Babe Ruth

Charles Rich Michael Pech completed the checklist with patience and shrewdness. It didn't take the brawny La Crescenta Babe Ruth All-Star athlete long to finish the list after he observed the field and delivered three hits. Pech had two singles and a two-run home run Saturday to lead La Crescenta to a 10-0 victory against Inland Valley in a first-round game of the Babe Ruth 13-year-old Southern California State Tournament in Simi Valley. The game was called in the bottom of the fifth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.

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.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — La Crescenta’s four-game run in the Babe Ruth 13-15-year old State All-Star Tournament began with a shutout loss to Torrance on Saturday and ended the same way in the semifinal round on Tuesday evening. For the second time in four days, Torrance ace Ralph Ramirez kept La Crescenta’s batters anxious and off-balance at the plate, turning in a three-hit complete game effort to pace a 9-0 win Tuesday at Stengel Field in the wake of an equally impressive 7-0 blanking on Saturday at Stengel.

After falling behind, 4-0, in the top of the first inning, San Gabriel Valley stormed back with eight runs in the bottom of the frame to beat Arroyo Seco, 8-5, in a Babe Ruth 16-year-old Tournament first round game last Saturday at Arcadia High. Following singles by Chris Sember and Kyle Wong, Ramiro Carreon doubled to give Arroyo Seco a 2-0 lead. Austin Heyworth then doubled Carreon to up the score to 3-0. Heyworth then scored on a wild pitch to give Arroyo Seco a 4-0 advantage.

GLENDALE ? After 10 long days and five hard-fought games, the San Gabriel Valley All-Star team has positioned itself right where it wants to be. Where it wants to be is in the championship game of the Babe Ruth 16-18 World Series with hopes of reclaiming its title. The squad reached the finals following its fifth victory in as many tries, this time a 4-2 win over Columbia Basin, Wash. on Thursday in Newark, Ohio during the tournament?s semifinals. Next comes a meeting with Denham Springs, La., today at 4 p.m. PST for all the marbles.

GLENDALE — The La Crescenta 14-year-old Babe Ruth baseball team found itself in a tough predicament — having to compete in four games in less than 48 hours. While La Crescenta was able to get through the grueling schedule of the Southern California State Tournament, the exhaustion from the high level of competition ultimately led to the closure of its season. Still, La Crescenta went down to its final at-bat with the bases loaded in a 10-6 loss to El Segundo in the tournament's championship game Sunday at Thousand Oaks High.

Less than 24 hours removed from a heartbreaking 7-6 loss that saw it give up a six-run lead, the La Crescenta 14-year-old Babe Ruth squad bounced back to the tune of a 14-0 mercy-rule win against Simi Valley in five innings on Saturday afternoon at Stengel Field in a loser's bracket elimination game of the Babe Ruth 14-year-old Southern California Tournament. "I guess it's safe to say that pretty bad loss is far behind us," La Crescenta Coach Marcel Martinez said. Jonny Psaltis twirled five innings of two-hit, shutout ball, striking out four and not allowing a Simi Valley runner to get past second base.

Babe Ruth baseball sign ups this Saturday The La Crescenta Babe Ruth League is now accepting applications for 13-through 15-year-olds for the upcoming season. Registration will be held Saturday and Jan. 18 at the Glendale Sports Complex from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Try outs and late registrations will be on Jan. 25 at Dunsmore Park from 9 a.m. to noon, and also on Jan. 28 at Stengel Field from 6 to 8 p.m. A copy of a birth certificate and proof of residency is required.

LOS ANGELES — Just like they were in Ohio in August, all eyes were on the members of the San Gabriel Valley Babe Ruth All-Stars on Thursday. Except this stage might just have been a bit grander. The squad stood alone on the field at Dodger Stadium as it was honored for capturing the 16-18 Babe Ruth World Series title, prior to the Dodgers’ game with the San Diego Padres. Some picked pieces of the infield grass, others used their cell phones to capture lasting images and each and every member heard their name echo through the stadium during individual introductions.

One way or another, the road to Surprise, Ariz. would have to go through Westchester, but, despite two valiant efforts, the Southern California powerhouse was once again just too much for the Glendale 14-Year-Old Babe Ruth Baseball Team. Glendale fought its way back to the championship game of the double-elimination 14-Year-Old Babe Ruth Southern California State Tournament on Tuesday, where it was handed its second loss to Westchester, 7-5, at Simi Valley Baseball League Field.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - Sometimes miracles come about in mysterious ways. On other occasions, they can appear to literally fall from the sky, which was the case for the Crescenta Valley Tile Babe Ruth baseball team on Tuesday evening. Tile received a two-run error on a dropped popup in its final at-bat in the seventh inning that tied its if-necessary championship game versus La Crescenta Trotta before scoring an additional run an inning later in winning the game, 3-2, and capturing the La Crescenta Babe Ruth 13-15 Tournament title at Stengel Field.

GLENDALE — Midway through the fifth batter of the game, San Gabriel Valley Babe Ruth 16-18 All-Star Coach Phil Torres had to make a difficult decision in removing starting pitcher Gary Acuna. The usually reliable Acuna struggled early with his command, walking the first four batters of the game before being removed after tossing two balls to the fifth batter. "Acuna is a real good pitcher and he wanted to pitch well, but we had to give ourselves a chance," Torres said after San Gabriel Valley was handed a 4-0 loss against Ottumwa, Iowa, on Monday night in an American Division pool-play game of the World Series at Ephrata High in Ephrata, Wash.

GLENDALE — To get the newest cast of players acclimated to the lofty expectations set by its brethren, San Gabriel Valley Babe Ruth 16-18 All-Star baseball Coach Phil Torres made a video presentation. Torres, who also serves as the Crescenta Valley High baseball coach, showed highlights from the San Gabriel Valley squad that won the 2006 World Series championship and explained the rigors of what it takes to beat some of the top-flight national programs. "It's so they understand the tradition," said Torres, whose piloted San Gabriel Valley to three championships since 2004 and will seek a fourth, beginning when San Gabriel Valley meets Middle Atlantic in a World Series American Division pool-play contest at 11 a.m. today at Ephrata High in Ephrata, Wash.

GLENDALE — Having been together for nearly two weeks, the members of the San Gabriel Valley 16-18 Babe Ruth All-Star baseball team have not taken long in mastering the art of winning close games. It's led to a tremendous windfall for San Gabriel Valley, which features five local players and is coached by Crescenta Valley High baseball Coach Phil Torres, which claimed its biggest victory yet. Nick Wagner singled in the winning run in the bottom of the sixth inning and Troy Mulcahey earned the save in San Gabriel Valley's 5-4 win against Watsonville in the championship game of the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament on Tuesday night at Modesto Christian High, ascending to the Babe Ruth World Series in the process.

GLENDALE — The La Crescenta 14-year-old Babe Ruth baseball team found itself in a tough predicament — having to compete in four games in less than 48 hours. While La Crescenta was able to get through the grueling schedule of the Southern California State Tournament, the exhaustion from the high level of competition ultimately led to the closure of its season. Still, La Crescenta went down to its final at-bat with the bases loaded in a 10-6 loss to El Segundo in the tournament's championship game Sunday at Thousand Oaks High.

THOUSAND OAKS — "Carmageddon" didn't stop the La Crescenta 14-year-old Babe Ruth baseball team from making it to Thousand Oaks High on Saturday morning. The closure of the 405 Freeway for construction and maintenance near the vicinity didn't prove to be much of a deterrent for the locals, but they did encounter some gridlock on the field in their attempt to cut a clear path to the championship game of the Babe Ruth League Southern California State Tournament. La Crescenta was knocked from the winner's bracket in its morning game against El Segundo with a 9-1 loss before rallying back to the championship round with a 9-5 win over Simi Valley in a loser's bracket game Saturday afternoon.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Will Davis normally doesn't pitch. On Monday night, he had no other choice but to take the mound. Davis' task was quite clear before uncorking a pitch — win the game to keep the La Crescenta 15-year-old Babe Ruth All-Star team's season alive. Davis met the challenge, as he scattered four hits to help propel La Crescenta to an 11-1 win against Simi Valley in an elimination contest of the state tournament at Stengel Field. The game was called in the bottom of the fifth inning because of the 10-run mercy rule.

GLENDALE — Three runs behind and three outs away from an unthinkable early elimination in the Pacific Southwest Regional Tournament in Watsonville on Sunday afternoon, the San Gabriel Valley 16-18 Babe Ruth baseball team staged a dramatic seventh-inning rally to pull a 7-3 win over Modesto from what had seemed like sure defeat. Having lost the double-elimination tournament opener to Watsonville on Friday, SGV needed a win Sunday to stay alive, but, despite a solid five-inning start by Crescenta Valley High sophomore starting pitcher Nate Rousey — one of three current or former Falcons on the team — it didn't look long for the tournament going into the seventh inning.