Pacific Southwest Regional Champs

NW Bakersfield ended up winning the whole tournament. Bakersfield played Hawaii on Sunday and lost the first game 19-7 (I bet they felt almost as bad as we did losing to them 17-1)...but anyway...Hawaii had to play Bakersfield another time and beat them again to be the champs...and they came up short 5-3. To bad...I was kinda rooting for Hawaii!! Nothing against Bakersfield I just really liked those guys from Hawaii.

This is really really really my last post for anyone is reading I just thought I would put a final update.

Congratulations NW Bakersfield!!

All Smiles In The End

I love this picture. This is just 15 minutes after the game, and the boys are all smiles. They have enjoyed themselves and they love spending time together. They are friends...and that makes me smile. I tried to find all the boys after the game to take a photo...but I missed a few. I haven't mentioned in a few days how stinking hot it is in Bakersfield have I...so I gave up before I could get them all. But you get the point, the boys were fine with things in the end. They did the best they could and that's all I (we) will ever ask for. My goal is for my son to grow up and be a good man. Many of life's lessons can be learned on the field and I think that is happening with these boys. It has been a pleasure to update this blog for anyone who is reading it, I hope you have enjoyed it. I love these boys so very very much. Don't forget to click on the links to the right under photos and check out all the photos! This is it for me!! Enjoy!!

Game 4 - Day 5 Elk Grove vs. Hawaii

Elk Grove 0 - Hawaii 5

Well...this one ended it for us. The boys played their hearts out and just couldn't get the bats going. It's always a heartbreaker to have something come to and end when you come up short...but the boys have learned so much and should be very proud of themselves. I know I can speak for all of the parents when I say that we are VERY PROUD of them and all that they accomplished and how far they came.

I have a very few highlights...I guess I fell apart in the end :) Jordan had a great catch as always along with Bryant as well. Our outfielders were always where they needed to be and made the plays...great job guys. Aaron was catching and threw down to Shaq for an awesome out and the last highlight I have is also about my son...sorry I really tried to make this not just about him, but a great double play by Aaron who was pitching, it was a 1-6-3 out. It was nice. I am sure there are other things I have forgotten...sorry.

The game was a heartbreaker...and we are headed home. I am grateful for the coaches, parents, younger and older siblings, grandparents, and friends who made a trip to Bakersfield to support Elk Grove. Our boys really appreciated it. The coaches and boys have been at this for sometime and should be proud. Thank you.

Game 3 - Day 5 Elk Grove vs. Clovis

Elk Grove 9 - Clovis 3

With the bases loaded Jordan made an outstanding catch in right field to end the second inning with only 1 run scored. Zack hit a nice double with 2 rbi's bringing Aaron and Clayton home for a 2-1 lead. Peyton's single bings another run home for a 3-1 score. Bryant hit and AWESOME single which brought in 2 more runs for a score of 5-1. Jordan hit a bomb that brought Bryant home ending the inning 6-1 Elk Grove.

Peyton had a great catch at second and Clayton had an ESPN highlight moment in centerfield with an amazing catch, he ran and slide on his knees to catch...it was awesome. Mychael hit a bomb to the fence for the longest single of the game giving him 2 rbi's.

Zack and Spencer shared behind the plate and both did a great job. Aaron pitched 3 innings Jordan, Clayton and Zack also pitched everyone did a great job and with the whole team contributing to the great defense they pulled it off!! It was a great game for the boys, it was nice to come together after such a hard loss the night before and get a victory under our belts.

It's a New Day - Day 5

Today we are ready to start a new. Our first game is at 12:30 against Clovis and after we win our second game will most likely be againt Hawaii. We are pumped and ready....

GO EG!!

Laugh or Cry...The choice is yours!

A friend of mine sent this to me tonight and it made me laugh...so I thought I would share it with anyone who needs a laugh...which we do tonight! GO EG!!

Some stories are more fun to tell than others.... - Day 4

Elk Grove 1 - Bakersfield 17 (ouch!)

Tonight we played Bakersfield, we knew going in to it that we were up against one of the better teams in the tournament. They out hit us, out played us and definately out scored us. I tried to find some really great things to write about but....I couldn't really do it.

A few highlights worth mentioning; Bryant had a great catch in left field in the 2nd inning and other one in the 4th, Kyle also had a great catch in center.

Clayton, Jordan and Spencer pitched for us tonight and gave it all they had. It's a hard game to play sometimes, but they kept it together and did the very best they could.

Clayton had a double, Mycheal hit a great shot to right center, Zack had a nice single and Aaron hit a good one for a double bringing Clayton home for our only run...yikes.

Our Elk Grove boys just couldn't seem to put it all together tonight, but tomorrow is a new day. They are going to have to work hard and lift each other up. They need to play like a team and I KNOW they can. They have worked hard to get where they are and they aren't out yet!! I still have hope...I know they can do it!

No pictures...sorry!

John's Incredible Pizza Co. - Day 3

Today the EG families spend the day at John's Incredible Pizza Co. Wow...that place is stimulation overload. The boys all had a great time. They had more tickets than I have ever seen in my life.

I know the information you really want is who won the Bakersfield Hawaii game. The winner is Bakersfield the score was 3-2. Which means we play Bakersfield tomorrow night at 7pm.

The boys are having a hitting practice later tonight when it cools off...but it really never cools off here. The delta breeze is something I never really cared that much about and miss terribly now :) Here are a few pictures thanks to Lisa Zamora, I was to busy playing games to take any photos...so thanks Lisa!

Mychael, Clayton, Shaq, Aaron and Bryant with a jackpot on their hands.
Clayton and Peyton with their prizes

Riley, Myles and Harrison - the big boys had nothing on the younger ones!

Mychael and Jordan with another jackpot

Heather and her boy Peyton...so sweet.

I think this place is so incredible a person can only go there once a year or so. I have an incredi ble headache from this incredible place :) But it was a really fun day

Clayton's Birthday Party

It was also Traci Stones birthday! We had a great night together as a team. The Zamora family made a mexican fiesta for everyone and the boys all had a great time together swimming, playing basketball, and on and on. Happy Birthday Clayton and Traci.

First Game - Day 2

Elk Grove 10 - Apine 0

Our boys played Alpine Utah today at 3:30 and I am back at the hotel blogging about it at 5:30...nice. Needless to say it was a great game the boys played well and 10 runned Alpine in the 4th inning. It was nice to get out of the heat! Go EG!

The boys played great defensively and worked well together as a team. Aaron started us off at the mound and pitched to first three innings ending his time on the mound with no hits. The no hits are partly due to the great job in the field just to mention a few Mychael turned at nice double play and Jordan Yu had a great catch in right, great job Aaron. Spencer & Zack shared the catching position today and both did OUTSTANDING! Nothing got by them and wow all that gear on and the heat...yikes, great job. Aaron and KB worked a great pick off together, good job guys.

Not only did the boys play well defensively but they hit the ball well today! Shaq hit a bomb single that gave him 2 RBI's, Clayton's hit with an RBI gave us our first score in the game. KB hit a nice double to the fence and a single and Peyton also had a 2 RBI double. I feel the need here to mention what an OUTSTANDING job our bat boy Caeden Zamora did today. He worked really hard out in the heat. The boys all hit really well a few more to mention are Zack who had 2 RBI's and Aaron who hit a double with 1 RBI. I am sure there are more I missed...I am just learning how to remember all this stuff for the blog.

Mychael pitched along with Jordan closing the game on the mound for us. They did a great job pitching. JD and Bryant shared the left field and didn't get any action out there...but we are confident when you are there and know it's just a matter of time. Great job guys...way to be a team.

One final thing to mention...Today we have a birthday! One of our boys turned 13 today!

Happy Birthday Clayton!!

Clayton spent his birthday with us...playing an excellent game of baseball today. We are all going over to celebrate with him tonight at 7:30. Happy Birthday Clayton.

We have tomorrow off we are going to spend the day together having some fun and just hanging out and letting the boys be boys! We play again wednesday.

WAIT I have one more thing to mention....A BIG THANK YOU goes out to Dan Hughes at HSS Hughes Silk Screening for pulling together a quick and AWESOME order for us to get our boys outfitted in amazing new uniform shirts. Another thank you to Dorthoy for making it all happen...she gives all the credit to the boys for working hard...but I give her some of the credit. Thank you again to Dan and Dorthoy for outfitting our boys just right!!

Skills Competition - Day 1

Today was our first day here in lovely Bakersfield California. I must admit the fields are really great but WOW was it is super hot here. We had an opening ceremony and a great lunch and then headed over to the skills competition later in the afternoon. Did I mention how hot it was today??

JD, Shaq, Peyton and Bryant competed in the Throwing Relay Event

These boys made us all proud and took First Place!!!

Way to Go Boys!!

Aaron and Kyle competed in the Home Run Derby Event.

Aaron tied for second place in the event with 3 home runs!

(The winner had 4)

Spencer, Jordan, Mychael and Zack competed in the Around the Horn Event.

These guys did a great job!

Clayton competed in the Speed around the Bases Event.

Looked pretty fast to me...great job!!

It was a fun day here the boys all tried hard and represented Elk Grove well. Tomorrow is our first game we play Alpine Utah @ 3:30pm check back for updates.

The Arrivals Begin

Pierces, Goudreaus and Bartuccas have arrived. The Marriott is definately the biggest building in Bakersfield...but we are very excited and happy to be here. Dinner at Wienerschnitzel (Alisa's favorite) and now we are just waiting for the rest of our team to get here in the morning. Aaron and Mychael have just left the room to go play catch in the dark...hopefully we will still have 11 players in the morning :) To our teammates...drive safe, we will see you soon and to everyone else stay tuned...more to come tomorrow.

Welcome One and All!!

Welcome friends and family to another wonderful way to keep in touch with what is going in Bakersfield and eventually Maryland with our 12U all stars. My goal is to update this each day so that everyone can remain informed on what is going on in Bakersfield. I am very proud of the boys and all they have accomplished, they are a great bunch of young men. Forward this blog on to everyone who might be interested and I will do my best to keep it up to date.

GO ELK GROVE!!

NorCal State Champions

July 17, 2009 the Elk Grove Cal Ripken 12U All Star team won the NorCal State Championship. What does that mean??? We are off to Bakersfield to the Pacific Southwest Regionals. It's been an amazing journey for the boys (and parents) so far, they have worked hard and struggled through the battle and we are all very proud of our boys. Go EG!!