YBBL All-Stars keep the train moving and advance to next round of state tournament
16u Yuma All-Star baseball squad survives 7th inning threat and hangs on for one-run win
NORCO, Calif., (KYMA, KECY) - The quest for a trip to South Carolina for the Senior Little League World Series continues to look brighter for the Yuma Boys Baseball 16U All-Stars after a win on Thursday.
After taking home the Section 7 California Senior League title earlier in the week, the Yuma All-Stars kept the train moving in a tight 5-4 win over Point Hueneme to stay perfect and advance cleanly to the second round of the state bracket on Friday.
The boys would score three runs in the 3rd inning and then add one run in each of the 4th and 5th innings behind a multi-hit game by Kofa's Jose Castro - but the story of the night would come on the mound.
Cibola's Rodrigo Orozco Araiza had himself a gem, tossing 6.2 innings of one-hit ball.
"As the game goes on, fatigues sets in a little bit but talking to "Tico" and the other coaches, it was his day," said head coach Nick Johnson. "I pinch ran for him but running off he asked me 'hey coach am I still pitching?' I said absolutely. He wanted it. He wanted to go out and compete, so we're going to let the horse go as long as he wanted to go."
A couple of defensive mishaps allowed Point Hueneme back in with a few runs - but a pair of pitching changes in a tight spot closed the door. With the bases loaded and the tying run 90 feet away, Juan Ayala got a bouncer to first to lock in the win.
"Got a little bit tight at the end but we saw it through and prevailed," said head coach Nick Johnson. "Those are the games that you really want to be a part of because those are always the memorable ones. Those are always the ones where the intensity comes out and you get to see the kids in tight situations and succeed."
Now the boys take the field in the winners bracket Friday in a meeting with Canyon Country at 4 p.m. - one step closer to reaching the Western Regional in Oakland.
"We're looking to keep this train rolling as long as we possibly can," added Johnson. "As I like to say, we have a lot of ammo. We're looking to see the boys continue to pull through. It's always nice to see them pull for each other. You have a bunch of guys from a bunch of different schools competing against each other for a majority of the year but when they're with us as one team, it's special."
