Alameda Babe Ruth 14s All-Stars Defeat Washington Manor, 10-3

SAN LEANDRO, CA—In a first-round Babe Ruth District 4 all-star game, the Alameda 14-year-old all-stars (the Alameda 14s) soundly defeated their Washington Manor (San Leandro) counterparts 10-3 on a sunny afternoon in San Leandro.

The defensive key to victory for the Alameda 14s was solid pitching from starter Matt Esparza (who got the win), middle reliever Vincent Republicano and closer Dominic Taylor. Combined, the three hurlers gave up only three hits and struck out six. Taylor was especially dominant in the seventh inning, throwing 100 percent strikes in his 1-2-3 inning to end the game.

Offensively, Alameda scoring bursts in the third inning (seven runs) and the seventh inning (three runs) put this game away. The Alameda offense generated 12 hits and 10 walks. Their main offensive producers were clean-up hitter Nick Solis (three hits, two RBIs), Bronson Lee (three hits, two stolen bases, one RBI), Esparza (two hits, two RBIs), Daniel Ratto (one hit, one walk, two RBIs, two runs scored), Anthony Riley (four walks, two runs scored), Alex Vick (three walks, a hit, two stolen bases, one run scored) and Andrew Leung (two walks, and a run scored).

Alameda leadoff hitter Mitchell Nakahara also had a hit and two perfect sacrifice bunts that put runners in scoring position in the key third and seventh inning rallies, and Kenyon Ebert contributed a sacrifice fly to the third inning scoring burst.

In this round-robin, double elimination tournament, these two teams will square off again Thursday, June 28 at 7:30 p.m. in San Leandro.