During Memorial Day Weekend the Silicon Valley Renegades the No.
10 ranked team in the Nation played in the USSSA National Qualifier
in Reno, Nevada. The tournament had some of the top teams in
Northern California and the No. 15 ranked team in the Nation the
Utah Sluggerz.
During Memorial Day Weekend the Silicon Valley Renegades the No. 10 ranked team in the Nation played in the USSSA National Qualifier in Reno, Nevada. The tournament had some of the top teams in Northern California and the No. 15 ranked team in the Nation the Utah Sluggerz.
The SV Renegades started out strong by defeating the Tomson Cabinetry 15-3. The offense charge was lead by Justin McPherson and Chris Lopicollo who had started a big rally by hitting back to back home runs to open the game up in the third inning. Tomson Cabinetry was kept in checked by great pitching from Jason Smith.
In the second game against the Inland Rockies the Renegades bats came alive again with timely hits by Tek Chapa, Michael Dinner and a three run home run by Nicholas Chapa. Again the Renegades got great pitching by the starting pitcher Chris Barber and outstanding defensive plays by Noble Enriquez and Hassan Beyah to defeat the Rockies 12-2.
By winning the first two games and clinching a playoff spot the Renegades saved some of their pitching for the playoffs. However, in doing so they lost their third pool game to the No.15 ranked team in the Nation the Utah Sluggerz 5-10 which they anticipated would be their opponent in the Championship game.
In the final pool game the Renegades bats exploded by scoring 17 runs off Chico Rice in three innings with again another impressive home run with runners on base by Nicholas Chapa. With a 17-0 lead the game was called on a mercy rule. Which resulted in the starting pitcher James Coon throwing a no-hitter for three innings.
In the playoffs the Renegades played the Danville Rockies in the semi-final game and got great pitching by Chris Barber, Michael Dinner and Tek Chapa. The offense again did its part by getting timely hits by Michael Dinner, Justin McPherson, James Perez, Tucker Laurence, Kyle Blair and Tek Chapa which resulted in a 8-0 victory.
In the Championship game the Renegades were looking forward to playing the Utah Sluggerz but Utah was defeated by the TC baseball Club 7-5. In the Championship game the Renegades got out to a quick start by scoring two runs in the first inning. However, the TC Baseball Club responded back when Brad Giavonni hit a home run to tie the game 2-2.
In the third inning it looked like the TC Baseball Club was going to open the game up when they had bases loaded with no outs. But instead the Renegades defense got stingy. With a ball hit in the gap Noble Enriquez made a great play getting an out but, more importantly he did not allow a run to score. Then the pitcher Jason Smith got the next batter to fly out to Tucker Laurence. With two outs TC’s batter John Felipe hit a ball down the right field line near the warning track in which James Perez made a leaping catch for the third out of the inning.
In the bottom of the third with two runners on Nick Chapa hit a towering home run to break the tie giving the Renegades a 5-2 lead. In the fifth inning, again TC had bases loaded with no outs. For the second time Renegades defensive came through with a great play by Chris Lopiccolo knocking down a ball for the first out that would have been extra bases. Tucker Laurence made an outstanding play in the hole to get a speedy TC hitter at first for out number two which forced the runners to not advance. Then the pitcher Jason Smith made the next batter hit back at him for out number three.
In the bottom of the fifth Hassan Beyah and Michael Dinner reached base safely then Nick Chapa came up again and he hit his second home run of the game giving the Renegades a 8-2 lead.
The TC Baseball Club did not go away quietly in the top of the six they scored two more runs making it a 8-4 ball game. But the Renegades were not done playing long ball Justin McPherson hit a ball off the fence for a double followed by a James Perez single. Then again Nick Chapa hit his third home run of the game giving the Renegades a 10-2 lead. Tek Chapa got a base hit followed by Tucker Laurence who advanced to second on a passed ball.
With runners on second and third the Renegades put in Chris Barber to pinch hit for an injured player. He took a 2-1 pitch up the middle scoring Tek Chapa and James Coon who pinched ran for Tucker Laurence to give the Renegades a 12-4 lead which by tournament rules qualified as a mercy game.
Renegades had an outstanding tournament in which six players made the 15 man all tournament team. They included tournament MVP Nick Chapa, Michael Dinner, Justin McPherson, Tek Chapa, James Perez, and Chris Barber.
