Sports
Babe Ruth: Dronkers' Dominant Outing Wins Tri-Valley 14s NorCal Title
Tri-Valley from edges out Woodland 3-0 to claim second NorCal title for the league in as many days.
Tri-Valley 3, Woodland 0
Records: Tri-Valley (4-0), Woodland (3-2)
The Star: Jake Dronkers was a workhorse on the mound, pitching a complete game and allowing only one hit through five innings. Dronkers also fought back after allowing runners into scoring position in the sixth and seventh innings.
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The Turning Point: Woodland failed to capitalize on Dronkers' mistakes in late innings, when he gave up four of the five hits he allowed all day.
The Quote: "I think he had 70 percent first-pitch strikes, he had his curveball working. His fastball was as good as anybody's and he kept the ball pretty low. He's a pitcher, not a thrower and that makes a big difference," Tri-Valley manager Paul Pluschkell said.
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Who's Next? Tri-Valley advances to the Pacific Southwest Regional in Surprise, Ariz. starting Aug. 3.
The Bottom Line: The 14-year-old Babe Ruth All Stars brought Tri-Valley its second Northern California championship in as many days.
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Jake Dronkers was among many Tri-Valley players playing and feeling the effects of the 95 degree heat in Woodland Friday afternoon.
But he was dishing heat out as well, as the Tri-Valley starting pitcher tossed a complete-game shutout to lead his team to the Northern California 14-year-old Babe Ruth Championship 3-0 against Woodland.
"I think he had 70 percent first-pitch strikes, he had his curveball working. His fastball was as good as anybody's and he kept the ball pretty low," Tri-Valley manager Paul Pluschkell said. "He's a pitcher, not a thrower and that makes a big difference."
Dronkers ran into trouble in the sixth and seventh innings. Woodland got a two-out rally going in the sixth, putting two runners in scoring position, but Andy Snow grounded out to end the first threat.
"I was just going out there and trying to get one for the team, trying to get us lots of strikes," said Dronkers.
Woodland also got a runner on third in the seventh, but Tri-Valley first baseman Casey Soltis made a leaping catch on a looper by Marcus Zidles that ended the game.
"I stopped throwing first-pitch strikes," Dronkers said. "I was missing a little bit, but I got back into the groove and I had great defense behind me. It was just a great team win."
Pluschkell noticed the great glove work on the diamond by his team.
"They played great defense behind him," Pluschkell said. "Our motto is pitch for contact. He executed all day and they had trouble all day seeing him, just a great job."
Tri-Valley scored in the second, fifth and sixth innings. Shawn Vincent's double in the second drove in Noah Robbins, who walked to start the inning, for an early 1-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, Davis Gomez scored on an errant throw to first by Woodland shortstop Snow and Dronkers scored on Gomez's single in the sixth to account for Tri-Valley's offense.
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Tri-Valley 3, Woodland 0
Tri-Valley 010 011 0 — 3 9 0
Woodland 000 000 0 — 0 5 2
Tri-Valley — Sprugasci 2-0-1, Soltis 3-0-1, Jackson 2-0-0, Donkers 4-1-2, Anderson 3-0-0, Robbins 2-1-1, Vincent 3-0-2, Pluschkell 1-0-0, Gomez 1-1-1, Santos 2-0-1, Franco 1-0-0. Totals 24-3-9.
Woodland — Devin 3-0-2, Snow 3-0-0, Galindo 3-0-1, Gonzalez 3-0-1, Arnold 3-0-0, Young 2-0-0, Zidles 1-0-0, Lopes 1-0-0, Cody Smith 1-0-0, Medina 1-0-0, Chase Smith 1-0-1, Ayala 1-0-0, Frank 1-0-0. Totals 24-0-5.
Pitching
Tri-Valley — Donkers 7 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 7 K, 0 BB.
Woodland — Ayala 5 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 K, 3 BB; Frank 2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 0 K, 1 BB.
Hitting
