Houston Sharks: News

1. 21   Juan Flores             2b/OF
2. 32  Adrian Meza            C/2b/OF
3. 28  Tony Perez               P/SS/C
4. 41   Justin Thibodeaux    P/3B/OF
5. 17   Danny Bajrami         SS/P/OF
6.       Pete Hayden             OF/IF
7.       Gilbert Flores          1B/C/OF
8. 18   Ernesto Quintana     CF/3B/P
9.        Derrick Pena           C/2b/OF
10.        Gabriel Cordova      C/OF/P
11.        Marco Figueora       
12.        Casey Vasquez   

Here is what is coming up

• 5/04/11- wed.- practice , doss park 7 pm 

Please arrive 1 hour prior to game time.  Thanks!!!!!

projected lineup for game 3 vs. Toros

1.  SS Danny Bajrami  2.  CF Ernesto Quintana  3.  LF Fabian Garza  4.  C Adrian Mesa  5.  P Marco Figueora  6.  3B Tony Perez  7.  1B Casey Vasquez  8.  RF Justin Thibodeaux  9.  2B Juan Flores

reserve- Pete Hayden, Gabe Cordova, and Derek Pena 

Sharks win 1st tournament of the year!

game 1    Texas Revolution- 11       Sharks- 3

This was kind of a long rivalry between these boys for many years being that most kids on this team played for the Cy-Fair Dragons.  And once again the Houston Sharks got off to their normal horrific start.  Lack of defense and no offense enabled the Revolution to have their way with no resistance.  Pitchers.  Derek Pena(loss), Ernesto Quintana, and Juan Flores.

game 2   Sharks -11       Gators-5

After losing their 8th game in a row.  Coach had a mandatory practice in between games.  The Sharks still made 3 errors in the 1st inning, but manage to put up some offense as the Sharks were able to run away with this.   Pitchers- Justin Thibodeaux(win), Tony Perez(S). Notable hits.  Luke Allen with a homerun and triple.

game 3  Sharks-6          Gators-3

1st inning.  Sharks recorded 2 quick outs and then here comes the 1st inning errors.  Allowing the Gators to get 3 runs free at the expense of our defense.  However, thats all that they were allowed to get.  And the Sharks were able to to stage a comeback and secure their 1st trophy of the year.  Notable plays- Peter making some nice plays at third.  Nito, Danny, and Luke completed a 4-6-3 double play at a crucial time.  Tony Perez with zero earned runs with the (win).  JT with a 1, 2, 3 final inning to complete the save.

Jim Adler-   $250.00

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The Houston Sharks and the Jason Bourgeios Youth Sports baseball league like to thank our sponsors.  Your donation is greatly appreciated!  The money donated will be used for equipment, uniforms, practice facilities, and/or tournament fees.

2011 Tournament Schedule for the Houston Sharks:

• 3/18     March Madness(Sugarland)          (0-2-1)
• 4/01     GOLD GLOVE CLASSIC(Doss)     $50.00
• 4/15     GSL - King of the HILL(Sugarlan) $50.00
• 4/30    Battle of Loeb (Lumberton)           $40.00
• 5/21     2011 SAM BASS(Pflugerville)      $40.00
• 5/27     "The" Texas Invitational(baseballusa) $65.00

Brian McTaggart is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

game 3 vs. W.Brazos Sox (Sharks 4-1)

 The Houston Sharks would like to give special thanks to our generous sponsors that have donated time, money, or other resources during the 2010 season.

• Jason Bourgeois Youth Sports, Inc. (Fundraising and Other Team Activities)
• Northwest Baseball Association (Field and Cage Access)
• Kroger (Fundraising Activities)
• Robbins Chevrolet (Cash Donation)
• UV Country (Cash Donation)
• Andrew Nicholas (Cash Donation)

Bracket Game 3 - Houston Sharks 9,  Katy Athletics 5

The Houston Sharks continued their winning streak Friday morning with an impressive comeback victory against the Katy Athletics.  The Sharks failed to score in the top of the 1st despite a double by Mitchel.  In the bottom of the 1st, Eric came out throwing strikes, but the defense committed 5 errors to allow the Katy Athletics to take a 3-0 lead.  In the top of the 2nd, Ernesto reached on catcher interference and Justin and Peter both singled to bring in 2 runs.  The score stayed 3-2 until the bottom of the 5th inning when the Sharks committed 3 more errors helping the Athletics to a 5 to 2 lead.  Things were starting to look bleak as we moved into the top of the 6th inning, but the Sharks didn't give up.  Pauly started the inning by reaching on an error by the 3rd baseman.  Eric followed with a single and Adrian walked to load the bases for Mitchel.  At this point, the Athletics changed pitchers to try and preserve their lead.  Mitchel ended their hopes with a bases clearing triple that tied the game at 5-5.  But the Sharks weren't done yet.  Austin was hit by a pitch.  With Mitchel at 3B, Tony put down a nice squeeze bunt to bring him home and take the lead 6 to 5.  Ernesto followed with a dribbler that the pitcher misplayed allowing Ernesto to reach 1B and Austin to move to 3B.  Ernesto stole 2nd base on the first pitch to Justin so the Athletics went ahead and intentionally walked Justin to load the bases again with 1 out.  Brandon put the ball in play and reached on an error by the first baseman that allowed Austin and Ernesto to score.  Peter then singled to bring in Justin for the 7th run of the inning.  All in all, the Sharks ended up sending 11 batters to the plate and taking the lead 9 to 5.  In the bottom of the 6th, Eric struck out the first batter and induced a fly ball to Ernesto in CF to get two quick outs.  After a misplay on a fly ball, Eric got the next batter to ground out to Tony at SS to end the threat and hang onto the win.  This was a great comeback victory by the Houston Sharks against a very good Katy Athletics team.  We need just one more win to get to the championship game.

GO SHARKS!!!

Bracket Game 4 - Houston Sharks 0,  Texas Seminoles Maroon 1

This game had a lot of the drama that we've come to expect from youth baseball.  The umpire was calling a "generous" strike zone which made things tough for the hitters. Brandon kept the Seminoles in check throughout the game.  Our offense managed just a few hits over 6 innings.  Unfortunately, some poor baserunning eliminated the few opportunities that we had.  In the bottom of the 6th, the Seminoles singled to get a runner on with nobody out.  Brandon struck out the next batter but their runner stole 2B to get into scoring position with only 1 out.  Brandon picked off the runner, but the Sharks were unable to execute the rundown, allowing the runner to get to 3B.  We pulled our defense in and the next batter singled up the middle to bring in the winning run.  Except for the final result, this was a very entertaining game.  The result of this game means that we have to play again at noon on Friday for the right to get back to the championship game.

Bracket Game 5 - Houston Sharks 5, Katy Krushers 6

The Krushers came out with the same pitcher we saw in the previous bracket game.  He was throwing a lot of slow breaking balls that made it hard for our guys to get their timing.  He held the Sharks scoreless for 5 innings.  Eric took the mound and pitched a 1-hitter over 4 innings.  The Krushers got one earned run after a walk and two unearned runs after a couple of fielding errors.  In the 5th inning Adrian came on in relief giving up one run in the 5th.  Going into the top of the 6th, our boys were down 4 to 0 and things were definitely not looking good.  When Juanito singled with a hard line drive over 2B, a small glimmer of hope awakened.  Peter followed with a bloop single and the glimmer turned into a sparkle.  Pauly hit a hard ground ball that moved Nito to 3B and forced Peter at 2B for the 2nd out.  Eric started his at bat by taking a pitch to allow Pauly to steal 2B and get into scoring position.  Eric ripped the next pitch through the hole on the left side of the infield scoring Nito and Pauly.  Eric took 2B on the throw home.  The next batter grounded to 2B, moving Eric to 3B.  Still down 4 to 2, the sparkle of hope was starting to sputter.  Mitchel took a strike and then hit a long double to deep centerfield scoring Eric.  This brought Austin to the plate.  Austin proceeded to crush the first pitch to deep left field.  Everyone held their breath as they tracked the ball in the sky.  When it cleared the fence, the Sharks crowd and bench exploded with cheers.  Going into the bottom of the 6th inning, the Sharks now led the Krushers 5 to 4.  Unfortunately, the joy was short lived.  In the bottom of the 6th, the Krushers came back with a couple of hits of their own to take the lead and the win 6 to 5.  It was a tremendously exciting ball game and we were all very proud that our Sharks didn't give up at the end.

The Houston Sharks finished their 12U season on a high note, taking 3rd place out of 14 teams in the AA World Series at Baseball USA.  They finished pool play with a 2-1 record.  After bracket play, the Sharks finished with an overall record of 5-3, including wins against what turned out to be the #1, #2, and #4 seeded teams in the tournament.  The Sharks tournament run included many dramatic comebacks (documented below) that really showed the great hearts of these boys.  Five different Sharks players combined to hit 7 home runs during the World Series.  Our pitchers gave us one outstanding performance after another and our defense played steady in all but one game.

World Series Hitting Awards

During the series, the coaches sponsored a contest for the players that got the most hits.  The final standings were:

• 1st Place - Mitchel San Miguel (13 hits)
• 2nd Place - Austin Ferguson (11 hits)
• 3rd Place - Ernesto Hernandez (8 hits)

World Series Team Awards

The Houston Sharks always give out special awards to acknowlege great performances during the tournament.  The awards for the 2010 World Series are as follows:

• Tourney MVP:  Mitchel San Miguel
• Co-Cy Young:   Brandon Perry, Eric Estepp
• Co-Cold Glove: Austin Ferguson, Tony Perez
• Hustle Man:  Peter Hayden

Saturday 1-1    - Beat the Bulls 9-6 and lost to the Cougars 9-1 and that put us as the 8th seed going in to Bracket play on Sunday. 

Sunday- 3-1.  Began the day facing the Bulls again at 0800.  Eric Estepp on the mound.  Adrian Meza, voted MVP by his team mates made a blue star diving catch in shallow right field to start the day.  Defensively it was a struggle and it kept the Bulls in the game, but the offensive onslaught enabled the Sharks to get by and advance to face the Bulldogs in game 2.   Sharks 8-7 over Bulls.

The Sharks got down early to a scrappy Bulldog team 5-0 due to defensive mishaps.  But the Sharks offensive onslaught continued....  Adrian, Robert, Austin, and Ernesto all had hits.  Eric had 3 hits and scored twice.  A key hit by Paully Castellano in the 4th inning helped ignite the Sharks to upset the Bulldog Baseball team 9-7.  Brandon threw 106 pitches to close the deal and allow the Sharks to advance to game 3 against the Kingwood Dynasty.

The offensive output continued as the Sharks jumped out early against the Dynasty.  Tony Perez shut the Dynasty down by allowing the defensive to make plays by throwing strike after strike.  Key hits by Austin, Mitchel, Ernesto, Robert, Brandon, and Adrian.  Eric Estepp came in the 6th to close the game as the Sharks held off the Dynasty 9-7.

Championship game vs. the Lone Star Cougars.  Justin Thibodeaux got the start and held his ground.  Austin Ferguson came in relief for 3 innings of awesome pitching.  Eric had a hard hit ball to 3B get stuck between the fingers of his glove, but was able to pull it out in time to throw the runner out.  Adrian came on in relief in the 5th inning and delivered a key strikeout to end the Cougar's 5th and preserve a 4-3 lead going into the 6th inning, but unfortunately the Sharks ran out of gas.  The Cougars scored 2 in the bottom of the 6th to beat the Sharks 5-4 to end a fun day of baseball.  Good job Sharks and keep up the good work!!!!!

MVP- Adrian Meza

Cy-Young- Brandon Perry

Gold Glove- Ernesto Hernandez

Hustle Man- Paul Castellano

Thanks to Kerry Hardy, president of Jason Bourgeois  Youth Sports.  The Sharks were able to full fill a fantasy by stepping on the field of Minute Maid park while the Cincinnati Reds took live batting practice.  Dusty Baker gave each kids a personal baseball with his signature on it and took photos with each team.  Dusty is a proud sponsor of JBYS and is awesome to talk to in person. (former Marine just like Coach Juan... OOOH - RAH!)  Former Astro great Jimmy Wynn was also there for the kids as the Reds took BP.

So thank you Kerry....  The Sharks are proud to be associated with JBYS....  The game did not turn out so well for our home team Houston Astros, but Dusty gave JBYS a memory that we'll treasure for ever!!!!!

Awards for September Send off At Big League Dreams::

• MVP- Colton Starns
• Cy Young - Jybril Hardy
• Hustle Man- Isaiah Brooks

The Sharks Finished 3rd out of 10 teams at Big League Dreams this past weekend to kick things off in 2010.  Colton Starns, voted MVP by team mates, did an awesome job behind the plate.  He made things easy on the coaching staff by keeping the better defense out on the field and enabled the use of a variety of pitcher's.  All but one player, Colton, was able to get some time on the mound.  Awesome job boys!

Overall, the pitchers did a good job.  Jybril Hardy(voted Cy Young) and Brandon Perry were credited wins on this tournament.  Isaiah Brooks (voted Hustle Man) used his speed to cause havoc on the bases and cut extra bases into singles on defense.  All the boys did a good job! 

• Pool Game 1

  Houston Sharks

  10

  Nacogdoches Cobras

  4

• Pool Game 3

  Crosby Cardinals

  9

  Houston Sharks

  4

• Houston Sharks

  8

  League City Lightning

  2

• Texas Wranglers

  9

  Houston Sharks

  2

MVP- Justin Thibodeaux

Cy Young- Eric Estepp

Hustle Man - Austin Ferguson

Gold Glove - Juan Flores

Games 1- 3  summary.......  ugly, ugly,  and just plain ugly........  pool game 1 was a loss to the Alvin Longhorns 11-1. pool game 2 was a loss to the Colt 45's 11-5.  Double elimination bracket started with a loss on wednesday to the La Porte Legacy 13-5.  Yes, it was that bad.......

Games 4, 5, 6, facing elimination, was something to be proud of as they beat the Alvin Longhorns 10-5, the Katy Sting 9-2, and fought a good battle with the La Porte Legacy losing 7-3 in the final game of the season.......  Highlights-  Mitchel San Miguel, voted the MVP by his team mates, crushed at least 3 balls deep into the outfield for at least 2 triples and one inside the park Home run.  He will come into the Fall season as Captain of the Houston Sharks.  Danny Bajrami, voted gold glove by his team mates, was making unbelievable plays at shortstop turning hits into outs.  Austin Ferguson "Moose", voted hustle man by his team mates, showed no signs of giving up throughout the tournament....  Eric Estepp and Brandon Perry, co Cy Young award winners, enabled the Sharks to stay in the tournament with their dominant performances on the mound......  Good job to all the boys for their efforts!!!!  Gabe, Nito, JT, Robert, and Adrian!!!!!!

click on the headline to see action photos of the boys on facebook!!!!!  Gots to love the Sharks!!!!

Game 1 vs.  Texas Force- pool

This game belonged to Austin Ferguson.  He hustled on the bases creating mistakes and taken advantage of them.  The Sharks played sloppy on defense, but manage to put together a little offense to keep the game close in the late innings.  Then Austin blasted a shot deep over the left field fence to put the game away as the Sharks won 10-7.

Game 2 vs. Texas Ten- pool

The Sharks missed signs, didn't listen on the bases, and played with an attitude that is not accepted in baseball....  Texas Ten had no problems putting this game away as the Sharks lost 10-4.

game 3 vs. Crosby Cardinals- bracket

The Cardinals started the game by striking out 5 Sharks as we thought that this would be a pitching duel.  Eric Estepp matched their pitcher by creating several ground balls with his mix of pitches.  The Cardinals had 2 base runners on second in the early going and both were picked off by Eric and Nito.  Brandon Perry hit a shot to take a 3-0 lead over the right field fence.  Austin Ferguson had a 3 run blast in left center....  And Danny Bajrami hit a towering blast over the left field fence as the Sharks put some offense behind some great pitching from Eric.  Oh by the way....  This was the most enthused game of the year.  Sharks 10 - Cardinals- 4..

.game 4 vs.  Texas Sluggers

Sloppy defense and a few base running mistakes were the key to losing this game, but the Sharks fought hard and had a lot of enthusiasm throughout the game.  Justin Thibodeaux had key hits to let the Sharks come back and tie the game at 6 in the last inning.  He was voted tournament MVP by his team mates.  The Sluggers ended the game with a walk off home run as they beat the Sharks 8-6.  Overall, it was a good showing for the boys in blue.     

Our Houston Sharks gave a strong showing this weekend.  They won both pool games on Saturday to earn the top seed going into Sunday's bracket play.  On Sunday, they sent the BC Hustle packing in the semi-final game then lost to the Pasadena Cobras in the championship game.  The Sharks finished 3-1 and took home hardware for the second week in a row.  The boys also didn't forget their mothers on this special day.  Each of the boys presented their mom with an autographed baseball and a rose and posed for pictures.  The boys whose mom's couldn't make it to the game got the special treat of having all of the other mom's stand-in for the picture.

 We'll add detailed game results and tournament awards later...

On Sunday Feb. 08, the Houston Sharks and the Pearland Lightning officially joined forces and had a blast at Tom Bass Park in Pearland.  BBQ, games, the hard work from Kerry Hardy,  and all particiapting parents made this a huge success. 

 Special guest, Jason Bourgeois of the Brewers, talked baseball and his journey through the minor league system.  He made sure that the boys understood that baseball is secondary to school work.  Encouraged the boys to work hard and to have love for the game.  He explained where he was at and how he felt when he got the call to join the Chicago White Sox late last year.  Also, how good it felt to get his 1st hit at Yankee stadium.... (Go to News and scroll down to sept 24 and see his 1st mlb hit..........................http://www.eteamz.com/HoustonSharks/news/)

Well, keep your eyes on #61 for the Milwakee Brewers in the Arizona Cactus League this spring and pray that he makes the 40 man roster.  Good luck Jason!!!!!  The Houston Sharks and the Pearland Lightning will support you all the way through.........

 You can click on the headline to view the box score for the game.  We also have video captures of his two at bats versus the New York Yankees on September 18, 2008.

Click here to see a video (10.9MB) of Jason's first at bat where he almost got a hit.

Click here to see a video (26.7MB) of Jason's second at bat where he rips a double to left field.

Jason Bourgeois finally got his opportunity to do what he has always dreamed of doing.  At the age of 26, he finally got the call to the big show!!!!!  In his 1st major league at bat vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, Jason grounded out up the middle to 2B for a 4-3 put out.  This is his 1st of many AB's.  And looking at his success in the minors, he is definitely going to make some H-town noise in the Big Leagues.......

Jason's Dad said that he was with his girl friend in Oklahoma when he got the call.  Left his car and belongings where they were.   Got on the 1st flight to Chicago to join his new teammates and help the White Sox make their way to another World Series appearance.  This is an exciting time for Jason, his family, and the Houston Sharks organization.  Work ethic, determination, and a will to be the best got Jason where he is at now.  Congratulations "J" and good luck on your Major League career.

Our Sharks came out sluggish on Friday at 8am against Team Combat.  We didn't pitch or hit all that well in this game.  It seemed like our boys suffered a bit of a letdown in the wake of the three wins on Thursday.  Team Combat got up early in the 1st inning and our boys never really recovered.  The offense sputtered to life late in the game, but it wasn't enough to mount a serious comeback.  Our Sharks ended up going down 13 to 5.

Overall our Sharks finished the World Series with a very respectable 4-3 record.  By playing 3 more than the guaranteed 4-game minimum, our boys got their money's worth and gave their fans a lot to cheer about.  Way to go Sharks!!!

The Opening Ceremonies for the USSSA 10U-AA World Series kicked off at 7:30pm on Sunday, July 6th.  The boys looked great in their uniforms as they paraded around the field at Osceola County Stadium, Home of the Houston Astros Spring Training.  The Sharks made a lot of noise for their boys as they passed first base.  There were about 20 or so teams at the ceremony, spread across the 10U, 12U, and 14U age groups.  We had 14 teams in our 10U-AA division.  A lot of the teams brought trading pins so everyone got to mingle with folks on the other teams while trying exchange pins.  Everyone seemed to be having a good time building up their collections.

After the opening ceremonies, the 10U teams moved  back to another field to hold several competitions.  These competitions included Road Runner, Golden Arm, and Around the Horn.  Zach Durbin circled the bases fast in the Road Runner competition but didn't quite break into the top 3.    The Sharks represented themselves well in the Around the Horn competition, with only one error that dropped us out of the running by a few seconds.  Sharks centerfielder Robert Bullard competed in the Golden Arm competition.  In the opening round, players got to make three throws to home from centerfield.  The idea was to have the ball reach home plate in the air, so judges were marking the first spot the ball hit on the ground.  Roberts first couple of throws came up short, but on the third throw, he landed the ball about 10-12 feet from Georgie Diaz waiting at home plate.  After a two-throw tie-breaker, Robert qualified for the finals.  In the finals, Robert made a tremendous throw to a few feet of home plate to take home the Golden Arm award.  Robert's win helped get the Sharks World Series visit off to a great start.

The Houston area will be well represented at this years 10U-AA World Series in Kissimmee, FL.  According to the posted information the following Houston area teams are scheduled to participate:

1.  Houston Sharks
2. Katy Curve
3. CyFair Dragons
4. CyFair Raiders
5. Houston Havoc
6. Magnolia Diablos

If we expand the list to include teams from Texas we can add:

1. El Paso Pirates
2. Southeast Texas Hurricanes
3. Bad Boyz

That left only 5 teams from other areas:

1. Central Heat (Louisiana)
2. Team Combat (Florida)
3. Red Raiders (Florida)
4. Brentwood Bulldogs (Tennessee)
5. Wildcats (Georgia)