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Monday, January 21
Cobras Black Finish in the final 8 at the USSSA MLK Elite Super NIT Major
The Cobras had another strong showing playing at an Elite WS qualifier. This one featured many top 13U Major teams from So Cal, Nor Cal and even some from as far away as Texas. The team has played in both of the Super NIT Elite Quals that are offered in California and have finished in the final 8 at both of them. The team will continue to look for high level tournaments to compete in.
Wednesday, November 26
Cobras Black finish in Final 8 at USSSA Thansgiving Elite Super NIT in San Diego
The Cobras traveled to San Diego for Thanksgiving to test themselves against 14 other high level teams from all over California. All these teams came with the goal of earning an Elite World Series qualification for the summer of 2008 held in Florida. Three of the 14 teams played and had a strong showing at the Elite last summer. So the Cobras knew they would face some tough competition.
Game 1 Win 9-1 - The Cobras got off to a great start and looked sharp against a solid Scripps Ranch Falcons team from San Diego. Tommy Callahan had another strong performance on the hill spreading out a few hits over 5 innings and only allowing 1 run. The team played solid defense behind him and Jonah Jarrard was a stud behind the plate (Callahan and Jarrard have been battery mates since they were 10). The Cobras got on the board early scoring 4 runs in the 1st. Royce Park and Callahan singled and took 2nd and 3rd on a ball in the dirt. Karlsen Termini and Chris Reed both singled to knock in the first 2 runs. Tommy Gustovich hit a ball to the right side to score the runner from 3rd before Jacob Salazar singled in the 4th run of the inning. In the 2nd the Falcons got their only run of the game. Wolfgang Ehrgott led off the 3rd inning with a single, then Jarrard singled, but the OF misplayed the ball allowing the runners to take 2nd and 3rd. Callahan hit a ball to the right side to score the runner from 3rd before Termini singled in another giving the Cobras a few more runs. The Cobras put up more runs in the 4th on a 2 RBI double from Reed giving us a comfortable 8-1 lead that held to the 6th. Kevin Macedo came on in relief for the final 2 innings and did not allow a hit. Park led off the last inning with a blast to left center for a triple and Jarrard singled him home to give us the run rule victory.
Game 2 Loss 10-0 - The 2nd game did not go as well for the Cobras when they took on a very strong All American Sports Academy team from Northern Cal. Not much to say for this one as the team lost 10-0. Karlsen Termini was on the hill and looked to be throwing very well (fastball had good velocity and he was working in good off speed), but the NorCal team could just do no wrong at the plate and they just had a game where they were just really on. Termini is one of our go to guys and is always effective so that says a lot for the NorCal team. After giving up 3 runs in the first, Termini settled in and kept us within striking distance only giving up 1 other run over the next few innings. We were still very much in it down only 4-0 in the 4th. But, the problem was we ran into a NorCal pitcher that was in a zone and could not get anything going against him...he had us off balance all game and their defense never gave us a chance to capitalize on a mistake. They added 2 more runs in the 4th giving them a 6-0 lead into the 5th. Wolfgang Ehrgott came on to pitch and also looked to be throwing well (encouraging as he is working his way back from an injury), but the NorCal team continued to stay locked in at the plate and was able to add 4 more. We had a final chance to stay out of the run rule in the bottom of the 5th, but it was not to be on this night.
Game 3 Win 10-5 - The coaches wondered how the team would respond to the tough Friday night loss in an early Game 3 on Saturday morning...this was now a must win if they wanted a real chance to advance to Sunday. The boys came out ready to play and seemed to have put the loss out of their heads. The NC Cougars were throwing a big, hard throwing lefty at us. We responded by throwing our big, hard throwing Royce Park at them. The Cobras jumped ahead in the top of 1 when Jarrard doubled and Reed doubled him in for the first run of the game. The Cougars answered with 4 of their own in the bottom of the 1st. They had a few clean hits, but really benefited from a tough call and an error. Park got the lead off guy to ground to short and it looked like an easy 6-3 by a full half step, but the umpire called the runner safe. Later in the inning an error would give them 2 unearned runs which gave them 4 total. In the top of the 2nd, down 4-1, the Cobras answered by putting up 7 runs. Victor Magallanes got it started with a lead off single, Kevin Macedo also singled and Park walked to load them up with 1 out. Jarrard pushed a run in with a ball hit to the right side before Callahan hit an RBI single, Termini a 2 RBI double, Reed an RBI single and Gustovich an RBI single before Magallanes flied out to center to end the big inning. After the bad breaks 1st inning, Park stayed composed and dealt for the next 4 innings only giving up 1 more unearned run while striking out 5 before handing the ball and an 8-5 lead to Callahan for the final 2 innings. In the 6th, Callahan got himself in and then out of a jam when he loaded the bases with no outs (single, walk, single) and then got the lead off hitter to hit into a 1-2-3 double play (Callahan-Gustovich-Termini) and got the next batter to pop out. Somehow we managed to escape that mess without giving up a run. In the top of the 7th, Callahan, Termini, Gustovich, Magallanes and Salazar all singled with some outs mixed in this added up to 2 insurance runs. Things were less interesting in the bottom of the 7th when Callahan retired their 3,4,5 hitters in order. The Cobras record goes to 2-1 and they are 1 win away from advancing to Sunday.
Game 4 Tough 7-5 Loss - This was a win and move on game for us and we had to take on an elite Tides Black team. This Tides team had a strong showing at last year's Elite WS and they added a few more big studs to this year's roster. We knew this would be a tough game, but we liked our chances as we had the live arm of Jonah Jarrad on the hill. The Cobras were anything but intimidated by the undefeated Tides team and jumped all over them in the top of the 1st scoring 4 runs. Park led off and reached with a high fly ball that was misplayed. We took advantage of this mistake when Jarrard crushed a double to the 300' fence in left center scoring Park from 1st. Callahan was hit by a pitch to put runners on 1st and 2nd before Termini blasted a 2 RBI double. Later in the inning Salazar plated Termini with a single to give the Cobras a 4-0 lead. In the bottom of the 1st, Jarrard took the hill and looked great retiring 3 of the first 4 batters. The Cobras added another run in the 2nd when Jarrard scored from first on Callahan's line drive double down the line into the left field corner giving the Cobras a commanding 5-0 lead into the bottom of the 2nd. We knew the Tides were not going to quit as they were playing for a #1 or #2 seed (they ended up as the #2 seed) and in the bottom of the 2nd we had "one of those innings" and saw our lead slip away...a few misplays, error, bunts, injured pitcher and a double gave the Tides a 6-5 lead! It would have been easy to quit at that point, but our team hung in there and kept it a game. We had to change pitchers due to an injury to Jarrard. Chris Reed came on in the 3rd with 2 on and no outs and got 3 straight ground outs (which resulted in 1 more run, but kept the game within reach at 7-5). Not wanting to risk anything, the Tides went to their huge, flame throwing closer. We managed to load the bases in the 4th, but could not cash in any runs. In the 5th, Reed continued to look great getting 3 quick outs and kept us in the game down only 2. Actually, in a tough spot Reed came in and threw 2 innings of no hit ball for us. In the bottom of the 5th, we threatened again with a few base runners, but again could not get them home. The game was called on time and we took the very tough 7-5 loss.
So, with a 2-2 record we finished in the top 8 of 14, but failed to advance to Sunday. We had moments where we looked a little sloppy, but overall we had a strong showing for an elite level tournament. This experience will make us a better team, but we would all love another crack at that one bad inning! We are now on break for December after a very successful Fall season....4 USSSA Major tournaments - 1 NIT championship, twice Runner-Up (1 was another NIT) and a final 8 at an elite qualifier. Great job, but there is plenty of room for improvement and we will get back to work in early January.
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Monday, November 12
Cobras Black 2007 USSSA Veteran's Day NIT Major Division Finalist
The Cobras make the championship game of a USSSA Major tournament for the third time this Fall! They have a 1st place finish and two 2nd place finishes. After coming out flat in game 1 they were able to turn it around and get to the finals.
In Game 1 Karlsen Termini took the hill and looked very good, but did not get the support behind him as the team looked flat defensively. Park and Reed also came on to pitch and looked good, but the team was just flat and maybe a little rusty after taking a little time off. The top pitcher for the Chaos kept our bats quiet and we lost this one 8-1. Victor Magallanes provided the only offensive highlight by smashing a triple and scoring on a base hit by Jacob Salazar.
Game 2 the Cobras looked like a different team playing crisp defense and the usual strong pitching. Royce Park, Chris Reed and Tommy Callahan combined to pitch an 8-0 shutout over the Stallions. The bats were alive in this one from the beginning when Jonah Jarrard crushed a triple to the gap in left center. Wolfgang Ehrgott just back from a few weeks in Australia walked and scored a run in this one.
Game 3 actually turned out to be the semi final game with the winner advancing to the finals. The Cobras faced a tough San Diego Sluggers Red team. Tommy Callahan was on the hill and pitched 6 innings of no hit ball (with the help of some amazing defensive plays behind him). The Cobras struck first in the 2nd inning when Tommy Gustovich walked, stole 2nd and was sacrificed over to 3rd before Jacob Salazar singled him home for the first run of the game. The Cobras held on to this 1-0 lead into the 5th when Callahan helped his cause with a 2 RBI double giving the team a little breathing room up 3-0. In the top of the 7th Brandon Olson led off with a walk and then stole 2nd, Park walked and then Jarrard hit a 2 RBI double...Termini singled and then Reed hit an RBI double to give the Cobras 3 more insurance runs. In the bottom of the 7th, with the no hitter in tact and a 6-0 lead, Callahan took the hill and gave up a bloop single to the lead off hitter! Then hung a curve to the next batter for another hit...Chris Reed took over on the hill to close it out. An error allowed both base runners to score, but then Reed retired the next 3 batters to get the save and the Cobras took a 6-2 victory and headed to the finals.
Game 4 the Cobras get a rematch against the Chaos for the title and lose a very close game by 1 run. Things looked much different this time around as Jonah Jarrard took the hill and struck out the side to start the game! In the bottom half the Cobras struck first when Jarrard and Callahan walked before Reed hit an RBI single to put the Cobras up 1-0. Jarrard continued to pitch very well, but a few bloop singles and sacs over 3 innings gave the Chaos a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the 4th. In the bottom of the 4th the Cobras fought back. Magallanes led off with a walk, then 2 batters K'd before Park singled, Jarrard walked to load the bases. Callahan hit an RBI single and Termini drew a bases loaded walk. Chris Reed hit a rocket line drive to left field that was dropped and 2 more runs scored. With a runner on 2nd Tommy Gustovich singled and the runner trying to score from 2nd was thrown out at the plate on a close play to end the inning. The damage was done and the Cobras now had a 5-4 lead into the top of the 5th. Karlsen Termini relieved Jarrard on the hill and kept the Chaos bats quiet. In the top of the 6th the Chaos scored 2 runs...with 1 out the 3 hitter reached on a very questionable hit by pitch, the next batter drew a walk and then a single scored 1 and another runner attempting to score appeared to be thrown out at the plate, but the umpire made the call of safe giving the Chaos a 1 run lead. The Cobras had one last chance in the bottom half and looked good when Callahan led off with a walk and took 2nd on a ball in the dirt. Unfortunately, it was not to be our game and we left the runner stranded on 2nd.
Congrats to the Chaos on a well played game and the championship. We have a lot of fun playing their team. Great job overall and lots to be proud of. The team is playing very well and the fact that we are 3 for 3 in getting to the finals in USSSA Major tournaments this Fall says a lot. It is not an easy task with all the talent in So Cal. Great job and good luck at the Elite Super NIT in San Diego over the Thanksgiving weekend.
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Thursday, October 9
Cobras Black 13U Columbus Day Major Finalist
The SGV Cobras Black 13U team continues their great start by making it to another USSSA Major division championship game! They fell short of the title this time and finished runner-up at the USSSA Columbus Day Classic. This team has played in 2 USSSA Major Division tournaments in the past month and has made the championship game in both of them! In the finals, the boys faced a very strong OC Hawks team who finished 3rd at the Elite World Series. Although the Cobras gave them a good game, the Hawks proved to be too much for the Cobras on this day. The team has great chemistry and is playing great ball right now with a record of 16-4. The team's next tournament will be at the end of October when they travel to Las Vegas to play in the Desert Fall Classic.
Wednesday, September 5
Cobras Black 13U Labor Day Major Champions
A slightly rebuilt Cobras Black team took to the field during the Labor Day weekend for their first USSSA tournament as 13's and did something that we were unable to do last year...take home a USSSA Major division tournament championship! All of our core players returned for this season and with the addition of several quality players the team looks stronger than ever. The team welcomes new players Karlsen Termini, Jacob Salazar, Brandon Olson, Victor Magallanes and their families to the Cobras family.
Can't think of a better way to get the 13U season started...going 5-1 and taking the championship at a big USSSA tournament. On their way to the title, the boys battled extreme heat all weekend and bounced back from a very disappointing game 2 pool play loss by winning 4 straight games. The championship was a great game against the team that handed them their only loss of the tournament...with the score 3-3 in the final inning the Cobras bats came alive started by a bases clearing double by Tommy Callahan as they put up 6 runs in the top half before recording the final three outs! Karlsen Termini stepped up huge and pitched a complete game win over a very strong LB Chaos team.
At the time of this post, we currently have a 12-2 overall record...this is the best start our team has ever had over the past few years. Looks like the team chemistry is near perfect and this should be another great year of baseball. Congrats and keep up the good work! Let's build on this strong start.
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Thursday, July 17
12U - Strong Finish at Cooperstown to end 2007 Season
The 2007 Cobras 12U Black season has come to an end, but the team finished with a championship appearance at the Cooperstown. The team played some great games against some strong teams in pool play (several teams from IL, a team from MA, a very strong GA Bulldogs team and an undefeated Maryland team). The team finished 5-1 in pool play to take the 3rd seed. The only loss was to the undefeated #2 seed from Maryland...the #1 seed was the always tough OC Hawks. In the playoffs the Cobras beat a team from MA and then a team from Nor Cal to get into the semis. In the semis they looked to avenge their mercy loss to the tough Maryland team. In a great game that finished tied 3-3 after 6 and went to extra innings, the Cobras finally put the MD team away with a 3 run game winning HR in the 7th off the bat of Tommy Callahan. In the finals the Cobras played the undefeated, elite WS bound OC Hawks. The Hawks jumped ahead quickly 5-0, but the Cobras fought and got back in the game with a grand slam from Jonah Jarrard to make it 5-4. But the Hawks were too much and pulled ahead to win the game 12-4.
The Cobras can be very proud of the fact that they made the finals in a tournament of this size. It was an exciting week that featured a few grand slams (Gustovich over the Green Monster and Jarrard's in the championship), a few game winning homers (Callahan hit one in pool play and one in the semi-final) and what nobody will ever forget....having the back to back to back to back (4) homers in a row by Park, Jarrard, Callahan and Reed to start a game!!
The Cobras 12U Black season is over, but after taking a month off to recover we will start to prepare for the upcoming 13U Black season. We have several players who will be moving on and we wish them luck. We will be looking to add several new players to our solid team and will have open tryouts on August 12th at 9:30AM. Contact us if interested.
Cooperstown Stats:
http://cooperstownallstarvillage.com/yhof/weekstats.php?season=2007&week=32&team=123859
Saturday, July 14
SGV Cobras Black 12U Take 2nd in Cooperstown, NY
The SGV Cobras Black 12U baseball club, based in the West San Gabriel Valley, represented the San Gabriel Valley well as they went 8-2 and made it to the championship game of the Cooperstown National Baseball Tournament in Cooperstown, NY during the week of July 4th. The Cobras faced tough competition from all over the United States. The highlight of the tournament was an extra innings semi-final win against an undefeated Maryland Select team which put the Cobras in the championship game. The team lost in the finals to another top California travel team, the OC Hawks, but just making the championship game in a tournament of this size was a big accomplishment. The SGV Cobras Black 12U team finished the year with over 60 wins and was ranked in the top 10 in Division 1 Southern California travel baseball. The team decided to travel to Cooperstown, but they had also qualified for the USSSA Major World Series and the Super Series Division 1 World Series. They will take a month off and hold open tryouts on August 12th at 9:30AM for the upcoming 13U season. For more information on the Cobras organization visit www.sgvcobras.com
Click below for Cooperstown tournament stats:
http://cooperstownallstarvillage.com/yhof/weekstats.php?season=2007&week=32&team=123859
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Monday, May 7
12U - Cinco De Mayo...A weekend to forget
After playing very strong in our 3 previous tournaments (making the championship in 2 of the 3 and finishing 3rd in the other), the team headed to Huntington Beach to play in the Triple Crown Cinco De Mayo looking to continue their success. They were able to keep their not finishing lower than 3rd place streak going...only problem was that there were only 3 total teams in the Major division for this tournament!! The format was each team played each other twice and 1st, 2nd, 3rd would be determined on record. Not much to say other than we played the worst baseball we have played all year, got beat up by the other two teams and for the first time ever did not manage at least 1 win in a tournament. It was tough being in a 3 team tournament with the LB Blaze who are probably the best 12U team in the country. The OC Hawks are ranked in the USSSA top 5 in So Cal. But, honestly we might not have won a game in the AAA division the way we played this weekend. We are a much better team than we showed this weekend. We will turn this embarrassment into a positive by using it as motivation to work harder in the future. Congrats to the LB Blaze who won the tournament going 4-0. They seem to be on a different level than us or the Hawks. They beat up on both of us all weekend and only allowed 2 runs in the 4 games. They shutout the Hawks twice and us once...the game we managed to score 2 runs on them was a 12-2 mercy win for them!
Next up for us...we return to the scene of the crime to play in the Super Series State Championship at Huntington Beach on Memorial Day.
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Monday, April 2
12U - Cobras Qualify for Super Series National World Series!
The Cobras made it to another championship game as the #1 seed, but had to settle for runner-up as they lost the finals game to the top rated Long Beach Blaze. It was a disapointing championship loss, but the boys had a great weekend overall. They finished 3-1 for the tournament and played some amazing ball up until their finals loss. The teams pitching and defense were extraordinary in their first 3 games where they allowed only 2 runs in 18 innings. The bats were uncharacteristically quiet in their 2 pool play games, but the strong pitching and defense got them by. In game 1 the pitching and defense delivered a 4-0 perfect game win...18 up and 18 down over the Cal Lumberjacks. Game 2 was the 2nd pool play game and the team knew that they needed a W and could only allow 1 run to get the #1 seed for the playoffs. The pitching and defense delivered again in a 2-1 victory over the HB Nitro. This game was won in the bottom of the last inning. It was 1-1 and the Cobras had their final at bat when they loaded the bases and hit a a walk off single to end it! So the team earned the top seed and a bye into the semis where they would again face the HB Nitro. More great pitching and defense held the Nitro to only 1 run, but the Cobras woke up their bats for Sunday and put up 6. The team was now in their 2nd Major championship game in the past month! They knew they would have a tough game as they would play one of the top 12 Major teams in the country...the Long Beach Blaze. This was the rubber match as the Cobras had faced the Blaze twice and were 1-1 against them. The Blaze capitalized on some early errors and the Cobras found themselves down 2-0 heading into the 3rd. The Blaze put up 3 more in the 3rd and had a 5-0 lead. In the top of the 4th the Blaze opened it up as they took advantage of some more errors along with some solid hitting and heads up baserunning to go up 11-0. The Cobras would need 4 in the bottom of the 4th to avoid the run rule. Doesn't seem too tough, but the Blaze were showcasing their new big lefty who was throwing absolute gas. After a few quick outs the Cobras were still not going to quit and wanted to break up the shutout if nothing else. They almost did. A few back to back singles put runners on 1st and 2nd. Then, it looked like they got the hit they needed to score a run when a line drive was hit to CF and looked like a sure hit...but the Blaze CF made a great diving catch to take it away! The Cobras had only made 2 errors all tournament before making 6 in this one! Congrats to the Blaze on another championship. Tough way to lose, but this team should be proud of their improvement...they have made the championship game in 2 of their last 3 tournaments and finished 3rd in the one they didn't make!
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Thursday, March 15
12U - Cobras Finish 3rd in Major Division at Triple Crown Spring Championships in Arizona
The Cobras traveled to Phoenix, AZ to catch some MLB spring training games and to compete in Triple Crown's Spring Championships. This was a big tournament with 16 total teams in the 12U division and several different states were represented. The Cobras played the Placentia Mustangs in their first game and hit the ball very well putting up 7 runs and took a 7-5 win in the opener. The second game was going to be a tough one as the Cobras took on the #2 Major team in Arizona, the AZ Mudhens, this was a great game and the pitching and defense on both sides was amazing. The Cobras fought hard and took a close 2-1 win. The Cobras went undefeated in pool play and took on a tough Oregon Select team in the Major division quarter-final game. This game went back and forth and even though the Cobras did not play their best game they were able to find a way to win the close game 7-6. With that win the Cobras entered the semi-finals with a 3-0 record and would face the #1 team in Arizona- the Arizona Blaze. The Cobras knew this would be a tough game since they had faced this team in the USSSA MLK Super NIT tournament where the Cobras beat the AZ Blaze 3-1 in a very good game. The semi final game was definitely not the Cobras game. The boys seemed tired and flat, but they still fought and stayed in the game. Nothing seemed to go their way as everything they hit was hard, but seemed to be at somebody. The AZ Blaze took the W in a 3-0 game and they went on to win the championship over the AZ Mudhens. Not the result the Cobras were looking for, but 3rd place was not a bad showing in a tournament of this size. The boys definitely are looking forward to getting another shot at the AZ Blaze team in a future tournament. The team had a great time on this trip and got to take in a few MLB spring training games plus they were able to get some autographs.
Tuesday, March 6
12U - Cobras Qualify for USSSA Major World Series
The USSSA March Madness tournament's Major division was full of some top teams (LB Blaze, Tides, OC Hawks, LB Dirtbags, Xterminators) this past weekend. Four of the teams that entered this one are qualified for the Elite World Series! So going out the Cobras knew it would be a very competitive and challenging tournament. But, the team was excited to see how they matched up. The Cobras were up to the challenge and when all the smoke had cleared they had made it to the championship game! They had 2 big wins in very important games to get to the finals. In a game where the winner would get the #1 seed and a bye directly into the semis, the team played against one of the top 12U teams in the country (LB Blaze). In a great game of baseball the Cobras were able to take the #1 seed and a ticket to the semis by a score of 1-0. Pitching and defense were extraordinary for both teams and it was just one of those games that make all the players better for having played it. Next game was a semi and the only thing standing between the Cobras and a championship appearance were the LB Dirtbags. The Dirtbags are a tough team and had knocked off a top OC Hawks team to get to the semis. The Cobras again got great pitching and strong defense and had a 3-1 lead in the top of the 6th. A few funny plays and 1 big hit tied the game at 3. The Cobras could not get a run in the bottom half so this one went to extra innings. In the top of the 7th the Dirtbags got 1 run on a ground ball down the 3rd base line that moved like it was on ice and just kept rolling for an in the park HR. Now the Cobras are down 4-3 in the bottom of the 7th. This team never quits and they kept fighting. They got a few runners on base and were able to push across the run they needed to tie it. Then we got a huge base hit to knock in the winning run!
Just making the championship in a So Cal USSSA Major tournament is a huge accomplishment in itself, but doing it in a tournament with lots of top teams is extra impressive. The team was very happy that they made it, but did not want to settle for just getting there. They were going to give it their all and try to win the whole thing. As expected, the LB Blaze ended up in the finals and would get a rematch with the team that knocked them out of the #1 seed. This game was another tight well played game and the LB Blaze had a 2-1 lead going into the 4th. But, in an unusually sloppy 4th inning the Cobras gave up 4 runs and the Blaze pulled away. The Cobras kept fighting and managed 2 more runs. But in the end it was the LB Blaze's day and they took the title by a score of 9-3. Congrats to the Blaze on a great tournament championship. Congrats to the Cobras who continue to improve each time out. Keep working hard and good luck in Arizona! The team earned a berth to the USSSA Major World Series which will be hosted in So Cal this summer.
 | | Some Cobras meet HOF Tony Gwynn |
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Monday, February 19
12U - Some Cobras Meet Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn
Last Friday night, after batting practice, some Cobras headed over to Dedeaux Field to watch USC take on SDSU. After the game, the boys met and got some game balls signed by Tony Gwynn. He was a really nice guy and took the time to talk and sign some autographs.
Sunday, February 18
12U - Cobras Bounce Back Go 3-1 in pool play at USSSA Presidents Day NIT Major
After taking a few weeks off, the Cobras bounced back well after their disappointing showing at the USSSA State Championships Major. The team was close to being back to full strength, but still not 100%. This was another big NIT tournament with about 20 total teams in the 12U Major division. After losing a close game 1 to a solid Scripps Ranch Falcons 8-6 (the Falcons finished 3rd overall at the Elite Super NIT), the team knew they would need to shake off the rust quickly and win their final 3 pool play games to advance to the playoff round of the 8 top teams. In game 2 the Cobras faced the Santa Clarita Mudcats. Still struggling to shake off the rust of being off for a few weeks, the Cobras made some careless errors and found themselves down 5-0 after the top of one! The team got their composure and got 1 back in the bottom half. They shut the Mudcats down in the top of the 2nd and then exploded for 9 runs in the bottom of the 2nd to go up 10-5. The Cobras never looked back and went on to win this Game 2 13-7. Sunday, the team had to travel to Menifee to play their final 2 pool play games. In Game 3 the Cobras took on the always tough Xterminators team. The team jumped out early, played better defense and went on to win this one 8-3. The Cobras are 2-1 and have done a great job battling back into playoff contention after a tough 1st game loss on Saturday, but none of that would matter if they drop Game 4. The boys would take on the So Bay Stallions in the decisive Game 4. We knew they would play us tough since we saw them battle the Xterminators in a close 1-0 loss earlier in the day. The Cobras came out a little flat and the Stallions were playing them tough. The Cobras fell behind 1-0 after 1, but quickly went ahead 2-1 in the 2nd. The Stallions answered and tied it at 2-2 in the bottom of the 2nd, but in the top of the 3rd the Cobras scored 5 to open it up. The Cobras tacked on 3 more runs and went on to win the must win Game 4 10-3. The team ended up with a 4th seed and advanced to the Monday championship playoffs and were to take on the #5 seeded Long Beach Dirtbags, but Monday was rained out and the team will have to wait until next weekend to begin the playoffs. Way to fight through some tough times this weekend Cobras and good luck in the playoffs! It will be nice to be back to 100% next weekend!
Monday, January 29
12U - Tough Weekend for Cobras @ USSSA State Championships
It's baseball so a team is bound to have weekends like this, but coming off a great tournament championship the week before made it even tougher. The Cobras kind of hobbled into this one missing a few of their top players due to illness and injury, but that is no excuse since the team is deep enough in talent to still do better than they did on Saturday. In Game 1 the boys faced the always tough West Covina Bombers, came out flat and got their lunch handed to them 12-0. Tough one to take, but they are still in it if they can take the next 2 games. They come back out hours later on Saturday night to play Game 2 against a scrappy LB Dirtbags team. The boys still look flat through most of the game and some key mistakes cost them, but they manage to keep themselves in the game. In the end, they lost a close one 4-3. If they play a cleaner game and you take away some key mental mistakes then they probably win this one. At this point we are 0-2 and out of championship round contention. The team has one game left to play- having a bad weekend is one thing, but going 0 for a tournament is completely another. A meaningless Sunday morning Game 3 with an 8AM game time way out at BLD Riverside can mean only one thing...CHARACTER CHECK. The team faced a strong HB Vikings Elite team who had beaten the West Covina Bombers 6-3 on Saturday. The Vikings were 1-1 and in a must win to advance situation...the Cobras were playing for pride and to show that they are much better than they looked in their Saturday games. The Cobras are still down some players but the 9 that were out there came to play. The team jumped out 4-0 in the 1st inning. They never looked back and beat a tough Vikings team 8-2. The team finished 1-2 for the tournament, but ended on a positive note and showed a lot of character. We will take the next few weeks off from any tournaments to rest and recover. We'll practice and maybe do a scrimmage or two, get the team back to 100% and look to play in a President's Day tournament in mid-February.
Monday, January 22
12U - Cobras win Kids Toys4Tots Championship on 1/21/07!!
Due to a rain out, the team team had to wait almost a month to play the championship round of the final four teams. It was worth the wait as the team took the Kids Toys4Tots championship over the January 20th/21st weekend. In this four team double elimination format, the team was setup nicely as the #2 seed. So the easiest way to the title for the Cobras would have been to come out Saturday and win their 11AM game, go get some lunch and come back at 3PM to play for the championship...let's just say that the team took a different road to the big trophy.
The boys showed up for game one against the #1 seeded Xterminators looking ready to play, but played a little flat and had one of those games where no matter how well they hit the ball it was going to be at someone. The Xterminators played a solid game, but benefited from our mistakes and scored 3 unearned runs which is all they needed to beat the Cobras 3-0. Now the Xterminators could relax while the Cobras had to fight their way back into a shot at the title. While the Cobras would have to win 3 straight game to win it...the Xterminators only needed to win 1 more game. After a 5 minute break, the Cobras played the Stingrays- the winner of the 9AM losers bracket game between the Stingrays and the So Cal Bombers. The Cobras got themselves together and bounced back against the tough Stingrays team and beat them 9-4 to get in the championship and another shot at the Xterminators. After about a 10 minute break the Cobras started their 3rd straight game against a confident Xterminators team. Even though the Cobras knew that they had to win 2 championship games to win the tournament, they tried to just focus on winning that 1st one and realized if they could do that then they had a great chance of winning the 2nd and final championship game. For most of the game, this one was going very much like the first game against the Xterminators and the Cobras found themselves down 3-1 in the top of the 7th. Fortunately, the team has some experience with being down to thier final 3 outs and coming back (see game 4 of the USSSA Elite WS Qual)! The boys start hitting the ball all over the place and score 5 runs to take a 6-3 lead and they close it out in the bottom half for the W! The IF NEEDED championship game would be played the next day, Sunday at 10AM. This was just fine with the tired Cobras who had been playing pretty much non-stop from 11AM to 6:30PM and they could use some food and sleep. The team came out refreshed on Sunday morning and continued where they left off beating the Xterminators 11-7 for the championship! Great job Cobras you really showed a lot of heart this weekend. Congrats to a very strong Xterminators team for tough play and a 2nd place finish. Making the finals was no easy task as this tournament started with 15 total teams.
Tuesday, January 16
12U - Strong Showing at the USSSA MLK Super NIT Elite WS Qualifier
The SGV Cobras Black 12U team entered the USSSA MLK Super NIT to take their shot at a berth to the USSSA Elite 24 World Series held in Florida over the summer. But, more than that, they wanted to challenge themselves and find out where they stood with regard to the top Major 12U travel teams from the West Coast. Although the team came up a little short in their bid to win a berth to the Elite 24, they did accomplish their second goal of getting the challenge they were looking for against some top level teams. Finishing 3-1 in pool play in this tournament proved to the boys that they are one of the top 12U teams out there. They lost a quarter-final game to the tournament champs- the Temecula Tides. Congrats and good luck to the Tides. It is nice to know that our only losses in this tournament were to the eventual (and undefeated) champions- the Tides.
The team did not have an easy draw in pool play as they faced the OC Stars, Temecula Tides and Arizona Blaze (all top ranked Major teams). The only non-ranked Major team they faced was the So Cal Riptides who are the #1 ranked 12AAA team. In game 1 they faced a strong #2 ranked OC Stars team and beat them by a score of 7-3. Game 2 was against the eventual tournament champs, the #8 ranked Temecula Tides. In a very close game that was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the last..the Tides were able to push a run across to take the W by a score of 5-4. The boys entered Sunday morning with a 1-1 record and took on the eventual tournament runner-up Arizona Blaze in game 3. The Arizona Blaze had beat the #1 ranked Long Beach Blaze on Saturday, so the team knew they were in for a tough game. They were right, but the Cobras took the victory in a very close 4-1 game. The 4th and final game of pool play was against the So Cal Riptides and this was a must win for the Cobras if they wanted to advance to the Elite 8 on Monday. The Cobras came out flat against the scrappy Riptides and found themselves down 6-5 in the bottom of the last inning. As all the parents know, there is no quit in this Cobras team and they knew they needed 2 runs in their last at bats since a loss or a tie would eliminate them. The team fought hard and were down to their final out before they knocked in 2 runs to win the game in dramatic fashion. Hats off to the Riptides for a great game. The Cobras finished pool play with a 3-1 record and took the 7th seed...3 of the 4 teams the Cobras played in pool play advanced to the Elite 8 (OC Stars seeded #8, Temecula Tides #2(champs) and the Arizona Blaze #4(runner-up)) which says a lot about how well our team did. The Cobras lost their quarter-final game to the Tides (who we had played tough and lost to 5-4 earlier) by a score of 8-0. It was just one of those games where we could never get any momentum. It is some consolation that the team that knocked us out went on to win it all, but was not the way the boys wanted to end things.
Keep your heads up and be proud of how well you played and your 7th place finish, in a tournament of this caliber, is nothing to be ashamed of. Remember that there were 20 total top teams from So Cal, Nor Cal, Arizona and Nevada out there. Great job! Keep working hard and improving!
Wednesday, December 20
12U - Kids Toys-4-Tots Tournament Championship Rounds 12/16 - 12/17
The team earned a bye and entered the championship round as the 2nd overall seed after finishing 3-1 in pool play and only allowing 2 runs while knocking in 29! In their Saturday playoff game the Cobras came away with a 10-1 victory over the Stingrays to put them in the Sunday championships. Unfortunately, the Sunday championship games were called due to wet field conditions so the Cobras will play for the championship on January 20th. After only 3 months of playing together this team is really starting to gel and has showed that they can be one of the top 12U teams in 2007. Although we have to wait until January 20th to officially put this tournament in the books, going 4-1 and only allowing 3 runs while scoring 39 is a great way to finish our fall season! We are now off for the holidays so rest those arms and be ready to continue playing great ball after the New Year.
Tuesday, December 11
12U - Cobras Black Team Christmas Party
A huge THANKS to the Gustovich family for hosting our team Christmas party!
The Cobras Black had a great time at their team Christmas party on Saturday night 12/9. After going 2-0 and allowing only 1 run while scoring 19 in the Kids Toys4Tots tournament earlier that day the team was in high spirits. There was lots of good food at the party and the boys got some cool gifts also. All the boys got new pro model Wilson team helmets, they played a gift exchange game and the Montenez family had one last surprise when they gave each player a custom black and red Cobras beanie! The team broke in their new helmets the following morning by hitting the ball all over the yard in a 10-0 victory! Thanks to everyone for coming and bringing such great food. This team is a lot of fun to be a part of! Check out the picture of the boys in their new helmets.
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