The Westchester Babe Ruth (14-year old and under) baseball team defeated La Crescenta 7-5 earlier this week to win the Southern California State Baseball championship.
The team whose players hail from Westchester, Inglewood, Santa Monica, Culver City, Brentwood, Marina del Rey, Ladera, Playa Vista, and Playa del Rey will travel to Surprise, Arizona on July 31, 2012 to compete for the United States Pacific Southwest Regional title. If successful, the team will then travel to Utah for the Babe Ruth 14U World Series.
“The program at Westchester is fantastic, and we couldn’t be where we are today without the amazing support of our community, as well as Westchester Babe Ruth and its President, Chris Lynch. I’m very proud of the boys, they showed a lot of heart and determination (the team was down 10-1 in the 4th inning at El Segundo, and then exploded for nine runs in the top of the fifth en route to a 12-10 victory), said Manager John Lapatto.
Fundraising events are tentatively scheduled at Tortilla Cantina (1225 El Prado Avenue, Old Torrance) and Round Table Pizza (2701 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach) to help defer the costs of the Arizona trip. The team is looking for additional fundraising opportunities. Please contact Terrie at terac57@hotmail.com if you can help.
The Westchester 14U Babe Ruth team includes, Avery Allen, Christian Amador, Jordan Caines, Reggie Castro, Anthony Chavez, Grant Craddolph, Angel de la Torre, Lawrence “LJ†Gilliam, AJ Inatsugu, Carlos Jacobo, Matthew Kanfer, Matthew Kaplan, Ethan Lazar, Mario Morales, and Jason Zeidman. The team is managed by John Lopatto, and coached by Barry Craddolph and Alex Galaviz.
