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California Warriors 17U Elite Dominant In Final Tournament of Summer

August 8, 2017 | 0 Comments

Every summer the California Warriors baseball teams wrap up their season at the prestigious Phil Singer Summer Series Tournament in North County San Diego. This summer, the 17u Elite represented the California Warriors in the tournament, putting on one of the best showings the Warriors have ever had by making it to the final 6 teams.

The Phil Singer Summer Series is a 32-team tournament consisting of the most competitive teams from across the West Coast. Each year, not only does the best competition come to the tournament, but college recruiters from over 40 schools were also represented this year. Many California Warrior players have been noticed by coaches and offered scholarships in the past, and this year the team’s strong performance drew even more interest to our players.

The first three days of the Phil Singer Summer Series consist of three straight double headers to determine seeding for the double elimination tournament that takes place after an off day that allows the teams to recover. The 17u Elite Team got off to a solid start in pool play, going 4-2 and earning the #11 seed in the double elimination tournament.

The first day of pool play saw 17u Elite facing off against City Baseball of Seattle, Washington and Dove Tail Bats of San Diego, CA. In game 1 Daniel Colwell and Eddie Burns combined for a shutout in a 4-0 win over City Baseball. Game 2 saw a similar performance on the mound from Henrik Reinertsen who threw 5 innings giving up only one run. The Warriors lost the lead late in the game, however, and 17u Elite fell 4-2.

Going into Day 2 with a 1-1 record in pool play, the 17u Elite faced off against No Fear of San Diego, CA and Hardtke Baseball of Campbell, CA. In game 1, starting pitcher Dylan Pottsgeiser threw the best game of the tournament, giving up only 2 runs en route to a 17u Elite 6-2 victory over No Fear. The Warriors ended up losing Game 2 to Hardtke Baseball, as they surrendered another lead late in the game, losing 6-2.

Day 3 was a momentum-swinging day for the California Warriors 17u Elite as they faced off against the Watsonville Aggies of Watsonville, CA and Garciaparra Baseball Group (GBG) of Los Angeles, CA. Game 1 saw another solid pitching performance as Alec Ritch threw 5+ innings, giving up only two runs. After he left, 17u Elite surrendered another late lead, but this time they would fight back to earn the victory. Heading to the bottom of the 6th down by 1 Run, 17u Elite rallied to score two runs and take the lead behind a Tyler Quintanilla single. Isacc Sloan came in and shut the door in the top of the 7th to earn the save. Anthony Pomilia had a solid game offensively with 3 hits and 3 RBI. In the second game of the day, 17U Elite took down GBG by a score of 9-2. Aiden Vannucci started on the mound, throwing 3 scoreless, with James Schoch and Eddie Burns throwing the rest of the innings in relief. Offensively it was a total team effort, with everyone in the starting lineup recording a hit. Outfielder Tyler Quintanilla also recorded the first home run of the tournament, smashing a no doubter to left field late in the game.

17U Elite’s success in pool play was largely the result of their strong pitching and defense. Allowing an average of only 4 runs a game helped the California Warriors  keep the games within reach, and timely hitting gave us great chance to win. Outfielder Alec Ritch was a constant presence in the middle of the line up in pool play driving runners in and hitting the ball hard.

After an off day where most players relaxed at the beach, 17u Elite was back in action in the Winner’s Bracket of the double elimination tournament, facing off against the West Coast Clippers of Oceanside, CA. Daniel Colwell and Eddie Burns were both back on the mound and they combined for another strong game, allowing just 3 runs. Matthew Calhoun got the scoring started in the bottom of the 1st when he singled in Chris Giles with 2 outs. 17u Elite would give up the lead in the top of the 2nd, but then got back on top behind Tyler Quintanilla’s 2nd home run of the tournament. The teams would then trade runs, setting up a dramatic finish for 17u Elite in the bottom of the 7th. With Matthew Calhoun on 2nd, Tyler Quintanilla capped off his big day, singling to right for a 17u Elite walk off win to stay in the winners bracket. 17u Elite then played the Washington Rush of Seattle, WA in their 2nd game of the day, and an early offensive explosion saw them secure a smooth 12-1 win. The bottom of the first was all 17u Elite would need as they sent 12 hitters to the plate and scored 8 runs. This lead was too much for the Rush to overcome, and Henrik Reinersten, Gremelt Balladares, and Jonny Burns combined on the mound.

Day 2 of double elimination brought 17u Elite to a Winners Bracket Game against the CAB Soldiers in which they suffered a tough loss and found themselves one game away from elimination. They then headed to an elimination game against the Saddleback Cowboys with the final tournament of the summer on the line. In another tight game, 17u Elite battled into extra innings, eventually beating the Saddleback Cowboys to stay alive. Anthony Pomilia had a big game with 3 hits and 2 RBI.

17U Elite opened day 3 of double elimination with an early morning game against the Solana Beach Cardinals. After falling behind early, 17u Elite rallied to take a 4-1 lead in the 3rd. Tyler Quintanilla threw 5 strong innings to start, giving up just 1 run. After getting into some trouble in the 6th, Matthew Calhoun came in from shortstop to replace Gremelt Balladares and finish the game on the mound. After playing almost every inning at shortstop in the first 11 games, Calhoun showed great poise earning the save under pressure. This win then put the California Warriors into a rematch with the CAB Soldiers.

Playing in their 12th game in 6 days, 17u Elite couldn’t overcome an early deficit against the CAB Soldiers losing a close battle 2-1. Daniel Colwell, Sawyer Whitney and Teddy Hoxie all pitched well in the Warriors’ loss.

Standout performances at the Phil Singer Tournament came from all players on  the 17U Elite roster.  Every player chipped in and contributed to the team’s success. Chris Giles played CF and hit leadoff every game and was a constant on the bases and scoring runs. The infield of Marty Cole, Aiden Vannucci, Anthony Pomilia and Matthew Calhoun ate up most of the 12 games with Calhoun making multiple highlight reel plays at shortstop. Caden Cortese and Jack Gallagher combined to catch all the games behind the plate, throwing out runners and handling the pitching staff very well. Tyler Quintanilla and Alec Ritch were the big sticks in the middle of the lineup, driving in runs and putting pressure on opposing outfielders.