San Anselmo Batters Foes in Local Tournament

The 12-and-under All-Stars were so impressive in winning the San Anselmo tournament last week, they were compared by one rival coach to Little League All-Star teams.

Following 12-2 (Albany) and 12-6 (San Francisco Little League) victories in the semifinals and finals on Sunday, SABA coach Steve Reinertsen took the comments as quite a compliment.

“It was very gratifying to hear the S.F. coach say that they played deep into the (District 3) Little League tournament and he believed that our team could hang with anyone,” Reinertsen reported. “I've coached a lot of travel baseball at this age level, and I know how strong Tiburon and Twin Cities are, so that was a real compliment.”

With powerful Riley Moore leading the way, SABA swept four consecutive games in pool play by scoring in double figures in each, then didn’t slow down a bit in dismantling Albany and San Francisco en route to the championship.

“(It was) also gratifying to see this team really come together and improve over the last month in particular. They played much better ball this week than they did in June,” Reinertsen noted. “Players and families alike had to adjust to the fact that this was an All-Star team, that basically everyone on it was a pitcher and shortstop who batted third on his regular-season team, and that something was going to have to give.  

“By the end, I think they got it.”

The SABA powerhouse was so far ahead in most games, it allowed Reinertsen and his coaching staff to substitute freely and give all the players big-time opportunities.

“Some of the players were four-time SABA All-Stars, many were three-timers, yet they'd never won this tournament until (Sunday),” Reinertsen said. “(It was a) very sweet way for them to cap their SABA careers."

It wasn’t just the SABA team that visitors to Memorial Park were raving about.

“Also (it was) very rewarding to host the tournament, to be able to share our nice setup with others,” Reinertsen said. “(The) guest teams and families (were) very appreciative, happy to get out of the fog, to come play in a beautiful setting with a fairly mellow and sane tournament atmosphere.”

Among the team’s individual highlights during the tournament were: Moore hitting five home runs in the four pool-play games while also leading SABA’s impressive pitching staff; Mark Steccone and Jensen Yamane contributing two-run hits to a 15-3 win over San Francisco in pool play; Kent Berry, Nik Licon and Steccone all homering in a pool-play win over Concord, a game in which SABA scored 14 runs in the first inning; Rocky Clark contributing a home run to a 10-8 pool-play win over the San Francisco Youth Baseball League entrant, with SABA closer Henrik Reinertsen stalling a sixth-inning rally to end the game; and Patrick Brown contributing a great catch in the outfield to an 11-0 win over Albany in pool play, a game that featured a home run by Owen Hamilton.

SABA 10’s

The local league’s 10-and-under All-Stars also provided some exciting moments during their participation in the San Anselmo Tournament.

Perhaps the biggest thrill came in a 7-6 win over the San Francisco Youth Baseball League team in pool play.

Down 6-3 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, SABA rallied within one run behind hits by Tyler Brown and Dom MacLean.

Then after CJ Castillo shut down San Francisco in the top of the sixth, SABA pulled out the win when Castillo singled to left field to score Colin Brown with the tying run and Logan Anderson with the game-winner.

The SABA squad finished pool play with a 2-3 record and lost out on the final spot in the single-elimination semifinals on a tie-breaker.

The tournament did finish on a positive note, however, as the SABA team ran up a 12-4 victory over the Albany Dragons on Saturday afternoon. 

Colin Brown (2-for-3) and Castillo (3-for-3) led the way at the plate, while Burke Fraser and Zev Revis scored two runs apiece. All 11 SABA players had a hit in the game and 10 scored runs. 

The San Anselmo club also got strong pitching performances from Anderson, MacLean, Castillo and Colin Brown.

"The 10's All-Star team was much improved from the start of the summer season," assessed coach Tom Brown. "The kids had a great time, improving their baseball skills and playing some very competitive baseball."

The 10's tournament was won by the Albany Little League team.