Soldiers Baseball of Morgan Hill won the 14-and-under Mardi Gras Classic title this past weekend with outstanding pitching, clutch defense and timely hitting in its four games, including two extra-inning contests on Sunday.
Over the two-day tournament at Twin Creeks Sports Complex in Sunnyvale, Parker Diamond led the team with a .088 ERA, complete with a solid championship-game effort against a strong TABU club. Teammate Parker Andrews chipped in three wins and a spotless ERA to the stellar pitching, and Ryan Quadros came through with a gutsy performance on the hill in a 7-6 semifinal win over the Vapors from Santa Cruz. The Soldiers won it in the bottom of the eighth inning with a game-winning RBI single by Evan Dean.
The Soldiers got key plays from each team member. Hitting was led by Richardo Geraffo (.538 batting average) and Andrews, who had six hits in the tournament. Jack Leglu, Adam Jennings and Anthony Ditta reached base in more than 50 percent of their at-bats.
The Soldiers were collectively strong as well on defense, especially in the outfield. During the championship game, weather conditions were not ideal, to say the least. Winds gusted out of control, making every deep fly ball an adventure.
The Soldiers defense was led by Grant Ford, Justin Nelson, Leglu and Geraffo, who stepped up in the roomy Twins Creek fields.
In their tournament opener Saturday the Soldiers beat Team Express-Pleasanton 10-0. They lost their next round-robin game 7-1 to TABU but still earned a No. 2 seed for the knockout round. The Soldiers outlasted the Vapors in eight innings Sunday, setting up a rematch with TABU in the championship game.
The final was deadlocked with no score until the top of the fourth when Quadros singled home Dean. The teams scored twice in the sixth, leaving the Soldiers ahead 3-2 entering the final inning. TABU tied it to extend the game.
The Soldiers went right to work in the eighth, as Jennings, Dean and Quadros reached base, and Geraffo delivered a one-out single to score Dean for the go-ahead run. Brandon Kantack and Leglu drew walks to push across Jennings and Quadros, making it 6-3.
Andrews pitched a 1-2-3 bottom half to clinch the win – and the tournament title.
Comprised of players from Morgan Hill, Gilroy and south San Jose, the Soldiers will next play in the March Madness Tournament on March 10 and the St. Patrick’s Day Tournament on March 17.
