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By STAN HUDY
www.cliftonparkworldseries.com
CLIFTON PARK – They went further than any other Clifton Park Babe Ruth World Series host team had gone before.
They beat the biggest team in the 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series tournament on the opening night; they used their last at-bats to win a second game in pool play before falling back to Earth with a loss. They picked themselves back up and put the bat on the ball and advanced to the national semifinal. They almost made it look easy Friday morning, advancing to the World Series championship game and celebrating on the field like they won the title.
On Friday night, it was just baseball, 13-year-old baseball and it wasn’t their night.
It was Tri-Valley, California’s.
Tri-Valley captured the 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series championship with a 12-0 mercy-rule shortened contest in five innings of play to capture the fourth Babe Ruth World Series title for the California program since 2004. They rode the arm of Devon Rocha who no-hit the Clifton Park Bulldogs with one pitch…a fastball.
Rocha went five innings, didn’t allow a hit, walked six and struck out five. Not a stellar night on the mound, but good enough to earn the championship victory.
“The defense did really good, I have an amazing catcher in Mitch Briggs, who I take for granted at times,” Rocha said. “And everyone made plays when they needed to. It was a group effort.”
Tri-Valley plated three runs to open the contest on three hits and taking advantage of two Clifton Park errors.
“We were lucky to be the visitor tonight,” Tri-Valley coach Randy Moore said. “How great is it to go out there with a three-run lead?”
It proved to be all Rocha would need, spotting his fastball and defying the Clifton Park Bulldog offense to try and stop him.
With the contest still in reach, the California visitors posted six-runs up on the scoreboard in the fourth inning on just three hits and a walk. It was an inning that hurt both teams the most.
Starter Liam Harrison reached out for a sharply hit bouncing ball with his pitching hand, which ended his night and called Greg Waldek into action.
Waldek had a rough night, hitting three batters in the inning and then paying for it when Joe Vranesh hit a two-run single to left field.
With the 10-run rule opportunity in front of them, Tri-Valley went for the jugular, posting three more in the top of the fifth inning for the 12-0 lead.
It was up to the Bulldogs to stem the tide, needing to put three runs up to stop the contest from ending early, but they couldn’t get around on Rocha.
In the end, they saw the California boys celebrate on their home field, but still made history.
“They were a rag-tag group,” Frey said about the team that he selected six months ago. “They weren’t too big, they didn’t know the game well, but they came together like nothing I have ever seen before. All the credit goes to them, they worked their butts off and it paid off.”
To go from a team that had to re-learn skills and pick-off moves to turning double plays and situational base running, Frey will take the history and the experience.
“If I brought home anything with these guys I would be proud,” Frey said. “We had the run we had so it’s hard to take home the silver (second-place trophy); we knew it was right there for us. Looking back this is a surreal experience. I can’t believe that we’re in the finals of the game, so I’ll take what I can get.”For the first time in five World Series events hosted by the Clifton Park Baseball League and the World Series local organizing committee has the host team advanced to the championship game of the Babe Ruth World Series.
Clifton Park earned a 4-1 win over Guilderland, New York to advance to the championship game. They will face Tri-Valley, California.If any parents/fans have questions about the return trips for their respective teams, please contact your team manager. He will be in contact with 13-year-old World Series Tournament Director who is working diligently with the bus companies, airlines on departure times and changes.
The phones are ringing non-stop between Babe Ruth HQ, airlines, airports and bus companies so please be patient with your individual updates.
Until then, enjoy the games!
– StanThe Clifton Park Bulldogs made history with a 4-1 win over Guilderland, New York, advancing to Friday night’s 7 p.m. 13-year-old World Series championship game at the Clifton Common Baseball Complex in Clifton Park, NY.
The contest between the Bulldogs was postponed from 5 p.m. Thursday to Friday’s 10 a.m. start time.
Clifton Park’s Mason Munger went six innings, allowing just two hits while Guilderland committed four errors in the field. Giving Munger the cushion.
In four previously hosted World Series contests, Clifton Park’s best record was 3-2 and a third-place finish in 2002.
More to come as Stan Hudy is working on the story, the crew is working on videos.Catch the live webcast with the entire media crew at the park with Cover It Live. Click here for live webcast
All games on Thursday night games have been postponed to Friday morning.
Clifton Park vs. Guilderland will be played at 10 a.m.
Tri-Valley, California vs. Glen Allen, Virginia will be played at noon. (Pending completion of 10 a.m. game.)
Championship game will be held at 7 p.m. Friday night.During the remaining seven pool play games at the 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series, the fans can bid on an autographed World Series poster, signed by all of the players competing here in Clifton Park for their hometown team.
During each game, fans can bid on-line via Facebook or on Cover It Live during our live web chats and place their bid. Remember to include your team name and your bid. We will keep you updated throughout the game.About Hannah’s Hope Fund:
Hannah Sarah Sames is a beautiful little girl who was born on March 5, 2004. She has extremely curly blonde hair, a slight build, a precocious smile, and a charming personality that lights up the room. She loves to sing and dance, and play outdoors. Hannah is our sunshine, a beaming light of love and innocence.Giant axonal neuropathy is an inherited condition involving dysfunction of a specific type of protein in nerve cells (neurons). The protein is essential for normal nerve function because it forms neurofilaments. Neurofilaments make up a structural framework that helps to define the shape and size of the neurons. This condition is characterized by abnormally large and dysfunctional axons, which are the specialized extensions of nerve cells that are required for the transmission of nerve impulses.
She currently suffers from giant axonal neuropathy is an inherited condition involving dysfunction of a specific type of protein in nerve cells (neurons). The protein is essential for normal nerve function because it forms neurofilaments. Neurofilaments make up a structural framework that helps to define the shape and size of the neurons. This condition is characterized by abnormally large and dysfunctional axons, which are the specialized extensions of nerve cells that are required for the transmission of nerve impulses.
Hannah’s Hope Fund is a certified 501(c)3 charity.Rain forced two suspensions of play Sunday and impacted the final two days of pool play.
New schedule
Monday, Aug. 22- 9 a.m.- Completion of Guilderland, NY vs. Atlantic Shore, NJ (AS leads 4-1 top of 5th)
- 10 a.m. – Eagle Pass, TX vs. Cranston, RI
- 12:30 p.m. – Jasper, IN vs. Atlantic Shore, NJ
- 3 p.m. – Glen Allen, VA vs. Tri-Valley, CA
- 5:30 p.m. – Meridian, ID vs. Clifton Park, NY
- 8 p.m. – Tri-Valley, CA vs. Guilderland, NY
Tuesday, Aug. 23
- 10 a.m. – Grand Forks, ND vs. Eagle Pass, TX
- 1 p.m. – Cranston, RI vs. Meridian, ID
- 5 p.m. – Jasper, IN vs. Glen Allen, VA
- 8 p.m. – Clifton Park, NY vs. Cranston, RI
Admission
- Hang on to your wrist band from Sunday’s game, it is your rain check. Bring it back in on for admission to Monday’s completion of the Sunday schedule. Separate admission/family pass is required for Monday’s contests.
CLIFTON PARK – It wasn’t the most pitch-efficient effort, but the team from Tri-Valley, CA will take it.
Starting pitcher Joey Matulovich threw 151 pitches in a complete-game victory as the Pacific Southwest champions opened pool play with an 8-4 victory over Atlantic Shore, NJ at the 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series. The loss dropped Atlantic Shore to 0-2 in the American Division.
Matulovich battled throughout, giving up four earned runs on 11 hits, six walks, and two hit batters. He also added seven strikeouts.
As sore as his right arm might feel when he wakes up Sunday, Matulovich felt great on Saturday.
“It feels good to pitch again in a game,” he said.
Tri-Valley has been idle since clinching the regional championship early this month in Taylorsville, Utah, and had the day off when World Series action began Friday.
Atlantic Shore, the Middle Atlantic Region representative, got to Matulovich in the top of the first on a Zach Newman infield single. Newman earned the Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game award for Atlantic Shore after his 3-for-4 and two RBI effort.
Tri-Valley quickly answered back against Atlantic Shore starter Raymond D’Amico by scoring four times in the bottom half of the inning. Quinn Cambra got the scoring started with a sacrifice fly and then an error led to Tri-Valley’s second run. Devin Rocha brought home the other two runs of the inning with a sharp single to center.
“That (hitting) was what we were worried about, so to get four runs in the first inning was big for us,” Tri-Valley manager Randy Moore said.
Moore said it has been a tough adjustment for the team to get used to being in the Eastern time zone. He said he was worried about fatigue and jet lag, especially the 10 a.m. start time – 7 a.m. on his players’ body clocks.
Tri-Valley went quietly in the second inning as D’Amico struck out the side, but added single runs in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Nick Moroney and Ryan Murphy each had two hits.
Atlantic Shore threatened all day against Matulovich but couldn’t get a big hit to knock out the gritty starter. Atlantic Shore stranded 13 runners on base, leaving the bases loaded in both the first and sixth innings.
“That’s been our problem (stranding runners) in the games we’ve lost this year,” said Atlantic Shore manager Mike Gill. “I’ll give him credit (Matulovich). He found another bolt of energy down the stretch and came back and threw well.”
Matulovich earned the Ron Tellefsen Player of the Game for Tri-Valley.
At 0-2, Atlantic Shore will need a pair of wins – and some help — to advance out of the pool play round. The situation is nothing new to the group. The team went 2-2 in the Middle-Atlantic Regional pool play round, before reeling three straight wins to advance to the World Series.
Tri-Valley will have another early call today, meeting Jasper, Ind., in the 10 a.m. game at Clifton Common. Atlantic Shore plays Eastern New York State champion, Guilderland, at 5 p.m.Atlantic Shore 102 000 1 – 4 11 4
Tri-Valley 401 111 X – 8 10 0
2B – (AS) Droboniku, (TV) Moroney, Jew. SB – (TV) Pangelinan.Clifton Park had a dream season come to a close Friday night, as the Knights could not connect against Oahu, Hawaii pitcher, Ryne Yamashiro, falling, 9-1, in the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Maryland.
The Knights’ lone run came off Kevin Huerter’s bat in the form of a third-inning home run, giving the locals hope that they may yet be able to figure out their pitching counterpart.
Yamashiro pitched all six innings for the Hawaiians, giving up three hits and one walk while striking out two.
Oahu jumped ahead in the first inning, when Blaine DeMello was knocked in from second base on a Yamashiro double. Then, after Nicholas Benner singled, sending Yamashiro to third — Benner stole second with no throw — Micha McNicholl doubled to center field, scoring the pair of runners.
Nikolas Malachowski pitched the opening 4-1/3 innings for the Knights before giving way to Huerter for the final two outs.
Pacific Southwest teammates Kaimana Souza-Paaluhi and Yamashiro hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the fifth. Yamashiro lead his team offensively and defensively, going 3-for-3 and three RBI’s at the plate.It may be raining where you are, but all systems are go here at the Clifton Common Baseball Complex in Clifton Park, New York.
Jasper, Indiana has taken the field for the start of game three versus Guilderland, New York. Our delay was only due to baseball, not Mother Nature.
We’ll update any stoppage of play…stay tuned.Cranston, Rhode Island looked like world beaters in the opening contest of the 2011 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series hosted by Clifton Park Baseball in Clifton Park, New York Friday morning.
Cranston rolled out to an early 10-0 lead, poised for a short day, but Grand Forks, North Dakota went down swinging, battling back in a 17-14 opening contest loss.
- Chris Maley is on the story with video and pix to follow.The 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series practice field and batting cage schedules are now available under the Games tab on the home page.
Practices will be limited to the Wood Field (wood poles across from World Series field), batting cages are available behind the pavillion and garage on the upper quad.The Clifton Park Knights 12-year-old Cal Ripken Baseball team played their third game of the Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series at the replica Wrigley Field facility and treated it like batting practice in an 8-4 win over West Raleigh, North Carolina Tuesday afternoon.
Kevin Huerter, Mike Spulnick and Mike Jeffers all hit home runs out of the park rallying the Knights (2-1) from a three-run first inning deficit and placed in a positive position heading into Wenesday’s 2:30 p.m. game against Waite Park, MN.
“We still have something to play for heading into our last pool play game and you can’t ask for anything more,” Clifton Park Knights manager Tom Huerter said. “To be down 3-0 and to have a guy thrown out at home I was mad at myself for that.
“They threw four or five pitchers at us. They didn’t know what to do,” Huerter said. “This is the biggest stage these boys may ever play on and to come up with a win is very gratifying.”
Despite being down 3-0 and having Michael Spulnick thrown out at home, the same type of start that Clifton Park in its first game of pool play, a 5-1 loss to Southeast Lexington, KY, Huerter wasn’t nervous.
“I don’t necessarily get nervous, I read how they are,” Huerter said. “If they get down on themselves and we’re in trouble. Today, I knew that they didn’t need the extra motivation. (Starting pitcher) Nick Malachowski is a competitor, he looked at me and told the kids ‘Let’s get ours.’ They stayed positive and that is all we ask of them.”
Ian Anderson got the ball rolling for the Knights taking a one-out walk and moved to third on a double to left field by Luke Hicks. Marty McCrudden hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Anderson to cut into the lead, 3-1.
Kevin Huerter then drilled an off-speed offering over the left field fence to drive in Hicks and McCrudden, giving the Knights their first lead of the contest.
“It had to go 280 feet,” Tom Huerter said. “It was the furthest ball he has ever hit.
“That gave us the runs to go along with their belief that they could win these games,” Huerter said. “We talked to them about not just being happy to be here. Now that we know we can play with these teams, let’s play some baseball.”
Clifton Park also wasn’t happy with just four runs on the board.
Michael Jeffers led of the third inning with a solo shot, depositing a 1-2 pitch over the centerfield wall for a 5-3 Knights lead.
Clifton Park continued its own version of the home run derby in the fourth inning. Huerter led off with a single and watched Michael Spulnick drill a 1-0 pitch over the right field fence for a commanding 7-3 lead.
“Michael (Spulnick) has always been that ‘X’ factor for our team,” Huerter said. “When you look at us, he’s overlooked and he just comes up with big hit after big hit for this team.
“The two-run shot kept the pressure on West Raleigh,” Huerter said. “Michael (Spulnick) is that guy who has been in a little bit of a slump and did some extra hitting on our day off and he hit the ball well.”
Luke Hicks added on the eighth-run of the day for the Knights, leading off with his third hit of the day, moving to second on Ben Anderson’s sacrifice bunt, advancing to third on a wild pitch and scoring on Spulnick’s grounder that was mis-handled by the third baseman for the 8-3 lead.
The Knights would give up one run during a sixth-inning rally by the Southeast Region champions, but the lead would stand.
“Today the kids stayed back and hit the curveball better,” Huerter said. “When they were ahead in the count, the pitchers were forced to throw fastballs, we told them to go with it and hit it to right field.”
Huerter said his squad has seen an abundance of off-speed pitches throughout the World Series compared to pitchers attempting to dominate their opponents with fastballs at the district and regional level.
“In the first game, we were just overanxious and trying to pull the ball,” Huerter said. “You just have to stay back, see the pitch and drive the ball.
“On the off-speed pitches you don’t try to pull,” Huerter said. “I think we got through their heads yesterday and today in the batting cages. Today, it maybe clicked for guys like Michael Jeffers and Michael Spulnick. Luke Hicks was slumping and came up with three hits, it wasn’t just one or two kids today, it was five or six, that’s why we are a dangerous team.”
Clifton Park enters the final day of pool play with a 2-1 record, the same as three other teams in the five-team National League bracket.
“For us, after we lost our first game we needed everyone to lose,” Huerter said. “Our goal is still to win our pool. Four teams are 2-1 and there can’t be a better scenario for us. Win and we’re in.
“No way we are not in if we win,” Huerter said. “We told the boys that we just have to go win three and already have two behind us. We win the third and we know that we are playing in the Final Four Cal Ripken World Series.”The Clifton Park World Series Committee is gearing up once again for its fifth Babe Ruth World Series event and again looks to provide maximum media coverage for the players on site and their fans and families back home.
All 25 contests of the 2011 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series will be updated on our website using a free web software program called CoverItLive. It will allow us to give you instant updates throughout each game, batter by batter, scoring updates, weather advisories as well as allow you to interact with us in Clifton Park, New York.
Here is an example of Cover It Live used by ESPN for taking viewers behind the scenes for Game 6 of the MLB World Series. Click on the Cover It Live example
We have a lot of requests for video streaming and unfortunately haven’t found a free platform, both for the World Series local organizing committee and you, the viewers, that is stable enough to guarantee 100 percent up time for 25 games over eight days.
The only national broadcast available this year of a World Series is the semifinals and championship games of the Cal Ripken Baseball 12-year-old Major/70 World Series in Aberdeen, Maryland.
Don’t forget to Like Us on Facebook under Clifton Park World Series and get mobile updates via Twitter @CliftonParkBRWS.
Any questions, feel free to email us at cliftonparkworldseries@gmail.com
– Stan Hudy, Media Coordinator
Clifton Park Knight Mike Jeffers pitched a 1-hit, 9K 64-pitch gem
It took 11 innings for the Clifton Park Knights 12-year-old Cal Ripken Baseball squad’s bats to come alive, but when they did, they knocked the Middle Atlantic Regional champion into the history books at the Cal Ripken Major/70 World Series in Aberdeen, MD with a 10-0 win over host Harford County Sunday night.
Behind the stellar pitching of Michael Jeffers, a one-hit, nine-strikeout shutout, the Knights became the first Clifton Park Baseball League squad to earn a victory on the road in a Babe Ruth League, Inc. World Series event.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” Clifton Park manager Tom Huerter said about the recent Knights power outage. “Maybe it is the plain fact that it is the World Series.
“We’ve played in as many tournaments and are an experienced group. We were downright terrible in yesterday’s game.”
Clifton Park could only muster three hits against the Ohio Valley Regional Champion, Southeastern Lexington, Kentucky in a 5-1 opening pool play loss, but came back to life late Sunday night.
“To have some hard hits tonight was huge,” Huerter said. “First we needed to win, and to have those hits is great.”
Ian Anderson scored the first run of the contest for Clifton Park in the third inning, hitting a double off the right field fence. He was awarded third base on a balk and scored when Matt Straney hit a shot at third base. The ball hit the infielder and bounced into the outfield, allowing Anderson to score.
Payton Johnson didn’t give up on his at-bat in the fourth inning, reaching on a dropped third strike and moved to second on a wild pitch before moving into scoring position. Ben Anderson would come up to earn a walk and Johnson scored on a passed ball. Kurt Forsell singled to right, pushing Ben Anderson across for the 3-0 lead.
The Knights returned to their previous form in the fifth inning, scoring seven runs on five hits, including two by Kevin Huerter to invoke the 10-run mercy-rule criteria and give Clifton Park the win.
Huerter led off with a double off the left field wall and Michael Spulnick followed with a single to left field, advancing to second on the throw. Nik Malachowski hit an RBI single to score Huerter. Mike Jeffers walked before Johnson’s RBI single scored Spulnick and Malachowski.
Kurt Forsell reached on an error, allowing Jeffers and Johnson to score for the 8-0 lead.
Forsell stole second and Ethan Eichelman walked before Huerter hit an RBI single to centerfield, pushing both runners across for the 10-run margin.
“In the fifth inning we just exploded,” Tom Huerter said. “We finally hit the ball hard and put it in play. We put pressure on their defense and forced them to make plays.”
The win evened the Knights record in pool play at 1-1, but could mean a lot more.
“Not only did we show our true selves, but it put us in a good position,” Huerter said. “The team we lost to (Saturday), they gave up seven runs without giving up a hit, so they are 1-1 also.
“They had to wait to do it against someone else?” Huerter said. “It’s anyone’s ball game right now.”
Clifton Park will enjoy Monday as an off day before returning for two more pool play contests.
“The two teams ahead of us are 1-0, so we have destiny in our own hands,” Huerter said. “If we win, we’ll be playing Friday (single elimination).”While the home team prepares for the 13-year-old event at the Clifton Common, all eyes were looking and rooting for the Clifton Park Knights 12-year-old Cal Ripken Baseball team who struggled in its first game of the Major/70 World Series opener against the Ohio Valley Region champion, Southeast Lexington, Kentucky, falling 5-1 Saturday afternoon.
Knight’s starter Nik Malachowski gave up three runs in the first inning on four hits and an error and the Middle Atlantic Regional champs couldn’t catch a break after that.
“They got three early and we didn’t play great,” Clifton Park manager Tom Huerter said. “I’m not sure if kids were nervous, but we didn’t get a call to go our way.”
Shortstop Kevin Huerter made a diving stab at a bloop in foul territory that wasn’t ruled a catch, but the video replay showed he had possession of the ball.
His luck didn’t get any better after leading off the bottom half of the first inning with a double and advancing to third on a wild pitch, Huerter attempted to race home on a passed ball only to be tagged out by a great play at the plate.
“There were two passed balls and on the second one, the catcher slid 15 feet on the turf field,” Tom Huerter said about the artificial turf surface at Cal Sr.’s Yard at the Cal Ripken Baseball Complex. “He turns as he slides and throws to home plate to where Kevin’s foot slides into home plate. If we get one or two breaks it’s a different ballgame.”
Southeast Lexington starter Austin Dick was overpowering throughout the contest.
On the mound he earned the win with five innings of work, allowing just two hits, no runs or walks with seven strikeouts. At the plate he hit a solo home run over the left field fence to give Southeast Lexington a 4-0 lead.
“We had three hits, Kevin, and Michael Jeffers up the middle,” Tom Huerter said. “We just couldn’t get base runners, the walks those kids got they seemed to score.”
While the Knights didn’t get any breaks, their outfield defense kept the game close as Luke Hicks and Michael Spulnick took advantage of their outfield practice on the larger fields prior to the World Series opener. On three separate occasions with runners in scoring position potential sacrifice fly balls were relegated to simple outs due to their defensive diligence.
“With the deeper outfield we practiced with them going back on the fly and coming into the catch,” Huerter said. “They don’t have to get the ball to home, it just has to be on a good line and skip it in.”
Clifton Park scratched out a run in the bottom of the sixth inning when Marty McCrudden led off with a walk against reliever Aidan Elias. He moved around the bases on a passed ball and two wild pitches. Spulnick applied pressure to the Ohio Valley champs, reaching first on a dropped third strike and Jeffers’s single put runners on first and third before the final out.
“Our margin for error was small and outside of us I think they are the best team in the pool” Tom Huerter said. “We didn’t deserve to win, if we played better a closer game or possibly a different outcome.”
The Knights have three games left in pool play in the National League bracket.
“We will have to do some work to win our next three games to have a shot in the playoffs,” Huerter said. “If we play to our potential, limit some of the mistake we made today we can do it. I like our chances.”
Clifton Park will face tournament host Harford County at 8 p.m. at the Cal Sr. Yard stadium.Special World Series deal in Albany
The Best Western Sovereign Hotel across from the University at Albany is offering a $70 per night plus tax rate with hot breakfast buffet, indoor pool, sauna, fitness center and more. Five floors, 305 rooms.
Call Sales Coordinator Angela Harrison at 518-618-1123, mention the Babe Ruth World Series to receive the pricing.
More at the hotel web site.It can’t be much easier to purchase your family passes and banquet tickets to the 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series beginning next week and you don’t even have to get out of your car!
A special two-day, drive-thru sale will be held at the Clifton Common Baseball Complex from 4 to 8 p.m. this Sunday and Monday, Aug. 14 and 15 for World Series Family passes for only $35 (a $5 savings) and Banquet of Champion tickets $15 for Aug. 18 at 6 p.m. with special guest speaker, former Oakland A’s pitcher Vida Blue.
A World Series Family Pass provides admission for two adults and two children under 12-years-old to all 25 contests during the 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series at the Clifton Common Baseball Complex, including the World Series championship game 7 p.m. Aug. 26.
The banquet will be hosted adjacent to the Shenendehowa Adult Community Center rain or shine with tented accomodations for up to 750 people and music provided by Par 6.
CLIFTON PARK — When the Clifton Park World Series committee and the Clifton Park Baseball League decided that they wanted to make the World Series field ideal for the upcoming 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series event they decided to call in the experts.
Tri-City ValleyCats Assistant General Manager Matt Callahan along with The Brickman Group (the Joseph L. Bruno Stadium grounds crew) including head groundskeeper John Hudson, assistant groundskeeper Drew Doty and Stadium Operations manager Keith Sweeney were at the field Wednesday to lend an expert hand.
With their own form of a Midas Touch, the quartet, along with parent-volunteer Mike Munger, made several precision improvements to the infield for the 10-incoming teams for the Aug. 18-26 national event.
“We’ve done 10 field renovations in 10 years,” Callahan said. “We just completed our ‘4 in 24’ program where we renovated four fields in 24 hours. We’ve also helped out in a variety of other smaller projects with plates and mounds.”
Wednesday was spent replacing home plate and fortifying around the dish in the morning. The afternoon was spent aligning and raising the World Series field mound to the appropriate height of 10-inches above the top of home plate and exactly 60-feet, 6-inches from the apex of home plate.“Everything starts with home plate,” Callahan explained. “We ran a string from the right field pole and the left field pole down past home plate. Where they meet, that is where the apex of your plate is. “From there you line up your bases and your pitching rubber.”
The group first went to work digging up the previous home plate and the area around it for the center of the field’s proverbial universe. The underside of the plate has a square pattern allowing it to be filled with clay for support. Once the precise depth is created it is placed in the ground with the care of putting an infant to bed.
Clay is added around the prize, firming up its position, tamped down before the group went to work on the batter’s and catcher’s box. After removing several years of infield mix and former clay brick foundation, new bricks were laid down to provide a solid footing for the batter and the catcher around home plate. For The Brickman Group, the task wasn’t anything new.
“We rehab our plate and mound at the beginning of the season, sometimes in the middle of the season and at the end of the year,” Hudson said. “As soon as the plate or the (pitching) rubber show signs of wear we get rid of it.”
Callahan understood the challenges of upkeep with recreational fields around the Capital Region.“With our weather, the frost, freeze and then thaw, it effects it over time,” Callahan said. “The bases can move and the pitching rubber will rot a little bit. It’s tough to maintain without a full-time person to oversee it.”
Clay bricks are the key to the home plate area and mound support with the group also adding bricks adjacent to first base under the infield mix. On Wednesday, the group placed more than 50 clay bricks on each side of the plate for the batter’s box.
“The bricks give it a base for the foundation or else they will dig all the way down to China,” the group joked. “You lay down the brick, you sprinkle clay on it to bring it together, tamp it down and give it a nice, firm base.”
The professional maintenance cost also hinders the recreational programs. The clay costs are estimated at $500 per pallet of 40 bags with the Valley Cats never skimping on its infield conditions.
“We’ll take a bag of clay out after each game,” Callahan said. “We’ll fill the holes in the batter’s box and pitcher’s mound and tamp it right down. It keeps that base nice and firm.”
The most exacting challenge was the pitcher’s mound for the group. According to Callahan, the pitching rubber was approximately two inches low and even four inches off-center to home plate. All of that was rectified during the afternoon session.
Utilizing a laser line, levels and a specific tool to measure the slope of the pitcher’s mound, the 13-year-old World Series pitchers will feel like they are on top of the world, now exactly 10-inches above home plate. The precise slope drops one-inch per foot away from the pitching rubber.
“For this age group you can go six feet,” Hudson said. “For the taller pitchers, especially at the professional level we’ll go seven or eight feet towards home plate.”
The pitching rubber, while only a fraction of it is seen on the field or on television, the professional pitching rubber at the World Series field is a full square, 18-inches long and six-inches on each side filled with clay in its center.
“You have to pack it with clay so it doesn’t bow or bend,” Callahan said.
With the new rubber installed the group worked on the grade, skimming the mound toward home plate and Hudson measured with eye of a jeweler, laying down whole bricks and then cut bricks to create the proper slope and base. The heavy lifting came in where the group shared turns hand tamping the bricks when covered with clay mix to adhere together for support.
The mound’s dimensions are not just facing the plate, but a 5-foot by 3-foot plateau is used atop the mound. It is also tamped down and the entire mound is covered with infield mix, a combination of sand, silt and clay.
The bases were again aligned and a new foundation was put in place adjacent to first base, providing a good first step for the speedsters who reach base during the World Series event.
“It’s important for the runners to have a good foundation under them,” Doty said. “It really allows them to get a good jump and they can notice it when the are near the bag.”
The World Series field continues to be held out of service and no play will be allowed on it as the local organizing committee and its parent volunteers continue to make improvements in anticipation for the first game and the sounds of “Play ball” from the umpire.”
The 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series will be held Aug. 18-26 on the Clifton Common. Tickets and details are available at www.cliftonparkworldseries.com
CLIFTON PARK — Clifton Park World Series manager Matt Frey will make some big decisions during the third week of August when his 13-year-old Bulldogs host the Babe Ruth World Series at the Clifton Common: Who to pinch hit for, when to lift a pitcher and when to send a base runner.
All of those moves may be easier than the phone calls he made last week, selecting 15 players that will represent Clifton Park and notifying five others that they won’t be a part of the week-long baseball celebration.
“If I had to cut from 30 to 15 it would be a lot easier, it was a very tough decision,” Frey said. “It was probably the hardest thing that I have had to do as a coach. I’ve never had to do this with kids that I have worked with for half the year.”
The tryout process began in early October where more than 45 players took the field and were evaluated. That group was narrowed to 20 hopefuls who would take a winter journey indoors showing and honing their skills.
“Once a week we worked on hitting and pitching at All-Stars Academy in November,” Frey said. “Then in January we went to twice-a-week with fielding practice up until last week.”
Even after months of indoor lessons and practices, the workouts during the vacation week solidified Frey’s decision and moved a few players up and down the depth chart.
“When we were outside on the field, three kids that I thought were going to be cut made the team,” Frey said. “At All-Stars, we have the full-size infield, they didn’t look the same.
“It made it clearer and shocked me with a few kids,” Frey said. “A few stepped up and made it and for some, they didn’t.”
The notification process was the toughest for the Shenendehowa graduate.
“I made my cut calls in the morning and I made the ‘you made it’ calls at night,” Frey said. “They are all equally hard. There wasn’t one kid that I didn’t like or one that didn’t work hard for me. No cut was easy; they were all gut-wrenching. They worked all winter and got better because of it.”
Frey said that every player benefitted from the tryouts.
“Everyone got an equal opportunity to show what they had and each kid got to work with top instructors and coaches, getting probably $1,500 to $1,800 worth of sessions,” Frey said. “They all got a lot better and got the experience of getting higher- level coaching.”
In the end, Frey was hoping to have all 20 players involved in the World Series.
“I wanted all the kids to dress, be recognized,” Frey said. “Babe Ruth (League) doesn’t let that happen.”
With a roster now selected, the Bulldogs will get busy, playing in two different travel leagues as well as meeting the Babe Ruth League requirements in the current recreation leagues.
“We’ll play in the Empire League against Babe Ruth teams as well as the ENTB (Eastern New York Travel Baseball), playing mostly 14-year-old teams,” Frey said. “We’ll have other games in June and July against 14- and 15-year-old teams and maybe even 16s to get ready for the caliber of competition we’ll see.”
With a focus on the first four games in the middle of August, a winning record isn’t a priority until then.
“We’ll have success in the Empire League that will build their confidence,” Frey said. “We’ll probably be 15-25 over 40 games, but we’ll be better with our pitching and how our team moves.”
Frey will have to rely on those moves if his squad can earn its way through pool play and into single-elimination play the week of the World Series.
“At 13, we don’t have guys who are going to hit it over the fence, but we have some that are going to hit it into the gaps,” Frey said. “We have to play a similar brand of baseball that we do at Saint Rose — bunt, hit and run trick plays.”
The Bulldogs skipper knows something about hitting.
He hit .535 his junior year at Shenendehowa with three home runs and 30 RBI and .410 with eight home runs and 30 RBI in his senior season. During his freshman year at Schenectady Community College he led the nation for three weeks in hitting, finishing with a .482 average and All-America honors. He transferred to the College of St. Rose and was named All NE-10 his sophomore year, hitting .330 before two shoulder surgeries ended his career.
He is currently the head hitting instructor at All-Stars Academy and an assistant coach at St. Rose. He spent three years as an assistant with the Saratoga Stampede Legion squad and last year coached the Stampede 14-year-old team, turning it around from a 6-36 record to 35-10.
Now, Frey and his assistant coach, Dan Cafarelli will attempt to build confidence in players that are playing baseball on a regulation field with 90-foot base paths and 60-feet, 6-inches from the pitching rubber.
“After coaching 14-year-olds last year it’s amazing how much quicker and how much different, physically and mentally they are,” Frey said. “That extra year is a tremendous thing. We have to overcome the advantage that the 13-year-olds from California and Florida have,” Frey said. “They have all fall and winter of playing under their belt.”
Now, Frey is looking to mold his roster into winners down the home stretch in August.
“I think we can hit and play defense,” Frey said. “One strength is that we have some team speed; we stole six to seven bases the other day.
“Our strength is that we are going to be prepared,” Frey said. “We are going to do things that teams haven’t seen before and we’re going to hit for average.”CLIFTON PARK — Clifton Park Babe Ruth World Series host president is thrilled to be part of his fifth World Series event in Clifton Park and he wants to share those thoughts with the world.
“We have had tremendous success with all four previous Babe Ruth World Series events,” Butler said. “We expect to continue that success again this year and we’re again looking to set new standards for other local organizing committees.
“We have a reputation with Trenton (New Jersey) as being extremely organized and always having the best media coverage,” Butler said. “This won’t change, as we have launched our newest website and along with it our own social media components with it.”
The host committee has launched www.cliftonparkworldseries.com as its web presence along with its own Facebook page www.facebook.com/cliftonparkworldseries and its own Twitter site, ww.twitter.com/CliftonParkBRWS.
“It’s incredible how things have changed around us since we hosted our first Babe Ruth World Series event in 1997,” Butler said. “That year we constructed new dugouts, a press bunker on the only regulation field on the upper quad.
“Since then, we’ve added an entirely new regulation field adjacent to that first field, a meet
ing center above the concession stand and new dugouts for the World Series field,” Butler said.
“This has always been the culmination of the hard work of the Clifton Park Baseball League, their dedicated board, their volunteers and our ability to give back financially after each World Series.”
According to Butler, during the first World Series in 1997, most media reports were faxed to the media outlets with e-mail as a follow-up.
Since then, in 1999, 2002 and 2006 all scorekeeping was done electronically with reports sent via e-mail as technology continued to evolve.
“We had success in 2006 with our website and chat with fans of teams who couldn’t make the trip to Clifton Park,” Butler said. “We had a huge following in California from a parent of the Torrance team.
“They would shut down their office during the game, to follow our updates and chats,” Butler said. “Now those updates will be available throughout the nation with our Twitter updates, Facebook updates and people will get those right on their phones or in their offices.”
As the World Series host, Clifton Park earns a berth in the tournament automatically while eight other 13-year-old squads will represent their respective regions from throughout the United States and Canada. The Eastern New York State champion will also compete in the 10-team round-robin tournament beginning August 19 through Aug. 26.
“A lot of these champions are crowned just two weeks out from the beginning of our World Series,” Butler said. “To arrange air fare and accommodations in that short of a time can be a hardship for some parents.
“While the teams and their coaches are brought her at no charge and stay with our local host families, we don’t want them to be left out,” Butler said. “With our new social media tools and our website, we can keep everyone up to date every half inning or more, allowing them to be a part of this great event.”
“We have several stories up on our website. And the information will continue to flow for not only our host team, but their families, our sponsors and our fans throughout the Capital Region,” Butler said. “Our videos are well done. The information is great, and I’m sure every player is looking to have their face and name up on our websites, be part of our Tweets and mentions on Facebook.”
Former Clifton Park World Series pitcher, Shen grad and current Oakland A's minor leaguer, Murphy Smith, talks to this year's team candidates.
LATHAM — With snow still on the ground and a strong chill still in the air, things were heating up at the All-Stars Academy in Latham as the 2011 13-year-old Clifton Park Babe Ruth World Series host team candidates continued their winter workout sessions.
To break up the doldrums of not picking up grounders off the grass or digging into the batter’s box, Clifton Park manager Matt Frey decided to bring in a former World Series player and current minor league baseball star to offer some words of wisdom.
Former Clifton Park World Series pitcher, Shenendehowa hurler, Binghamton University fireballer and current Oakland A’s draft pick Murphy Smith stopped by to talk to the players, some who stood just past his waist.
“I was telling them to seize the opportunity,” Smith said. “It’s not something that every kid gets to do and when I played in it I still remember the innings that I pitched and the at-bats that I had like it was yesterday.
“It’s something that you’re never going to forget,” Smith said. “I told them not to take it for granted, enjoy the opportunity and learn from it as they try to take their game to the next level.”
Watch Murphy Smith talk about his experience and message on the Clifton Park BRWS You Tube channell.
Smith played in the 2002 14-year-old Babe Ruth World Series, hosted by Clifton Park and remembers what his days were like as a young teenager heading into the event that captivates baseball fans throughout the Capital Region for a week in August.
“There are some long days, especially in the summer, two-a-day practices, something that you’re not used to doing when you are a little bit younger,” Smith said. “But it’s something that teaches you a good work ethic and learn how to keep yourself locked in and working towards that World Series and try to represent your town the best you can.”
Smith moved from his time on the local Babe Ruth World Series team to the Shenendehowa varsity squad before receiving a scholarship to play Division I baseball at the University of Binghamton. In 2009 he was drafted by the Oakland A’s in the 13th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. The 6-foot 3-inch pitcher played on three teams his first year, the AZL Athletics at the Rookie Ball level, for the Vancouver Canadians in the Northwest League and the Kane County Cougars in the Midwest League. Last year he played again with the Kane County Cougars before moving up to the Stockton Ports of the California League at the Advanced A-league.
While Smith wowed the group of candidates with his experiences as they sat down around the artificial pitcher’s mound, he too remembered being wowed during his own World Series.
“From the size of the guys that came in and the overall talent,” Smith said. “We felt like we might have been a little over-matched, but that was what I was telling these guys to take advantage of the opportunity and try and compete with them.
“You find out sooner or later that it’s just baseball regardless of how big they are or where they come from,” Smith said. “It’s all baseball and its all relative.”
Smith stressed that their week in August, on their home field, will be a huge event and be ready to embrace it.
“The one game we won was pretty awesome, but really it was the overall experience,” Smith said. “I was telling the guys when they asked what it was like playing in front of a lot of people. I told them I felt like I was in the actual World Series, not just the Babe Ruth World Series.
“It’s just the whole atmosphere and it was really awesome,” Smith said. “One of my more vivid baseball memories and a great experience.”
Smith’s message was received like a fastball down the middle of the plate by the World Series candidates.
“He was telling us how many people were there and how fun it was,” Matt Alverson said. “It was cool to meet someone from the local area that made it to the major leagues and he’s starting spring training now.”
“I think it was very cool to see someone from our own backyard who played in a world series and is now playing in the minor leagues and professional baseball,” Andrew Cornell said. “I was surprised that that many people would come to watch us and I’m excited about this World Series.”
Their manager, who also has World Series experience and success on a bigger stage, was happy that Smith could make the time prior to leaving for spring training.
“He’s a guy that’s gotten drafted, someone who has come up through the Shen and Clifton Park program, it’s pretty exciting to have him come in to talk to these kids and tell them how special it is,” Frey said. “I hope that each and every kid listed to Murphy and wants to be like him and gets really excited for what we have going on in the next couple of months.”
The 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series will be hosted by Clifton Park Baseball Aug. 19-26 on the Clifton Common.
CLIFTON PARK — With the sound of aluminum bats striking baseballs around local baseball enthusiasts and their distinguished guests along with a signature on another legal document, Clifton Park Baseball and the Clifton Park World Series Committee once again agreed to partner with Babe Ruth Baseball League, Inc. to bring back another World Series to Clifton Common in August of 2011.
“We’re very excited to bring the 2011 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series to Clifton Park and come back for a fifth World Series in this community,” Babe Ruth Baseball League Inc. vice-president Robert Faherty, Jr. said. “It’s very comforting to know that you can turn to people that have experience and knowledge about an event this large, but also good feelings about the way the other World Series went and to repeat some of that for new kids coming in.”
Watch the signing video on the Clifton Park BRWS You Tube Channel.
Clifton Park hosted a World Series event in 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2006 at the Clifton Common baseball complex.
“I’m very proud of Clifton Park to be a sponsor of such a prestigious event,” Town of Clifton Park supervisor Phil Barrett said. “It’s an event that is seen far and wide and people pay attention to it up and down the Eastern seaboard and throughout the country.
“Here in Clifton Park because of our volunteers and the job that the baseball league has done the Babe Ruth organization has obviously made it clear that this is a place that they want to be because we do a good job here,” Barrett said. “Clifton Park is a great day to spend a few days if you are from out of town. We do everything we can to ensure that this event is better and better each time, working hand in hand with the baseball folks and our business community to make sure everyone can benefit.”
Babe Ruth Baseball League hosts nine annual World Series events throughout the United States, providing travel and accommodations to the eight regional winners. Unique to the Babe Ruth event is the utilization of local families to provide accommodations to the out-of-area players.
As the host community, Clifton Park Baseball League will select its own 13-year-old squad to compete in the event and also include the Eastern New York State champion in the World Series playing pool. All teams competing will play a four games of pool play before advancing to single-elimination playoff brackets.
“The one group of people that probably are the most important and why we are really back again is the host family program,” Faherty said. “The kids who have come to Clifton Park in the past four World Series their experiences have been life changing, meeting people from a different part of the country, to experience a different part of the country and go home with good memories. That’s why we’re happy to come back again for our fifth World Series in Clifton Park.”
Clifton Park resident Bill Butler has signed on for his fifth World Series event and his second as the host president, working almost every facet of the event during the past 13 years from field crew, to fund raising chair, to host parent to his current role.
“I hosted several boys from Peabody, Massachusetts who won a World Series here,” Butler said. “They were the longest people that have ever stayed in my home, that includes my parents and my family.
“They were with us for 15 days and they were like family to us, we still stay in contact with two of the three boys that we hosted and followed one of them into a semi-professional career,” Butler said.
“It’s extremely rewarding. Once you tell other people, once you get the bug, you end up wanting to do it all the time. It’s a lot of fun, it’s a lot of work up until the day it starts and then once it starts, it runs itself.”
The contract signing is not the beginning of the project, but the culmination of previous success and requests from the Clifton Park Baseball League board, working with the Clifton Park World Series committee to request a return engagement.
“You obviously have very strong leadership here with host president Bill Butler, Joe McCrudden the league president and of course over the past four World Series we have done and looking forward we’ve had a lot of good, strong volunteers,” Faherty said.
“The Clifton Common facilities has grown and improved because of Babe Ruth being here and we have added value to the league. We have that good, strong feeling about Clifton Park also and the greater community.”
According to Butler, the event carries a budget of approximately $250,000 to cover the costs associated with the event, from a site-fee paid to Babe Ruth League, Inc. that covers transportation for the incoming teams, hotel expenses for out-of-area umpires, coaches, dignitaries and officials along with preparation for the 2011 event.
“The lights on the steel field, close to $45,000 was donated to the erection of those lights,” Butler said. “For the last World Series we built two pro-style dugouts on the World Series field. We put $7,000 worth of sod on the field, plus pro-style composite on the infield. After the series with the proceeds we built four new dugouts on the lower quad for the Cal Ripken (division).”
The event also has an economic impact locally.
“We have a lot of people coming in from out of town that are going to stay here, they are going to buy gas, going to our restaurants, shopping at our malls,” Barrett said. “It does drive a lot of money into the community.
“We do benefit through our sales tax revenues that do occur from that as a county as well as Clifton Park itself,” Barrett said. “It’s really an event that has far reaching effects not only from a sports side as a baseball competition, but also an economic side here in our community and the entire Capital Region.”
With the event contractually official, work begins on recruiting host families, fund raising for the event and planned improvements to the World Series facility.“After the previous World Series, nothing surprises us about the community support from Clifton Park,” Butler said. “The people just pull together from the chamber of commerce to the local eateries, the stores, every place where people are welcomed, especially the people from out of town. We have tremendous sponsors in the Town of Clifton Park themselves, the County of Saratoga, Price Chopper Supermarkets, it’s been great. Everyone pitches in.
“It costs a fair amount of money and we try to put on a great event,” Butler said. “I think that’s what makes it fun and proud of the town of the way they get behind an event like this.”
The 2011 13-year-old Babe Ruth World Series will be held Aug. 19 to Aug. 26, 2011.
From South Central L.A. to Clifton Park, the Torrance squad won the hearts of the hosts and the Capital Region as they went on to capture their first-ever Babe Ruth World Series title. The trophy even got a seat of its own for the trip back to LAX>
CLIFTON PARK – With the Randy Newman song “I love L.A.” cued up on the Clifton Park World Series sound system, first baseman Juan Gonzales squeezed the final out from a toss by Torrance relief pitcher Marlon Suazo to seal the 11-3 victory over West End Baseball from Williamsport, Pa. and capture the 13-15-year-old Babe Ruth World Series in Clifton Park.
Torrance, appearing in its first-ever World Series took everything that the West End pitching staff threw at them, sending it all over the Clifton Park World Series field. Torrance scored its 11 runs on 12 hits and took advantage of four West End errors.
“We came here for that trophy,” Torrance manager Robert Ybarra, Sr. said. “We had a good time here, had fun, but we knew we had to take care of business on the field.
The Pacific Southwest regional champions pushed across a lone run in the first inning before exploding for seven runs in the second for a commanding 8-0 lead.
“We knew we had to be aggressive today,” Ybarra said. “We had just a few hits yesterday in the 2-1 game. We couldn’t do that today.”
Babe Ruth World Series Most Outstanding Player, Torrance right-hander Robert Ybarra, Jr. pitched five innings, allowed three earned runs, walked two and struck out five batters for the win.
“Ybarra wanted the ball this game,” Ybarra Sr. said. “He had a sore arm, but he put in a gutsy performance and wanted the ball. I’m so proud of him, getting the Most Outstanding Player is unbelievable.”
The Pacific Southwest regional champions sent a message in the first inning, utilizing four singles to score its first run of the contest which was only a precursor of things to come. Torrance exploded for seven runs in the second inning, putting the Middle Atlantic regional champs back on their heels.
West End answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the second. Brian Stopper hit a double over the head of the Torrance centerfielder and moved to third on Jon Steele’s single. Jared Mertes followed with a two RBI double of his own into left centerfield, scoring Stopper and Steele, cutting into the lead, 8-2.
Torrance tacked on two more runs in the top of the fourth inning as Jason Wheeler walked, Frankie Sixtos was hit by a pitch and Robert Ybarra, Jr. reached on an error by the third baseman. Kirk Hatfield singled in Wheeler and Sixtos for the 10-2 mark.
