ECYB summer Select teams continue to play great baseball and advance in the Pony World Series Tournament. We are incredibly proud of these players and coaches as they work together to face some of the best teams in northern California.
The 12u Bronco team started in Vacaville, coming in as runner-up in the District and Sectional rounds. They then headed off to Bel Passi, near Modesto, to face off against seven other teams in the Regional round. The 12u Gauchos defeated Bel Passi 8-6 on the 4th of July, only to fall just short two days later against Rocklin, 6-5.
However, in the losers bracket, the Gauchos bounced back, defeating North Highlands and Roseville on successive days, 11-2 and 13-1 respectively. That set up a rematch against Rocklin, and in a back-and-forth battle, El Cerrito fell just short 12-8. Their 3rd place finish, however, was good enough for them to advance to the Super Regionals in Seaside starting tonight, 7/13.
The 14u Rampage rolled through the Sectional round in Vacaville, going 5-0 and handily defeating their opponents. They returned to Vacaville for the Regionals. In their first game, they drew a tough travel team from Ceres. Despite keeping the game close through 5 innings, the Rampage ended up falling 11-0. However, they then stormed through the loser's bracket, winning their next four games by a combined score of 49-5. That set up a rematch with Ceres in the championship. Being a double-elimination tournament, the Rampage would have to beat Ceres twice in order to win the bracket.
In the first game, the Rampage took and early lead, and the teams went back and forth. Tied at 3 after seven innings, the two teams went to extra innings, where the Rampage scored 3 runs to win 6-3, forcing a rematch. In the second game, the Ceres team took an early 4-0 lead, but the Rampage clawed back to tie the game at 4. Both teams had chances to take the lead, but in the end, Ceres managed to drive in one last run, winning 5-4. By coming in 2nd in the bracket, the Rampage advances to the Super Regionals in Mountain View/Los Altos, starting on 7/25.
As these two teams continue on, you can follow both teams on the GameChanger app (or gc.com). Stay tuned for another update in the weeks to come.
Go ECYB!