La Crescenta wins Babe Ruth title, 2-0

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Four straight at-bats saw La Crescenta’s Ted Boeke only an out away from sending his team to Eureka and euphoria.

Then he found himself just one strike away. That final strike came — and then got away.

But Riley Sullivan tracked it down and promptly turned catastrophe into jubilance, as Sullivan’s long throw from the third-base side of home plate to first got there just in front of Westchester runner Hayden Boehle for the final out of the game, giving La Crescenta a 2-0 victory in the championship game of the Babe Ruth 13-year-old Southern California All-Star Tournament at Stengel Field on Tuesday evening.

“Riley probably saved us,” said Boeke, who tossed three eventful scoreless innings for the save.

He combined with starter Josh Cook and a flawless La Crescenta defense to shut out Westchester and move the squad onward to Eugene in Northern California, where the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament will begin in early August.

“We had a few really good plays,” said Cook, who tossed four scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks, while striking out four.

Offensively, La Crescenta mustered only three hits, but it didn’t need one to get the two runs that would provide it with a victory.

Boeke drew a leadoff walk and Bryan Wang then reached base on an error by the shortstop in the top of the second. Boeke raced around to third, drawing a throw that was booted for a second error on the play that allowed Wang to take second.

Cook, who also had a single in the game, then laid down a perfect bunt to the first-base side to score Boeke for a 1-0 advantage. After Gabe Rudolf walked, Chris Okimoto’s groundout to shortstop scored Wang. Perhaps the most telling part of the play was that Rudolf was running on the pitch, giving Westchester no chance to turn two.

Westchester turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the top of the fourth, while La Crescenta returned the favor by rolling a 4-6-3 double play to end the bottom half of the inning.

“It was amazingly impressive today,” said Boeke of La Crescenta’s defense. “Our defense got us through today.”

La Crescenta stranded seven runners, with Westchester starter Kirav Patel going the distance, allowing two unearned runs, three hits, walking four and striking out four.

Westchester stranded 13 runners, including leaving the bases loaded in each of the last two innings.