Little League: San Ramon 12s win Section 3 Tournament

San Ramon 7, Tracy National 3

The Star: Tiegen Bagnall, who delivered a two-out, two-run single in the top of the fifth that gave San Ramon a 6-3 lead.

The Turning Point: A four-run first inning, in which San Ramon sent eight batters to the plate set the tone.

The Quote: "This hasn't settled in yet," San Ramon coach Dave Jew said "No one expected this."

What's next? San Ramon advances to the NorCal Division II Tournament in Vacaville beginning Sunday.

Bottom Line: San Ramon was clearly the best team in the five-team, double-elimination Section 3 Tournament. It outscored four opponents to the tune of 40-10.

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Big hits and lots of runs have been the keys to San Ramon Little League's run in the 12-year-old All Star Section 3 Championships at Gomes Elementary School in Fremont.

On Wednesday, in the championship game against Tracy National, San Ramon got a stout defensive effort, a key hit from a reserve and a four-run first inning to help lead to a 7-3 victory.

"Before we've hit it well, today we picked it well," San Ramon coach Dave Jew said.

San Ramon shortstop Tommy Jew played stellar defense, especially in a crucial bottom of the fourth inning. With one out and a runner on second base, he fielded a grounder and quickly tossed it to third to cut off the runner for the second out.

Two batters later and with the bases loaded, Jew made a diving stop to his right on a sharply hit ball. He snagged the grounder, got to his knees and threw to second baseman Rocky Moore for the third out of the inning to help preserve a 4-2 lead.

In the top of the fifth, San Ramon added a couple of key runs. With two outs, Jack Gerlach singled up the middle. Moore and Grant Mendoza walked to load the bases. That set the stage for Tiegen Bagnall, who delivered a two-run single up the middle which gave San Ramon some cushion with a 6-2 lead.

"I wanted to put the ball in play," Bagnall said. "I wanted to hit it somewhere."

With the win, San Ramon will represent Section 3 in the NorCal Division II Tournament. That six-team, double-elimination tournament will begin Saturday at Centennial Park in Vacaville. San Ramon has a first-round by and will begin play Sunday at 1 p.m. against the winner of Section 4 and Section 5.

"This feels really good," Bagnall said. "We get to continue our season."

The winner of the NorCal Division II Tournament will advance to the Little League Baseball Western Regional Tournament in San Bernardino Aug. 6-15.

On Wednesday, San Ramon set the tone with a four-run first inning. Michael Pangelinan hit a one-out single to left. Jakey Ackerman walked and Devin Rocha doubled to right to score Pangelinan. Matt Ramirez followed with an RBI groundout. The final two runs came off an error.

Meanwhile, on the mound, starting pitcher Rocha struggled in his 3 2/3 innings of work as he allowed two runs on four hits.

He left the game with the bases loaded in the fourth inning.

But with one pitch, relief pitcher Mendoza got a groundout on that stellar play by Jew to end the inning.

Mendoza finished it off on the mound with 2 1/3 innings pitched. He allowed one run on no hits.

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San Ramon 7, Tracy National 3

San Ramon        400 021 – 7 8 1
Tracy National  002 010 – 3 4 2

San Ramon (ab-r-h) — Jew 4-0-0, Pangelinan 4-2-3, Ackerman 3-1-0, Rocha 3-1-1, Ramirez 3-1-2, Moore 1-2-0, Gerlach 3-0-0, Gilfillan 2-0-1, Bagnall 1-0-0, Holden 3-0-0, Catsen 1-0-0. Totals 28-7-8.

Tracy National (ab-r-h) — Ramirez 3-1-1, Alvarado 2-1-0, Medina 3-0-0, Denoyer 3-0-0, Russell 2-0-0, Ramon 2-0-1, Schlotter 3-0-1, Greely 3-0-0, Case 2-1-1. Totals 23-3-4.

Pitching

San Ramon: Rocha: 3 2/3 ip, 4 h, 2 r, 2 er, 2 bb, 5k. Mendoza: 2 1/3 ip, 0 h, 1 r, 1 er, 2 bb, 1k.
Tracy National: Medina 5 ip, 7 h, 6 r, 4 er, 4 bb, 3 k. Alvarado: 1 ip, 1 h, 1 r, 0 er, 2 bb, 2 k.

Hitting

RBIs — Bagnall 2, Ramirez 2, Rocha, Alvarado, Medina. 2B — Rocha.