Stealth Dominate Presidents Day Event

The Stealth were back in action this Presidents Day Weekend and looking to win their third tournament in a row after finishing second in the California Super NIT over MLK weekend.  The Stealth have been riding high after wins in the USSSA Winter Classic followed by another title in the Ice Breaker Classic not to mention winning the 12u Victory Lane League with a perfect 8-0 mark including three wins over the highly ranked Warriors Baseball Academy.  The Presidents Day field consisted of just seven teams but was top heavy with the Desert Cats, Warriors, Big Chuy Rockets, and the #2 ranked 11U team in the nation, The Sandlot All Stars!  Rounding out the field was the Arizona Grinders, and the Arizona Legacy. 

The formula for this weekend’s event was four pool play games with just the top four teams advancing to bracket play.  On the first day of pool play the Stealth drew the Desert Cats to start the day followed by the highly touted 11U Sandlot.  In game one the Stealth sent Daniel Carrizosa to the hill where he threw just 19 pitches en route to two scoreless innings.  Jonathan Ornelas and Nolan Gorman each threw an inning in as the Stealth cruised to a 9-1 win.  Offensively the Stealth put up two in the first, two in the third, and five in the fourth, in the shortened run rule affair.  Nolan Gorman led the charge with three hits including two triples and a Home Run while Josh Sandoval chipped in with two Round Trippers of his own while driving in four runs!

In game two, the Stealth would square off against the 11u Sandlot, this team is ranked #2 in the Nation according to the USSSA Power Rankings and comes in posting a record of 28-3! The Stealth after playing up most of last year understand that these teams cannot be taken lightly and so they sent Dawson McCarville to the hill.  Dawson was completely dominant over four innings as he completely shut out the Sandlot while allowing just three hits over three innings.  The Stealth bats were once again on fire as they pounded ten hits on their way to an easy 12-0 victory in just three innings. Jonathan Ornelas led the charge with three hits including a Home Run and five RBI's! Nolan Gorman and Josh Sandoval each remained red hot as they each had two hits while Adrian Salazar, Dawson McCarville and Matthew Liberatore each kicked in one hit a piece in the lopsided affair. 

After day one of pool play team records looked like this:  
Stealth 2-0
Warriors 2-0
Grinders 1-1
Rockets 1-1
Legacy 1-1
Cats 0-2
Sandlot 0-2

Day two began with a highly anticipated matchup for the Stealth as they would square off against the Warriors.  This game would more than likely determine #1and #2 seeds.  The Stealth sent Matthew Liberatore to the hill while the Warriors countered with ex Stealth player Nolan Ruff.  Nolan was with the Stealth program for a few years and to this day remains tight with the Stealth family.  In this one the Stealth struck first with two in the first, two in the third, and me in the fifth as they held on for a well fought 5-3 victory.  Matthew was dominant as he threw 5 1/3 allowing just six hits and two earned runs while striking out seven! Offensively The Stealth were led by once again by the led by the red hot Josh Sandoval who had three hits while Jacob Vesecky, Daniel Carrizosa, and Jason Nelson each kicked in one and an RBI each!

With a 3-0 record the Stealth were in the driver’s seat with one game remaining.  Their opponent was the Arizona Legacy.  The Stealth sent Jacob Vesecky to the hill who seemed very relaxed after his team gave him an eleven run lead in the top of the first.  They would tack on six more as the Stealth rolled by a final score of 17-2. Jacob Vesecky, in four innings of work allowed just four hits while striking out three in the win.  Offensively the bats remained hot as they turned 14 hits into 17 runs.  Jason Nelson, Jacob Vesecky, Daniel Carrizosa, Nolan Gorman and Jonathan Ornelas each had multiple hits!

After day two of pool play there were many surprises as the Big Chuy Rockets were sent home with a 1-3 mark, along with the Desert Cats who also could not recover from a 0-2 start as they finished he weekend 1-3.  In the end it was these four teams qualifying for Monday play!
#1 Stealth
#2 Warriors
#3 Legacy
#4 Sandlot

The Warriors vs. the Legacy was the first game of the day and the Warriors handled their business with a convincing 10-1 win while preserving ace pitcher Sasha Schneider for the final. 

In the second semi final matchup it was the Stealth scoring in all five innings of play as they pounded 16 hits while scoring 16 runs in the 16-4 victory over the Sandlot.  Daniel Carrizosa was the winning pitcher in this one as he allowed just six hits and three runs in four innings pitched.  The Stealth bats were on fire as they hit one ball after another to the fence.  Adrian Salazar, Jacob Vesecky, Jonathan Ornelas, Mason Millett and Josh Sandoval each recorded multi hit games.  Jonathan Ornelas and Jason Nelson also played long ball each recording a Home Run!

With the win, the highly anticipated final was now a reality as the Stealth would face the Warriors Baseball Academy for the USSAA Presidents Day title!

In the final the Warriors sent ace pitcher Sasha Schneider to the hill while the Stealth ace Mason Millett was hurt earlier in the weekend and was nursing a sore knee.  Adrian Salazar got the nod for the Stealth! In the first Adrian Salazar got the first two hitters before Jake Robson reached on a infield single.  After stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch Salazar settled down to strike out Gabriel Rios and end the Warrior threat.  In the bottom of the inning with one out Mason Millett and Nolan Gorman singled back to back.  Josh Sandoval then reached on an error and suddenly the bases were loaded with just one out.  Sasha would not relent though as he struck out the next Stealth hitter.  With two out Pitcher Adrian Salazar singled to drive in a run and then Matthew Liberatore followed with a two out knock of his own. With the bases still loaded Jacob Vesecky was then robbed on a line drive to deep center when Grace Lyons made a great catch to retire the side. 

In the second inning the Warriors were retired in order while in the bottom of the inning the Stealth struck for more when both Jason Nelson and Mason Millett tripled leading to three more runs and a 5-0 lead for the Stealth. 

In the third, the Warriors would fight back with three of their own when Sasha Schneider tripled to the right field corner to drive in two.  Gabriel Rios then singled to make it a ball game at 5-3. 

In the bottom of the inning the Stealth went down in order as did the Warriors in the top of the fourth.  With a 5-3 lead the Stealth struck for two more when Jacob Vesecky walked to lead off the inning.  This was followed by an RBI single by Jason Nelson and then another big triple by Mason Millet to give the Stealth the 7-3 lead!

With the 7-3 lead the Stealth handed the ball to their ace Mason Millett who retired the Warriors in order with two K's and a groundout after walking the leadoff hitter.

In the bottom of the inning the Stealth bats once again came alive as hits by Josh Sandoval, Matthew Liberatore, Jacob Vesecky and Jonathan Ornelas gave the Stealth another four runs to secure the win in walk off fashion by a score of 11-3!

"All weekend long the bats were as hot as I have ever seen them" said Coach Brian Gorman, "the hard work is paying off"! The Stealth scored 70 runs over six games while allowing just 12! The Stealth hit up and down the lineup as they compiled a team batting average of .465 while pounding six home runs including "two of the longest balls I have ever seen hit by a twelve year old from slugger Josh Sandoval", said Coach Steve Nelson!

"The pitching and defense on this team has been unreal.  In six games we allowed an average of just two runs per game and we made just two errors on the entire weekend" said Coach Anthony Liberatore.

Over the weekend the Stealth were led offensively by Josh Sandoval who hit a whopping .786! Josh also drove in 12 runs while hitting two Home Runs, three triples and compiling a slugging percentage of 1.643!

Jason Nelson and Jonathan Ornelas finished second while hitting .600! Nelson scored 11 runs while Ornelas knocked in 13 in the leadoff spot. 

Overall it was a very dominating performance for a team that has now won three straight tournaments and has compiled an overall record of 43-9!  Since the clock struck 2012, the Stealth are a whopping 20-2!

Next up is the USSSA Spring Training event March 3-4, so stays tuned for all of the Stealth highlights or watch us live on Stealth Game cast!