victory, keyed by a 15-run third inning to force the end of the game due to the Mercy Rule. Tournament leaders at the plate were Rivers (6-10, eight runs scored, four RBI and six stolen bases), Ordaz (5-9, six runs scored and six RBI) and Maday (6-9, seven runs scored and three walks).

The month of April was also good to the Titans, who picked up their third straight championship at the Spring Brawl in Tracy, outscoring their opponents 40-11 and taking the closely contested championship against the River City Bandits. The Titans were led by the dominant pitching of Cunningham, Daubin and Fitzpatrick, who in a combined 19 innings gave up nine hits and three earned runs while striking out 22 batters. Batting leaders were Rivers (6-11, seven runs scored, three RBI and four stolen bases) and Ordaz, who hit two home runs – including a grand slam and a two-run homer – and drove in nine runs.

Last weekend the Titans invaded Sunnyvale once again for the Spring Slugfest and walked away with their fourth straight championship. They made it to the championship game with a win over the Delta Dawgs and two wins against the Brentwood Blast, including a thrilling 10-6 semifinal victory. The semifinal game went into extra innings after Rivers came in to pitch with the game tied, runners on second and third and only one out. He worked his magic, getting the Blast to pop up and strike out to end the inning.

In the seventh inning, the Titans scored four runs on hits by Rivers, Ordaz, Rodriguez and Fitzpatrick and held the Blast scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to advance to the championship game. There, the Titans kept rolling as they beat the San Ramon Slammers 13-4 to take the crown. Rivers, Ordaz, Fitzpatrick and Copp all drilled clutch RBI hits to lead the Titans at the plate, while Rivers and Daubin pitched five superb innings to shut down the Slammers. Ordaz (10-14, nine runs scored, seven RBI and four stolen bases) was named tournament MVP.

Both Titan teams are looking to continue their great success and bring home more hardware in the near future. For more information about the NorCal Titans Baseball Club, visit www.norcaltitansbaseball.com.

– Contributed by Abel Ordaz