Westchester Defeats La Crescenta for Berth in Babe Ruth 14 Semifinals

Written and reported by Scott Zeidman

West side Baseball's  Westchester Babe Ruth 14 U team defeated La Crescenta 10 to 5 on Wednesday, in Surprise, Arizona, earning a berth in the semifinals of the Pacific Southwest Regional championship.  Westchester will face off with perennial power Tri Valley (Northern California) on Thursday at 9 AM.

Westchester entered the game needing not only a win, but also to hold La Crescenta to six runs or less, otherwise Westchester would have been eliminated in pool play.  Left fielder Dailin Lee spoke of the necessity of keeping La Crescenta at six runs or less, "I was nervous as we had to keep The powerful La Crescenta team to six or less runs,, but I knew my teammates would get the job done."  

Westchester turned to Culver High  pitcher, Eli Saucedo to start on the mound. Saucedo hadn't yet pitched in the series. When asked about how he felt getting the ball in arguably the most important game in his life, Saucedo was predictably confident, "I knew that if I threw my game, we'd get it done.  The team is great and our defense is fantastic."

Westchester jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first as Aaron Greenfield singled in Justin Morris and then scored on a ground out by Derek Marshall.  La Crescenta answered back with two unearned runs in the bottom of the first, tying the game.  Westchester came back with a single run in the second on a Jonathan Phelps walk, a single by Lee and a Morris sacrifice fly. 

Westchester scored two more in the top of the third as Nolan Martinez scored on a Saul Martinez  double. The latter Martinez then scored on an Eli Saucedo single off the third base bag.   Westchester scored again in the fourth on a Lee single and a double by Greenfield, for a 6 -2 lead.   Westchester continued the scoring, striking for three in the top of the fifth to extend the lead to 9-2.

La Crescenta wasn't ready to give up, scoring two more unearned runs in the bottom of the fifth off of Saucedo, cutting the Westchester lead to 9-4, and putting Westchester precariously close to the maximum number of runs they could allow and still qualify for the  semifinals.   Saul Martinez doubled and scored on a Phelps single in the top of the seventh to give Westchester it's tenth and final run.  

Dom Johnson, who had relieved Saucedo in the sixth, loaded the bases with no outs in the seventh.  Johnson then induced La Crescenta center fielder Jake Zeidler to ground into a pitcher to catcher to first base double play. After a wild pitch, Johnson got La Crescenta's catcher to ground weakly to the mound, preserving the 10-5 victory, and sending Westchester into the semifinals.   

Saul Martinez and Dailin Lee were the offensive stars for Westcheter. Martinez had two doubles and scored three times.  Lee, who is quietly having an incredible series, went two for three with two stolen bases and two runs scored. 

Coach Chris Lynch summed up the tournament for Westchester thus far, "great facilities and great opportunities for the kids."  The kids next opportunity comes Thursday at 9:00 am with a trip to the World Series at stake.