Back from sectionals tournament in San Antonio, Tx.
The Eagle Pass American 12U All-Stars are back from a successful sectionals tournament in San Antonio, Texas where they faced some strong competition.
The team quickly racked up wins in the first days of tounrmanet play, first in a 16 to 2 victory against Fredericksburg with an outstanding pitching performance once more by Juan Jesus Garza. Garza struck out 8 Fredericksburg batters with Zack Zapata assisting behind the plate. Relieving pitchers Omar Salazar, Eddie Sepulveda & Aaron Trevizo all did a great job closing this victory.
Homeruns were batted in by Zack Zapata, Aaron Trevizo with a Grandslam and Eddie Sepulveda who hit two homeruns during this same game.
On Friday July, 8 Eagle Pass American All-Stars beat Pearsall 6-1 in their second win of the tournament. Pitcher Omar Salazar struck out 7 Pearsall batters along with relieving pitchers Eddie Sepulveda and Aaron Trevizo combined striking out 8 other batters to assist in the win. Hot hitter Omar Salazar hit not only one but two homeruns once again. The first homerun was at the bottom of the 2nd inning with Roli Jimenez on base after Roli had just hit a double into the right center gap. Salazar and Roli put Eagle Pass up 2 to 0. In the bottom of the 4th inning Manuel Melchor hit a hard shot for a single, Jesus "Chuy" Rodriguez laid a bunt down the 3rd base line and Roli Jimenez got walked to have bases loaded with Omar Salazar on deck. Salazar had a full count when he hit a Grandslam to assist in winning with a final score of 6 to 1. A solid defensive lineup included 1st base- Fabian Velasquez and Diego Valenzuela, Short Stop-Eddie Sepulveda, 3rd base-Aaron Trevizo and 2nd base-Jarod Romero and Chuy Rodriguez along with Outfielders-Juan Jesus Garza, Manuel Melchor and Andy Flores.
Head coach Eddie Sepulveda credits the win to their outstanding defensive stand that advanced them to next game against McCalister.
After a hard fought five innings and a 4-1 lead Eagle Pass 12u All-Stars fell short in beating McCalister when Fabian Velasquez came to his final pitch count at the bottom of the 5th inning and only 3 outs left in the game. Eagle Pass All-Star relief pitchers tried to keep the lead but the bats for McCalister woke up just in time for them to take the W. It made for an exciting game that came very close to being ours!!
On Sunday July, 10 after the heart breaking defeat against McCalister, the team faced another great ball club from San Angelo, Texas who still had all their pitching staff available to them. Juan Jesus Garza once more struck out 5 San Angelo batters and Eddie Sepulveda another 7.
Both Garza and Sepulveda had a combined strike out total of 12 batters. Manuel Melchor took advantage of his second spot in the lineup and hit a wall rattling double in the right center gap. Diego Valenzuela hit a shot for a single and Eddie Sepulveda another single to bring in Melchor for the first run of the game. Both Zack Zapata and Aaron Trevizo along with Jarod Romero, Chuy Rodriguez and Fabian Velasquez had hits throughout the 2nd through the 4th innings. Runs were hard to come by until the top of the 5th inning when once again, Alan Rolando Jimenez hit a laser like solo homerun over the center field fence to score the 2nd run of the game. San Angelo came out on top and put an end to Eagle Pass’ run for an attempt at the sectional championship.
“Every single player on this 12U Roster played their hearts out throughout this journey. It was a heart breaking defeat against one of San Antonio's Power House teams (McCalister), especially knowing that we were 3 outs away from victory” said coach Sepulveda about his team’s efforts.
“Something we do know, this experience; this whole journey for the boys is one that they will never forget. It will live forever in their humble hearts for they are growing young men who have chosen to seek wisdom through their failure in hope that they may strengthen the possibility for future success. We thank the Lord for allowing these young men to have lived this experience that will make them better persons as a whole” stated Sepulveda.
Sectionals Roster:
1.)Rolando Alan Jimenez #23
2.)Juan Jesus Garza #8
3.)Omar Salazar #16
4.)Andy Flores #24
5.)Jesus "Chuy" Rodriguez #5
6.)Zack Zapata #34
7.)Aaron Trevizo #42
8.)Diego Valenzuela #13
9.)Manuel Melchor #6
10.)Jarod Romero #22
11.)Eddie Sepulveda #28
12.)Guillermo Fabian Velasquez #27
Head Coach- Eddie Sepulveda
Assistants: Andy Flores & Ricardo Vera