Vaquero 10-11 baseball eliminated from Section 2 tourney by Pasadena American

Four unearned runs off one two-out error in the top of the first inning loomed large for Vaquero, as the early deficit was too much to overcome despite homers from Ray Cejudo and Michael Lemus, as the District 16 champions were eliminated from the Section 2 Tournament by Pasadena American with a 6-4 loss on Saturday afternoon at West Lancaster Little League.

“I’m proud of our boys,” said Vaquero Manager Trish Valenzuela-Wible. “To make it this far is a big deal for our league.”

The District 16 champions opened up with a stifling 21-1 loss to Quartz Hill on Friday and, though they lost on Saturday evening and were eliminated, it was a far better effort to go out on Valenzuela-Wible said.

With two outs in the first on Saturday, though, disaster struck early for Vaquero.

A dropped third strike and ensuing errant throw to first allowed a pair of runs to score and then two more followed before the side was retired.

“It’s all one error,” Valenzuela-Wible said.

Vaquero cut the deficit to 4-1 in the bottom of the third with Cejudo’s solo dinger.

For the most part, though, Vaquero’s offense was sparse early.

“We didn’t bring out bats in the first two innings,” Valenzuela-Wible said.

Pasadena added two more runs in going up, 6-4, before Vaquero made one last push.

In the bottom of the fifth, with two runners on, Lemus did his best to pull the Glendale squad back into the game with a three-run roundtripper, but it wasn’t quite enough.

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Follow Grant Gordon on Twitter: @TCNGrantGordon.