SGV falls in final to host
GLENDALE — Things began poorly for the San Gabriel Valley 16-18 Babe Ruth All-Stars and the auspicious start led to a disappointing ending.
Such was the tale on Tuesday evening in Watsonville and it was a likely synopsis of the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament as a whole for SGV, a team coached by Crescenta Valley High Coach Phil Torres with a roster that includes a handful of Falcons players.
The end came with a 10-2 loss to host Watsonville in the tournament final.
Having lost to Watsonville in the first game of the tournament, SGV was hoping to force an if-necessary title game, but it never came to that, as the host squad jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first via three SGV errors and two hit batsmen.
“They hit the ball and we made a mistake here or there and they capitalized on it,” Torres said. “Then it was kinda uphill after that.”
Torres’ squad was the defending champion, having advanced past the regional into the Babe Ruth World Series last summer.
After a 5-3 defeat against Watsonville on Friday, though, SGV was forced to fight with its back against the wall to avoid elimination. Alas, they worked their way into the title game, but the SGV All-Stars’ summer ended there.
“[When] you travel this far with kids who’ve only been together a week, [it means] the kids did well,” Torres said.
San Gabriel’s Troy Mulcahey walked and was later singled in by Nate Rousey, as the two current CV players combined to cut the lead to 4-1 in the second, but that was as close as it got.
The other SGV run came when Matt Page walked and scored on a Kyle Layton double.
Page, who attends Azusa Pacific, Ryan Henley, who also plays for Azusa Pacific, and Martin Rodriguez of East Los Angeles College all received all-tournament recognition for SGV.
Along with Mulcahey and Rousey, Elliott Surrey and Cameron Silva currently play for CV and were apart of the team, as was Crescenta Valley graduate Sean Elliott, who plays at the University of Indianapolis.
“Our CV kids got great experience from this like they do every year,” Torres said.
San Gabriel, which swept through the California state tournament at Arcadia High for a second consecutive season, delivered two victories on Tuesday to advance to the title game, defeating Northern California 2-0, in its first game before thumping Central California, 9-1, in the nightcap.