 | | | Front row (L-R): Matthew Tuan; Kevin Lehman; Scott Smoot; Scott Chen; Jack Stephens
Back row (L-R ): Coach Dave Singh; Philip Rei; Kurt Vergara; David Ortega; Jack O'Donnell; Hunter Rosenbaum;
Scott Singh; Troy Westernoff; Coach Al Smoot Photo Credit: Kim Stephens
| | | | | | After battling to a nine-inning victory over Tara Hills in the semi-final game, the Moraga Cougars defeated the Pleasant Hill Hawks in the Championship to win the 14 and under division of the Annual Citrus Heights Baseball Tournament on Memorial Day.
Pitchers Hunter Rosenbaum, David Ortega and Phillip Rei were backed by a superb defense in the 9-6 win over Tara Hills. The offensive attack was led by Ortega and Scott Singh who each had three hits. The Cougars made two critical defensive plays with two outs and the bases loaded. In the fourth inning, second baseman Kevin Lehman fielded a grounder and dived headfirst to force a runner at second. In the sixth inning, shortstop Singh grabbed a deflected ground ball and gunned the runner out at first.
Coaches Al Smoot, Dave Singh and Parker Chen kept the players loose going into the championship game. After determining that several pitchers would be unavailable, it was clear the Cougars were the decided underdogs against the Hawks. Lehman started on the mound for the Cougars and held the Hawks in check until Troy Westernoff took over in the third inning. The Cougars threatened to score in the early innings, but couldn't break through until they exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning. In response, Ortega started the attack with a lead-off double and key hits were delivered by Rei, Jack Stephens, Rosenbaum and Kurt Vergara. With momentum now clearly in their favor, the Cougars scored four more runs in the fifth inning on consecutive hits from Matthew Tuan, Westernoff, Stephens and Scott Smoot. Scott Chen came on to pitch in sixth inning. The Cougars put the game out of reach in the bottom of the inning, tacking on two runs, on hits by Rosenbaum, Singh, Ortega and Jack O'Donnell. The Hawks hopes for a comeback were dashed in the seventh inning as Chen induced an around-the-horn double play to end the game with a final score of 13 to 5. This was the third consecutive year that the Cougars have been crowned champions at Citrus Heights.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA