The Morgan Hill Assault’s hitting was as timely as ever during
the club’s latest title run at the 10-and-under Lock ‘n Load
Tournament, held Jan. 21-22 at Twin Creeks Sports Complex in
Sunnyvale. Morgan Hill finished 5-0 and outscored opponents 63-27.
The Assault needed a massive rally, though, to beat Tabu 12-11 in
the championship.
The Morgan Hill Assault’s hitting was as timely as ever during the club’s latest title run at the 10-and-under Lock ‘n Load Tournament, held Jan. 21-22 at Twin Creeks Sports Complex in Sunnyvale.
Morgan Hill finished 5-0 and outscored opponents 63-27. The Assault needed a massive rally, though, to beat Tabu 12-11 in the championship.
Morgan Hill, which beat Tabu 12-5 earlier in the tournament, nearly lost by mercy rule after falling behind 10-2 in the fourth inning. The locals chipped away with two runs in the bottom half and two more in the fifth before unleashing a six-run rally in the final inning. Will Ansbro tied it, 11-11, with a two-run single then stole second, setting up a bunt by Michael Barone. The third baseman’s throw to first wound up in right field, and Ansbro sprinted home to an eruption of cheers on the Morgan Hill side.
The sixth-inning rally began with singles by Ryan Swing, Gio Saso and Karson Mazotti, and also included Jonathan Singleton’s RBI that trimmed the deficit to 11-8.
The Assault won its other games handily, beating the San Jose Warriors 12-5 in their opener, the Fremont Reds 16-0 and the Central Coast Crushers 11-6.
Ansbro pitched outstanding all weekend for Morgan Hill, as did Saso, Mazotti and Colton Moorhead. Gabriel LaGatta, Vinnie LaGatta, Cory Taylor and Jack Tomlinson contributed superb defensive plays.
Many of these players were part of Morgan Hill’s run to the Pinto World Series in 2010 and the Mustang-9 Zone Tournament last summer.
The Assault has a busy few weeks ahead, with stops at Twin Creeks for the Feb. 11-12 Cherry Tree Classic, and at Rio Vista Park in Peoria, Ariz., home of the San Diego Padres’ offseason camp, for the Spring Training Tournament the first weekend in March. The latter event will feature some of the top teams from the Southwestern U.S. It also will give the Assault a chance to take in the Oakland Athletics’ spring opener, plus a San Francisco Giants game in Scottsdale.
