The June 19-25 event in Cooperstown, N.Y., featured 92 teams
from 24 states
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — The South Valley Storm placed 25th overall in the 10U National Tournament, a renowned baseball spectacle held June 19-25 at Dreams Park in Cooperstown, N.Y.
The event featured 92 teams from 24 teams. South Valley finished 6-3, facing opponents from Maine, Maryland, Florida, Washington, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Indiana and New York.
After a 4-2 effort in pool play, the Storm cruised by the Maine Blizzards 13-1 to open the single-elimination tournament, then rallied past Riestertown Express (Md.) 3-2. Riestertown led 2-0 until the sixth inning when Billy Mazzoti drew a walk, and Nathan Medrano, Ryan Belluomini and Lucas Schmidt followed with singles.
Ranked 32nd in the tournament based on pool play, the Storm drew the No. 4 Bulldogs from Pembroke Lakes Bulldogs, Fla., in the third round. The score was close after three innings, but the Bulldogs put across five runs in the fourth to build a commanding lead. South Valley managed one run in the sixth inning on the way to losing 6-3.
The local team surrendered less than four runs a game in the tournament and exceeded expectations behind a total effort from Alex Benevides, Nolan Cisewski, Dylan Holler, Derek Petersen, P.J. Rochon, D.J. Washington and Mikey Yamaguma.
Also at the tournament, Schmidt placed third in the King of Swat skills competition. He homered twice in the championship round.
