Beaumont Shetland All-Stars are District Champs!

TOP: Coach Jason Polanco, Manager Alex Ojeda, Coach Craig Johnson, Coach Joe De La Torre
MIDDLE: Aaron Saucedo, Aiden Polanco, Christopher Bacarella, Landon De La Torre, Emanuel Vega
BOTTOM: Kamari Horsman, Garrett Streeter, Joey Monte, Nathan Ondatje, Tyler Herrera, Andrew Johnson, Alex Ojeda
Not Pictured: Eithan Figueroa

The soaring triple-digit temperatures weren’t the only thing ablaze this weekend in Palm Springs, CA. The bats of the six year old Beaumont Shetland All-Stars were absolutely on fire as well. The Southeast District Championship game took place on Monday night under the lights at the end of the hottest day on record since 1929. The Beaumont All-Stars were also making some history of their own. Being only the 2nd All-Star team ever to be sent in this division expectations weren’t incredibly high. The league had previously decided not to send a team for this age bracket moving forward. That was until manager Alex Ojeda approached Beaumont Youth Baseball to "give these boys a shot”. The league agreed on a trial basis. Ojeda along with his coaching staff got to work hand selecting the top 13 players in all of the division. With minimal time to practice as a team and learn a whole new set of rules for tournament play a “Cinderella Story” began. The championship game versus French Valley was as good as it gets. Tied 15-15 going into the 5th and final inning the Beaumont defense held their opponent to just 2 runs. The Beaumont bats went to work once again scoring 3 runs to win in walk-off fashion. After an ice bath from the parents an emotional Ojeda thanked BYB director Dodie Carlson for “giving these kids the opportunity to win”. Carlson watched the celebration with a proud smile. Regional tournament play begins 4th of July weekend.