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We started off strong again, but it just wasn't our night as the Atascadero 10/9 All Stars lost to the Arroyo Grande All Stars 13-3 in a 5 inning game on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at Santos Field in Arroyo Grande. The loss means the Atascadero squad finishes in second place...and the Atascadero Little League season is now officially over. Although the last game didn't result in a win for the 10/9 All Stars, they were able to something no other team was able to do in the post-season tournaments: beat an Arroyo Grande team in a tournament game. Arroyo Grande dominated the post-season tournaments by sweeping all of the post season tournament divisions finishing first and second (they entered two teams) in the TOS Minors, first in the TOS Majors, first in the 10/9 All Stars, first in the 11/10 All Stars, first in the 12/11 All Stars and even got a first in the newly formed Juniors Little League tournament for 13-14 year olds.

But all in all, the Atascadero post-season teams represented Atascadero well. In all but one tournament, Atascadero was in the Championship game. Our final results were as follows: our TOS Minors team finished in fourth, our TOS Majors team finished second, our All Star 10/9 finished second, our All Star 11/10 team finished second and our All Star 12/11 team finished second. Congratulations to all of our players on a fine post-season.

BRACKETS, SCHEDULES & RESULTS FOR ALL THREE ALL STAR DIVISION TEAMS ARE ON OUR WEBSITE; just click on  "All Star and TOS Information"  icon to the left, scroll down to the Tournament Bracket, Tournament Schedule/Results of interest and download it. Tournament brackets can also be found in the "Handout" section. To see who is on our All Star team rosters, click on "2008 All Star Rosters" to the left.

All District 50 teams have completed tournament play for 2008. Here is how our District 50 teams did at the Section 1 level:

Arroyo Grande represented our District in the Section 1 tournaments for all three age groups. Here is how they fared:

The 10/9 Arroyo Grande team was in a four team tournament hosted by Village Hills Little League in Lompoc.

On Saturday, July 12, 2008 Arroyo Grande beat Thousand Oaks 6-5.

On Sunday, July 13, 2008 Arroyo Grande lost to Orcutt National 5-3.

On Monday, July 14, 2008 Arroyo Grande lost to Thousand Oaks 9-5. Arroyo Grande eliminated.

The 11/10 Arroyo Grande team was in a four team tournament hosted by Dos Pueblos Little League.

On Saturday, July 12, 2008 Arroyo Grande beat Moorpark 8-7.

On Sunday, July 13, 2008 Arroyo Grande lost to Dos Pueblos 10-0.

On Monday, July 14, 2008 Arroyo Grande lost to Moorpark 8-0. Arroyo Grande is eliminated.

The 12/11 Arroyo Grande team was in a four team tournament hosted by Moorpark Little League.

On Saturday, July 12, 2008 Arroyo Grande beat Northside Santa Maria 11-9.

On Sunday, July 13, 2008 Arroyo Grande lost to Thousand Oaks 11-3.

On Monday, July 14, 2008 Arroyo Grande lost to Dos Pueblos 13-12. Arroyo Grande is eliminated. 

 Here are the final results for our three All Star teams:

12/ll All Stars

Game #1: Saturday, June 28, 2008, 2:00pm at Santos Field, Arroyo Grande vs. Central Coast

Final Score: Atascadero 11, Central Coast 0 (4 innings)

Game #2: Sunday, June 29, 2008, 3:00pm at Santos Field, Arroyo Grande vs. Arroyo Grande

Final Score: Arroyo Grande 2, Atascadero 0.

Game #3 for the 12/11 All Stars will be on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 5:00pm on Santos Field in Arroyo Grande against Los Osos.

Final Score: Atascadero 8, Los Osos 4. 

Game #4 for the 12/11 All Stars will be on Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 5:00pm on Santos Field in Arroyo Grande against Templeton

Final Score: Atascadero 5, Templeton 0 

Game #5 for the 12/11 All Stars will be on Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 3:00pm on Santos Field  in Arroyo Grande against Beach Cities 

Final Score: Atascadero 4, Beach Cities 3

Game #6 for the 12/11 All Stars will be on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 1:00pm on Santos Field in Arroyo Grande against Arroyo Grande

Final Score: Arroyo Grande 5, Atascadero 1

No "If" game is necessary, Arroyo Grande is 12/11 All Star Champions; Atascadero is 2nd Place 

11/10 All Stars

Note: Only two teams participated in the 11/10 All Star Tourney. 

Game #1: Tuesday, July 1, 2008, 5:00pm at Paloma Field, Atascadero vs. Arroyo Grande

Final Score: Arroyo Grande 10, Atascadero 4.

Game #2: Thursday, July 3, 2008, 5:00pm at Paloma Field, Atascadero vs. Arroyo Grande

Final Score: Arroyo Grande 17, Atascadero 5.

No "If" game is necessary, Arroyo Grande is 11/10 All Star Champions; Atascadero is 2nd Place

Game #3: Saturday, July 5, 2008, 5:00pm at Paloma Field, Atascadero vs. Arroyo Grande

10/9 All Stars

Game #1: Saturday, June 28, 2008, 4:00pm at Roberts Field, Arroyo Grande vs. Beach Cities

Final Score: Atascadero 11, Beach Cities 0 (5 innings).

Game #2: Sunday, June 29, 2008, 4:00pm at Roberts Field, Arroyo Grande vs. Templeton

Final Score: Atascadero 16, Templeton 1 (5 innings).

Game #3 for the 10/9 All Stars will be on Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 5:00pm on Don Roberts Field in Arroyo Grande against Arroyo Grande

Final Score: Atascadero 13, Arroyo Grande 12.

Game #4 for the 10/9 All Stars will be on Monday, July 7, 2008 at 5:00pm on Santos Field in Arroyo Grande in the Championship against Arroyo Grande

Final Score: Arroyo Grande 7, Atascadero 4

Game #5 for the 10/9 All Stars will be on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 5:00pm on Santos Field in Arroyo Grande in the Championship "if" game against Arroyo Grande

Final Score: Arroyo Grande 13, Atascadero 3 (5 innings)

Arroyo Grande is 10/9 All Star Champions; Atascadero is 2nd Place

Saturday, June 21  12:00 pm        Templeton Field #2                Los Osos 13 vs Atascadero TOS Minors 14 

Saturday, June 21     4:00 pm         Arroyo Grande-Santos         Atascadero TOS Majors 9 vs Arroy Grande 12

Monday, June 23      5:00 pm           Templeton Field #2               Atascadero TOS Minors 5 vs A G Blue 11    

Tuesday, June 24     5:00 pm           Arroyo Grande-Santos        Los Osos 0 vs Atascadero TOS Majors 20 

Thursday, June 26    5:00 pm         Arroyo Grande-Santos       Beach Cities 2 vs Atascadero  TOS Majors 9  

Friday, June 27        5:00 pm          Templeton Field #1          Minors: 1st Pl. Blue-AG Blue 12 vs 2nd Pl. Red-Templeton 2

Friday, June 27        5:00 pm          Templeton Field #2          Minors: 1st Pl. Red-AG Gold 10vs 2nd Pl. Blue-Atascadero 8

Saturday, June 28   10:00 am        Arroyo Grande-Roberts    Championship Game: TOS Majors--Atascadero 9vs. AG 13 

Saturday, June 28    2:00pm          Arroyo Grande- Santos      12/11 Atas. All Stars 11 vs. Central Coast 0

Saturday, June 28    4:00pm          Arroyo Grande-Roberts   10/9 Atas. All Stars 11 vs. Beach Cities 0

Sunday, June 29      3:00pm           Arroyo Grande-Santos     Winners Bracket 12/11 AS 0 vs. Arroyo Grande 2

Sunday, June 29      4:00pm           Arroyo Grande-Roberts    Winners Bracket 10/9 AS 16 vs. Templeton 1

Sunday, June 29      5:00 pm          Templeton Field #2  Championship Game: TOS Minors-AG Blue 15 vs AG Gold 5

Sunday, June 29     5:00 pm           Templeton  Field #1  Consolation Game: TOS Minors-Atascadero  4vs. Templeton 10

Tuesday, July 1     5:00 pm             Paloma, Atascadero            11/10 Atas. All Stars 4 vs. Arroyo Grande 10

Tuesday, July 1       5:00pm            Arroyo Grande-Santos      12/11 Atas. All Stars 8 vs.  Los Osos 4

Thursday, July 3    5:00pm            Arroyo Grande-Roberts    10/9 Atas. All Stars 13 vs. Arroyo Grande 12

Thursday, July 3     5:00pm           Paloma, Atascadero            11/10 Atas. All Stars 5 vs. Arroyo Grande 17

Thursday, July 3     5:00pm           Arroyo Grande-Santos       12/11 Atas. All Stars 5 vs. Templeton 0

Saturday, July 5       3:00pm          Arroyo Grande-Santos        12/11 Atas. All Stars 4 vs. Beach Cities 3

Sunday, July 6           1:00pm         Arroyo Grande-Santos       12/11 Atas. All Stars 1 vs. Arroyo Grande 5 (Chmpnshp) 

Monday, July 7          5:00pm         Arroyo Grande-Santos      10/9 Atas. All Stars 4  vs. Arroyo Grande 7(Chmpnshp)

Tuesday, July 8         5:00pm         Arroyo Grande-Santos      10/9 Atas. All Stars 3 vs. Arroyo Grande 13 (Chmpshp "if" game)

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See game by game summaries for our Atascadero All Star teams below (in reverse chronological order):

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Sometimes That’s The Way The Ball Bounces

In the winner-take-all Championship “if” game played Tuesday, July 8, 2008, Atascadero fans were optimistic that the 10/9 All Stars were going to play one heck of a game against their rivals from Arroyo Grande. Atascadero once again got off to a great start in the top of the first. Brody Evans got hit with the first pitch of the game to start a rally. Lucas Sprouse then came up and dumped a single to the right side. Zach Quigley then singled to advance the two runners. Unfortunately a bobbled ball by Arroyo Grande actually worked out to their benefit as Brody was tagged out in a run down trying to advance an extra base. With Lucas and Zach on third and second base respectively, Spencer Erdman singled to score Lucas. After Spencer stole second base, Karson Block singled in both runners. The next two batters grounded out, but Atascadero led 3-0.

Arroyo Grande came back in the second on a two out, two run homerun by Konnor Bickel to close the gap 3-2. It was the beginning of a huge day at plate for the Arroyo Grande catcher who finished 4-4, with 3 runs scored, a homer and a double and six rbis.

Unfortunately for the Atascadero squad, the ball did not bounce their way at all after the first inning. Everyone seemed to be hitting the ball, and often the balls were hit on the button, but the ball always seemed to be right at someone. The Atascadero squad had only two strikeouts all game, but after the first inning only two of the balls Atascadero put into play resulted in singles.

Meanwhile Arroyo Grande seemed to get more than their fair share of “seeing eye” ground balls that found their way past Atascadero infielders. In the second inning they put together five hits and an Atascadero error to cash in for six runs. In the third inning they got three more hits and a sacrifice fly to score two more.

It was all the more frustrating for Atascadero to be down 10-3 and not have any luck with the bat. In Atascadero’s last at bat in the fifth inning the last two batters hit the ball on the button, but both of the balls went right to the third baseman who threw them out. In the bottom of the fifth, Karson Block came on to relieve starter Spencer Erdman with two runners on and one out. Karson got the second out on a fly out to Lucas at second base. But Arroyo Grande’s Konner Bickel struck one more time for Arroyo Grande with a two out single to score two runs. After advancing on a passed ball, Konner scored on a single to left-center.  With the ten run rule in effect, Arroyo Grande laid claim to the 10/9 Championship.

Top hitter for Atascadero were Brody Evans 1-2; Lucas Sprouse 2-3 with a run scored; Zach Quigley 1-2 with a run scored; Spencer Erdman 1-2 with a run scored and an rbi; and Karson Block 1-2 with 2 rbis.

Although disappointed with the outcomes of the last two games, this 10/9 squad had plenty to be proud about. They were the only team to defeat an Arroyo Grande opponent in this year’s post-season play and they constantly battled even when difficulties occurred.

Monday, July 7, 2008

It Just Slipped Away

Hoping to keep its undefeated tournament run going and clinch the championship on Monday night, July 7, 2008, the Atascadero 10/9 All Star saw a potential win slip away to Arroyo Grande. Arroyo Grande put together a big 5 run rally in the bottom of the fifth inning to come back from a 4-2 deficit and claim a 7-4 win. The Arroyo Grande win forces a “winner-take-all” championship “if” game on Tuesday night at Santos field in Arroyo Grande at 5:00pm between the two finalists.

Atascadero started off with a bang when lead off hitter Brody Evans hit the first pitch of the game for a single to left field. Zach Quigley then got on board when his fly ball to right field was misplayed by the Arroyo Grande right fielder. Spencer Erdman singled to drive in Brody. Unfortunately Zach was thrown out when a mis-throw in the infield was alertly relayed to the catcher for the tag. Karson Block then singled to move Spencer to third. A ground out by Lucas Sprouse drove in Spencer and a booming double to the right center field fence by Garrett Richardson drove in Karson. Starting pitcher Brody Evans shut down the Arroyo Grande squad in the bottom of the first and the score was 3-0 Atascadero.

Atascadero added another run in the second when Brody walked with two outs. Singles by Zach and Spencer loaded the bases and Karson walked to drive in the run. A sharp groundout ended the inning. Brody proceeded to get out of a two-out bases loaded jam in the bottom of the second when he forced a pop up to himself. It looked promising as Atascadero led 4-0 after two complete innings.

Unfortunately the Atascadero bats cooled off after the second inning. After an Atascadero 3 up, 3 down inning in the top of the third, the Arroyo Grande team finally got on the scoreboard with two runs in the bottom of the third on a misplayed grounder, followed by a double and a single. After three innings the lead was cut to 4-2.

With two outs in the top of the fourth, Zach Quigley walked. Spencer Erdman hit a shot in the left-center field gap only to see the left fielder make a beautiful “snow-cone” type catch and keep Spencer from a sure extra base hit. But a five-pitch inning by Brody in the bottom of the fourth left the score unchanged. Brody was helped out with a nice catch of a one-out line shot to left field that was speared by Zeke Porter.

Karson led off the top of the fifth with a line drive single up the middle. But the bad luck bug struck Atascadero as a Lucas Sprouse liner was speared by the Arroyo Grande second baseman who was able to double up Karson at first. A strikeout ended the inning for Atascadero.

The turning point in the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning. The first seven hitters for Arroyo Grande reached base before an out was recorded aided by three Atascadero miscues and five hits including two doubles and a triple. Sean Moller came on to relieve Brody who reached his maximum allowable pitch count. Sean allowed two hits before settling down and retiring the next three hitters. But the damage was done: five runs had crossed the plate and Arroyo Grande now led by three. In the top of the sixth all Atascadero could muster was a single by Zeke. The final score was Arroyo Grande 7, Atascadero 4.

Top hitters for the Atascadero squad were Zach Quigley 1-2; Spencer Erdman 2-3 with a run and an rbi; Karson Block 2-2 with a run and rbi; Garrett Richardson 1-3 with a double and rbi; and Zeke Porter 1-1.

The Atascadero loss sets up the final “if” game on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 between the same two teams. Whoever wins claims the District 50 10/9 Championship; the loser of the game finishes in second place.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Excellent Pitching Closes the Door on Atascadero’s 12/11 Hopes

The rematch with Arroyo Grande was in place. Unfortunately, Arroyo Grande used the same solid pitching duo to neutralize the Atascadero bats. Last time it was Conner Leachman pitching with Kyle Brown closing. This time, in the Championship game, they flipped roles: Kyle starting and Conner closing. When your pitchers shutout your opponent for 11 out of twelve innings, you don’t need a lot of offense; Arroyo Grande had enough to claim victories in both games.

Arroyo Grande got two quick runs in the bottom of the first bunching two walks and two hits to take the lead. Arroyo Grande came back in the second with a solo homerun and then a walk and two hits to score a second run. Trentin Elwood came in to quell the rally striking out the lone batter he faced with two runners on. The score was 4-0 after two complete innings.

Trentin continued to pitch well the balance of the game shutting down Arroyo Grande in the third and fourth. In the fifth a single, a passed ball and another single plated Arroyo Grande’s fifth and final run of the game. Unfortunately, through five innings Kyle had allowed only two base runners via singles to Levi Keller and Sam Neely.

Atascadero finally got multiple runners on in the sixth and final inning. Joe Johnson led off with a single. After a fly out, Levi Keller forced Joe at second. Bryan Kirkpatrick then singled Levi to second. Jarred Council then worked Kyle for a walk as Kyle reached his maximum allowable pitch count. In came Conner to close…but not before Brandon Peysar singled up the middle to score Levi. Conner’s lone strikeout and Arroyo Grande’s tenth overall was the final out and the end to the Atascadero’s 12/11 post-season.

Top hitters for Atascadero had to be each of the players who got the five singles: Levi Keller 1-3 with a run; Bryan Kirkpatrick 1-3; Brandon Peysar 1-3 with an rbi; Sam Neely 1-2 and Joe Johnson 1-2.

With solid pitching and solid defense (no official errors today), the Atascadero 12/11 lack of offense against Arroyo Grande was the only key ingredient missing from this year’s tournament run. The team finished 4-2 and a well-deserved second place finish in the 2008 District 50 tournament. Since all of this team’s players were league age 12, we wish them well as 13 year olds next year at the next level.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Way Too Close For Comfort

The Atascadero 12/11 Team has wanted a rematch with the only team to defeat them in this year’s tournament, the Arroyo Grande All Stars. But the loser’s bracket is a long and cumbersome journey…and you can’t take anything for granted. On Saturday, July 5, 2008, Beach Cities was the last hurdle Atascadero needed to clear before the long awaited rematch with Arroyo Grande could take place. But this one was way too close.

The Atascadero offense never seemed to get into high gear this game. The offense however was able to muster two two-run innings in the first and fourth innings. In the first inning, Bryan Kirkpatrick doubled to the left-center field fence, stole third base and then scored on Brandon Peysar’s sacrifice fly to centerfield. Sam Neely then walked and scored on a double by Joe Johnson.

In the fourth inning Casey Nick led off with a walk, stole second base and advanced to third on a passed ball. After Charlie Martin lined out to third base, Trentin Elwood walked. Clark Ball singled to drive in Casey. Zac Austin then had an infield single to advance Trentin and Clarke. When the Beach Cities second baseman threw to the shortstop, Clarke mistakenly stepped off the bag thinking he was called out. As the shortstop applied the tag to Clarke, Trentin ran home for Atascadero’s fourth run. Trentin’s run would prove to be significant later.

While the offense seemed to sputter a bit, the team fortunately had Joe Johnson pitching and a solid defense. Joe was quite resourceful on the mound and was able to keep the Beach Cities offense at bay for most of the day. Joe was able to shut down Beach Cities for four innings. Entering the bottom of the fifth Atascadero had a 4-0 lead.

In the fifth Joe allowed a single run before reaching his pitch count limit. With two runners on and two out, Manager Norm Nick summoned Roman Morkowski to quell the Beach Cities mini-rally. On Roman’s second pitch the ball bounded away from catcher Bryan Kirkpatrick and the Beach City runner on third broke for the plate. Bryan’s perfect toss to Roman covering home plate was there in time as Roman tagged out the runner to end the inning with only a single run on the board for Beach Cities. Going into the sixth an final inning, Atascadero still clung to a 4-1 lead.

Atascadero went down in order in the top of the sixth with a three run lead and Roman went back on the mound to finish the sixth inning. The first batter hit a high chopper that Roman knocked down, recovered and threw to first. The umpire ruled the runner safe. Roman got the next hitter to foul out to first base, and then struck out the next hitter. With two outs and one runner on, Roman went to a full count on the batter. On the next pitch the Beach Cities hitter hit a high fly ball towards right fielder Jared Council. Although the breeze had been blowing in slightly all game, this fly ball carried just far enough to elude Jared and drop over the right field fence for a two-run homerun. The Beach City fans erupted as the gap was now down to a single run. But Roman bore down and struck out the next hitter on four pitches to complete the game. It may have been close but Atascadero held on for the win, 4-3.

The top hitters for the Atascadero 12/11 team were Zac Austin 1-1; Bryan Kirkpatrick 1-2 with a double and a run; Levi Keller 1-1; Joe Johnson 1-3 with a double and an rbi; Charlie Martin 1-2; and Clarke Ball 1-2 with an rbi.

Next up for the Atascadero 12/11 All Stars is that rematch with Arroyo Grande on Sunday, July 6, 2008 at 1:00pm at Santos Field in Arroyo Grande. Arroyo Grande is undefeated in the tournament thus far, so Atascadero needs to beat the Arroyo Grande squad on Sunday to force a winner-take-all game on Monday night. A win by Arroyo Grande in either game would result in Arroyo Grande being crowned champion; two wins by Atascadero would result in the Atascadero squad being crowned champion.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

WOW…What a Game!

With all three Atascadero All Star teams playing at the same time on Saturday, those fans who got to see the 10/9 Atascadero All Star game against Arroyo Grande probably got to see the game of the day. Back and forth, up and down, highs and lows and a walk off hit to win the game…this game had it all.

With both teams in the winner’s bracket, the Atascadero-Arroyo Grande game promised to be a good one…and didn’t disappoint. Karson Block started on the mound for the Atascadero team and all went well for the first three innings as Karson limited Arroyo Grande to one run over three innings. In fact, Karson seemed to be breezing as he retired Arroyo Grande in the third inning on just four pitches.

Meanwhile, Atascadero went to work. Atascadero scored three runs in the bottom of the first when Brody Evans and Spencer Erdman, both on base via singles, were driven home by a single by Karson. After a stolen bases and a sacrifice, Karson scored on a passed ball. Atascadero tacked on another run in the second when Zeke Porter singled and moved to third on a double by Keaton Holder. Brody Evans sacrifice bunt scored Zeke. One more Atascadero run crossed the plate in the third when Lucas Sprouse singled, stole second and eventually came in when TJ Fish’s ball was mishandled by the first baseman. After three complete innings it was Atascadero 5, Arroyo Grande 1.

But the tide changed in the fourth for Karson and Atascadero. Three errors and a misplayed ball or two, two walks and four official hits led to a big Arroyo Grande inning. When the dust had settled, Karson had reached his pitch limit, 12 Arroyo Grande batters had come to the plate and eight runs had scored. Spencer Erdman had come in to face the last two batters of the fourth. As Atascadero went to bat in the bottom of the fourth inning, they now trailed Arroyo Grande 9-5.

In the bottom of the fourth, Zach Quigley got things going with a two out single to left field. Spencer reached base on a throwing error by the pitcher. Karson then walked to load the bases. As Matt Bosshardt, Arroyo Grande’s starting pitcher finished his pitch-count limit, Lucas Sprouse singled to drive in a run. Garrett Richardson then greeted new pitcher J. Watson with a three-run homerun. In all the two out rally resulted in five Atascadero runs and a 10-9 lead after four complete innings.

In the top of the fifth a single and a one out double off of Spencer resulted in another run for Arroyo Grande. A walk and a single loaded the bases, but a line out to Sprouse and a Spencer strikeout kept the damage to one run and a 10-10 tie. In the bottom of the fifth, Atascadero added two more runs, again with two outs on a Brody Evans single and Zach Quigley reaching base on an error by the third baseman. Zach eventually scored on a passed ball. The lead after 5 innings was Atascadero 12-10.

Arroyo Grande bunched three hits and an error together in the top of the sixth to push two more runs across the plate and tie the score 12-12.  But in the bottom of the sixth, Karson worked the pitcher for a walk. Lucas, mirroring Karson also walked on a 3-2 count. After a pitching change, Garrett reached base on an infield single. TJ Fish came up next and singled to right field driving in Karson for the winning run. Final score: Atascadero 10/9 team 13, Arroyo Grande 12.

Top hitters for Atascadero were Brody Evans 2-3 with 2 runs scored and an rbi; Karson Block 1-2 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored and 2 rbis; Lucas Sprouse 2-2 with 2 runs scored and an rbi; Garrett Richardson 2-3 with a homerun, a run scored and 3 rbis; Zeke Porter 1-1 with a run; and Keaton Holder 2-2 with a double.

Next up for Atascadero is a spot in the Championship game on Monday, July 7, 2008 at 5:00pm on Santos Field in Arroyo Grande. Two more elimination games to be played on Saturday and Sunday have to be played before Atascadero will know who its opponent will be in the Championship game. An Atascadero win on Monday would mean a championship for the team; a loss on Monday would result in a winner take all “If” game on Tuesday between the same two Monday teams.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Brandon, Wade and Zac Lead the 12/11 Team Over Templeton

With every game a must-win when you are in the loser’s bracket of the 12/11 tournament, the Atascadero squad seems to have the right combination of player’s having hot games at the right time. This game Brandon Peysar, Wade Daugherty and Zac Austin had particularly hot games as they led the Atascadero squad to a 5-0 win over Templeton.

Zac pitched a gem of a game limiting Templeton hitters to 4 hits, striking out seven, walking one batter and hitting one batter. Zac never had an inning in which he pitched over 14 pitches. He finished the game with an 8 pitch 6^th inning, striking out the final two hitters; in all, he only used a remarkable 63 pitches for the 6 inning complete game shutout.

Meanwhile it took some time for the Atascadero bats to heat up. But in the bottom of the third Roman Morkowski led off with a single. Wade then singled to left. Two outs later, Brandon hit the first pitch he saw over the left field fence for a three run homer for an Atascadero 3-0 lead.

There was no more scoring until the fifth inning when Wade led off with a single. Once again, with two outs, Brandon hit the first pitch he saw again for a double to drive in Wade. Brandon later scored on a miscue by the Templeton defense as he stole third base. That was all Zac needed; eight pitches later and he had wrapped up the 5-0 Atascadero victory.

Zac just didn’t pitch well; he also had a great day at the plate: 2-2 with a double. Wade went 3-3 and scored twice. Brandon saw two pitches, went 2-2, had a homerun and a double, scored twice and drove in four of the team’s five runs. The three hot hitters combined to go 7-7. Roman was Atascadero’s other top hitter, going 1-2 with a run scored.

Next up for the 12/11 team is the third place elimination game with Beach Cities on Saturday, July 5, 2008 at 3:00pm on Santos field in Arroyo Grande. The loser of the contest claims third place; the winner goes on to face Arroyo Grande on Sunday for the championship.

The 12/11 Team Goes Deep for Los Osos Win 

After being shutout by Arroyo Grande on Sunday and needing a win to keep their tournament hopes alive, the Atascadero 12/11 bats came back to life in a win over Los Osos 8-4. This time Atascadero mixed in the long ball as well as timely hits to take care of matters.

The first long ball came from pitcher Bryan Kirkpatrick who launched a one-out homerun to right center field in the first inning to give him and the team a lead. Atascadero came back with two more runs in the second when Clarke Ball singled with two out, stole second base and scored on Zac Austin’s double. Zac advanced to third and then scored on passed balls to Charlie Martin who then singled. Sam Neely then doubled Charlie to third but an infield fly thwarted the rally.  

Atascadero struck big again with two outs in the third inning when Trentin Elwood singled. Casey Nick then unloaded Atascadero’s second long ball as he homered to left field to drive in the two runs. On the next pitch Clarke Ball hit long ball number three with homerun drive to right field. Atascadero led 6-0 going into the bottom of the third.

Pitcher Bryan Kirkpatrick breezed through the first 5 innings, limiting Los Osos to a single run in the third inning. In the fourth Atascadero added another run on successive singles to Charlie, Sam and Bryan. Atascadero failed to score only in the fifth inning and entered the sixth inning with a 7-1 lead. Atascadero added one more in the sixth as Sam Neely singled and scored on Bryan Kirkpatrick’s double to right.

In the bottom of the sixth, Bryan was near the end of his pitch count limit and loaded the bases via a walk, single and a walk. After striking out the last two batters, Bryan was forced to leave the game as his pitch count expired. Two walks and a hit batter later, three runs had scored before Sam Neely came on to strike out the final hitter. Final score: Atascadero 8, Los Osos 4.

Top hitters for Atascadero were Sam Neely 3-4 with a double and run scored; Bryan Kirkpatrick 3-4 with a homerun, double, a run and 4 rbis; Trentin Elwood 1-2 with a run; Casey Nick 1-2 with a homerun, run and 2 rbis; Clarke Ball 3-3 with a homerun, 2 runs scored and an rbi; Zac Austin 1-3 with a double, run and rbi and Charlie Martin 2-2 and a run scored. Bryan Kirkpatrick also had a great day pitching including striking out 11 Los Osos hitters.

Next up for the 12/11 team is an elimination game against Templeton to be played on Thursday, July 3 at 5:00pm on Santos Field in Arroyo Grande.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Tough Pitching Thwarts the 11/10 Team’s Opener

It was tough going for the Atascadero 11/10 team in their opening game against Arroyo Grande on Tuesday night, July 1. Arroyo Grande’s Drew Hickman was able to pitch the complete game while never letting the Atascadero squad explode for a big inning.

Arroyo Grande put