Dodging the mercurial summer weather in Florida, including
lightning storms, the Silicon Valley Bulldogs 16U baseball team
competed against some of the top talent in the nation at the 2005
Junior Olympics Baseball Championships in Florida last month.
Competing in the 72-team Junior Olympics East tourney, the Bulldogs
were treated to a learning experience, according to assistant coach
Mark Cummins.
“We saw some real good competition,” Cummins said. “It kind of
opened their eyes, which is good.”
Dodging the mercurial summer weather in Florida, including lightning storms, the Silicon Valley Bulldogs 16U baseball team competed against some of the top talent in the nation at the 2005 Junior Olympics Baseball Championships in Florida last month.
Competing in the 72-team Junior Olympics East tourney, the Bulldogs were treated to a learning experience, according to assistant coach Mark Cummins.
“We saw some real good competition,” Cummins said. “It kind of opened their eyes, which is good.”
The event was held at Roger Dean Stadium, the Spring Training facility for the Florida Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla.
During tourney play, which was held June 17-25, the Bulldogs ended up 2-6 overall while playing mostly against teams from Florida and Pennsylvania, according to Cummins.
In its two wins, Silicon Valley upended the Big League Mavs from Pennsylvania 6-1 in the first round of pool play, then beat the Bay Area-based NorCal Cardinals 5-1 in the second round of pool play.
Two of the teams the Bulldogs lost to in early pool play – the Florida Magic and Team Orlando – ended up finishing second and third, respectively, overall in the final tourney standings, Cummins said.
“It was a good experience to see teams from different areas,” Cummins said.
In the victory over the Pennsylvania team, SV’s Matt Cummins went six innings to pick up the win.
Against NorCal, Bulldog pitcher James Johnson tossed a complete-game gem for the W.
Managed by Gilroy’s Joe Grove, the Silicon Valley squad included Morgan Hill and Gilroy players, including Live Oak High’s Eddie Gomez, Stephen Smith, Mike Devine, Joey McGee, Cummins and Johnson, and Gilroy’s Kevin Grove, Christian Lamb and Jacob Dexter.
In addition, Morgan Hill players Phillip Thrappas (Valley Christian) and Charlie McClung (Monte Vista Christian) also compete for the Bulldogs.
An 18-player Junior Olympics team is selected from the top talent at the annual tourney, and will compete at the Youth World Championships in Mexico in August.
A Junior Olympics West tourney was also held in Peoria, Az. and Surprise, Az. during the same period. There were also 72 teams in that event.
Junior Olympics East results
Game 1: Florida Magic 10, Silicon Valley Bulldogs 0 (5 innings)
Game 2: Team Orlando 15, Silicon Valley Bulldogs 5
Game 3: Silicon Valley Bulldogs 6, Big League Mavs 1
Game 4: All Star Baseball Academy 5, Silicon Valley Bulldogs 1
Game 5: Silicon Valley Bulldogs 5, NorCal Cardinals 1
Game 5: Wolfpack 7, Silicon Valley Bulldogs 3
Game 6: Mid-Atlantic Prospects 6, Silicon Valley Bulldogs 3
