Youth sports: 12U San Ramon Slammers Take Second at New York Tournament

As submitted by San Ramon Slammers representatives

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The 12U Slammers played at Cooperstown Dreams Park and finished an impressive second place out of 104 teams from all over North America.  Their record was 10-1, with an amazing 38 home runs.  Each Slammers player homered at least once.

They went 6-0 in pool play against teams from Virginia, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, and Florida.  

Highlights in pool play included:

• Michael Pangelinan — two homers in game one.
• Alex Tsuruda — two homers in game two.
• Liam Steigerwald — Perfect game in game three. 
• Matthew Zahn — homer in game three.
• Tommy Jew — two homers in game four.
• Brandon Mcilwain — 4 for 4, including a home run in game four.
• John Nejedly —3 for 3 in game five.
• Riley Asbell — home run in game five.
• Ray Soderman — home run in game six.

After pool play, they were seeded 3rd out of 104 teams entering the single elimination tournament, based on their 6-0 record and only 13 runs scored against.

In the tournament bracket, their first game was against the Lakeville North Panthers from Minnesota.  Slammers won 13-2, led by Brandon Mcilwain's two home runs. That got the Slammers into the final 16.

The next opponent was a rematch against the powerful North Virginia Outlaws. Home Runs by Tommy Jew, Liam Steigerwald and John Nejedly pushed the team to an 11-6 victory.

In the quarterfinals, the Agoura Tigers from Southern Calif., was the opponent.  In an unbelievable show of offense, the Slammers emerged victorious in an 18-15 thriller.
Down 4-0 in the top of the first inning, the Slammers erupted with a 12-run, five-honer bottom of the first.  The offense was led by Tommy Jew, Trent Ruckman, Brandon Mcilwain, Michael Pangelinan, Riley Asbell, John Nejedly and Austin Tobian.  After this game, every Slammer player had hit a home run.

The semis brought the Seattle Select Purple.  Seattle jumped on top 3-0 in the top of the first with two homers.  Tommy Jew's Grand Slam Home Run gave the Slammers the lead in the bottom of the second.  Jew homered again in the third as did Steigerwald.
Brandon Mcilwain pitched a complete game to put the Slammers in the Championship game with a 9-4 victory.

The hype of the championship game included pre-game fireworks as well as a live announced broadcast on the internet.  Approximately 2,000 fans packed the Little Majors Field at Cooperstown Dreams Park which featured the Slammers vs. the Superseries National Champion Twelve Team Rawlings from College Station, Texas.

In a top notch pitcher's duel, the Slammer's Matthew Zahn and Team Rawling's Mason Thompson battled for four scoreless innings.  Zahn's curve ball was unhittable and Thompson's fastball kept the Slammer bats quiet.  A walk and a home run put Texas up 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth.  Thompson struck out the side in the top of the sixth giving Twelve Team Rawlings the championship 2-0.  Thompson struck out 15 batters to set a championship game record.  Zahn had an almost equally impressive 11 strike outs in four innings.

It was a wonderful week for the Slammers, one that will keep this team forever linked.

Championship recap

Home Run Count
Tommy Jew-7
Brandon Mcilwain-7
Michael Pangelinan-7
John Nejedly-3
Liam Steigerwald-3
Alex Tsuruda-3
Matthew Zahn-3
Riley Asbell-2
Trent Ruckman-1
Ray Soderman-1
Austin Tobian-1

Tommy Jew led the team with an amazing .710 batting average, going 22-31

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