EMERSON,
Ga. – The So Cal National Travel Team (NTT) are well aware of the
powerhouse programs that have been dominating at Perfect Game events
as of late, but that doesn’t affect their confidence coming into
the 2015 14u WWBA National Championship.
The
643s, East Cobb teams, and Team Elites of these tournaments usually
run amuck against the competition, but this travel team originating
from June Lake, Calif., is ready to show everyone what they’re
about; and what they’re about is winning games. It’s that simple,
they won’t dazzle you with showmanship or dug out antics, but they
will play the game with a strong emphasis on fundamentals.
Catcher
Daryl Ruiz feels like his team is no-nonsense, and when it comes to
playing the game of baseball, winning is the only thing on their
minds.
“There
isn’t anything that is going to stand out when you look at us;
we’re just a group of ballplayers trying to win games,” Ruiz said
with a glimmer of confidence. “Each time we step on the field, we
know that we are capable to go out there and get a W against anyone
in the country.”
This
roster is comprised of kids from all four corners of the United
States, including kids from Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, and of course,
California. From coast-to-coast, So Cal NTT scours country for kids
who are not only talented, but have good character.
The
main goal of this program that Scott Luke founded in 2005 is to
develop his ballplayers in order for them to achieve their own
baseball aspirations. With that in mind, when these players commit to
the idea of bettering themselves day in and day out, the wins come
along with the process. They are hoping that their hard work will pay
off this tournament, as they got underway with pool play against
Knights Baseball National.
Their
first game started off a little bit slow, but eventually So Cal got
on the board in the third inning with the help of their speed. SoC al
put the ball on the ground a lot, which is a good strategy due to the
pressure it puts on the opposing defense to make plays. Keeping the
ball out of the air allows them to use their speed to manufacture
base hits and put runners on. The only problem with putting runners
on is actually bringing them in to score; which is something that So
Cal had trouble with today, seeing as though they left runners on
base in multiple innings.
The
game stayed very close until the bottom of the fourth inning. The
Knights woke up their bats and tagged So Cal's starter, Noah
Matsumoto, for five runs off of a string of base hits. Aside from the
base hits, the Knights also received a little bit of help from the So
Cal defense. So Cal committed four errors, and the Knights took
advantage.
A
lot of credit can be given to the Knights for their hitting
performance; they made So Cal pay whenever their pitchers missed
their spots and had a lot of deep drives to the outfield when they
found a pitch they could hit.
The
game would get out of hand, and the Knights cruised to a 9-1 win.
However, So Cal NTT was able to come up with five hits, and
considering that none of their players had more than one hit, they
were lacking that breakout performance by one of their players that
could have carried them to a win.
Daryl
Ruiz did what he could to help his team win today from the batter’s
box and behind the plate. Ruiz had one base hit and threw a couple of
runners out trying to steal, but his efforts were not enough. Head
Coach Scott Luke knows that his team is capable of more, and expects
them to settle in after this game.
“We
have guys from eight different states, and some of them have played
with us before, and some haven’t,” said Coach Luke. “It takes
some settling in to teach them how to play the game the right way.
Everybody plays the game a little different but we try to mold them
to compete at a high level as quickly as we can.
“In
today’s game, we played a really good program. The Knights are one
of the better teams in our pool, so give them credit for coming out
here and playing good baseball.”
Moving
forward, So Cal knows that they have to clean up their defense if
they want to improve. In these tournaments, there is very little
margin for error and having coached multiple championship So Cal
teams in the past, Coach Luke is well aware of that. So Cal has the
talent to bounce back from this first lost, but they will have to
rely on their mental strength to make the changes they need to come
out tomorrow and win.
It
is a long round of pool play, and there will be six wild card spots
in this year’s 14u WWBA National Championship, so the playoff hopes
for the So Cal NTT are still alive.
“Today
we got some bunts down early but errors, base running mistakes, and
wild pitching put this game out of reach pretty fast,” said Coach
Luke. “Some of these guys just got here from California last night,
and for some it is day one of the summer baseball season. These guys
just need to settle in. The reason we come here at 14 is to get
comfortable with this environment and prepare them for the older age
group tournaments. I want them to compete and want them to win, but
that’s not always possible.
“We’ve
dug ourselves a hole today, but we’ll see how the rest of the
tournament plays out. Our team moniker is to be gritty and battle to
the end, and these guys are going to have to do that if they want to
advance out of the pool.”