The PV Yankess after winning the 9-11 year old championship in the Puerto Vallarta Little league.
The PV Yankees defeated the Mexlend Martillos 9-8 in as thrilling a game as the Puerto Vallarta Little League has seen to win the 9-11 year old championship. The teams came into the game with a two week layoff due to the All Star games in Puerto Vallarta and the following week in Guadalajara and the Yankees came into the game ahead in the best 2 of 3 series ahead 1-0 with a thumping of the Martillos 12-5 three weeks earlier.
Pitching on this age level is always the most important part of the game and the pitchers need to eliminate walks as much as possible and attempt to get the batters put the ball in play. The Yankees did put the ball in play and scored three times in the top of the 1st inning but the Martillos utilized a two run triple to close to 3-2 after the opening inning.
Let me say at this time the softball field stands were completely full with parents, family and friends of the players and the growth of popularity of the Little League in Puerto Vallarta. And this full crowd made more noise than major league stadiums I have been in with more than 20,000 people in the stands.
The Yankees again added three runs in the top of the 2nd due to a three run homer. Mexlend although smaller have always had a lot of spunk and fight and can never be counted out. In the bottom of the 2nd they scored four runs on a homer and a double with the bases loaded and after two innings it was 6-6. Mexlend starting pitcher Angel Vasquez pitched a perfect 3rd inning and the Martillos scored two runs on three hits to take an 8-6 lead. The Yankees starting pitcher Cristian Gastillo was ejected in the inning for hitting his third batter (all unintentional).
The Mexlend Martillos were sub champions and worthy opponents, losing a thrilling final game.
Mexlend changed pitchers and Cesar Avena took the mound and all the substitutes also entered the game for the Martillos in the top of the 4th inning. Avena allowed two runs and was in a jam with two on and only one out, but struck out the next two batters and going into the bottom of the 4th it was tied 8-8 as the crowd was in a frenzy.
After a leadoff double, Mexlend was unable to bring the go ahead run in and the two teams went to the 5th inning still tied 8-8. Most of the five substitutes are not as good as the starters at the plate but putting them in for three innings gives them the chance to improve in game situations.
The top of the 5th was as crazy an inning as we have seen all year. The Yankees leadoff hitter hit a blast and could have circled the bases twice before the ball was retrieved and the team was celebrating the home run, but the ball was thrown to the catcher and he stepped on home plate and the home run was waved off as the hitter missed touching home plate. Avena struck out the next batter but a single, a stolen base and another single drove in the only run scored in the 5th. The final out of the inning was a diving tag made by the catcher on a passed ball as the Yankees took a 9-8 lead into the bottom of the 5th which was three up and three down and possibly just three outs left in the Martillos season.
Avena again did his job on the mound and pitched a perfect 6th inning and it came down to the bottom of the 6th with Mexlend batting and trailing 9-8. A leadoff single had everyone on their feet and then a sharp ground ball was snagged by the 2nd baseman and he made a perfect throw for a force out. Another ground ball to third and another close play at first but the runner was out as there was a man on second with two outs and just one out left. The batter struck out and the Yankees won 9-8 and earned the championship in a well played and thrilling game and then the celebration began. The game took three hours to play.
Congratulations to the PV Yankees for their championship season and also to the Mexlend Martillos who were a group of young kids at the start of the pre season, many never had played baseball before. Congratulating the kids from each team for a game and season well played, when I arrived to the Martillos dugout almost every youngster had tears in their eyes. It was not because of bad sportsmanship, but the sadness of losing something that was so close and learning that losing was not the end of the world.
Also they will be losing their coach Osiris Garcia who tutored them from kids just six months ago could hardly hit, catch or throw and now sub champions of the league. They will have new coaches and Osiris will pick up a different team to coach and hopefully tutor them as well as he did the Martillos.
The season began on January 12th with opening day festivities and ended exactly five months later. We had a new league president named in February after the president resigned and Blanca Cisneros did a superb job. Little does she know that the totally voluntary job has a five year term.
The season has come to an end but not a close. This coming Saturday the teams will play a summer season. There will be some player changes and coaching changes but the kids almost demanded that hey continue to play. Some will leave for summer vacations, but we have 50+ kids now on the waiting list, so players will not be a problem.
Prior to the championship game an All Star team from Mascota, Jalisco challenged the PV Delfines 11-12 year old All Star team and the two played a nine inning game.
This is the same All Star team that traveled to Guadalajara for the state championship last weekend. This writer was in the hospital and unable to accompany the team but received regular updates.
The 11-12 year old All Stars that played in the Stae of Jalisco District Championships in Guadalajara June 4th – 6th. They didn’t win but played two extremely competitive games and will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future.
In Guadalajara from June 4th -June 6th:
The Delfines played three games and if they won two, they would have played a fourth game on Sunday to determine if they would advance to the Regionals.
With an unlucky draw the first team the faced was the mighty Guadalajara squad and the Delfines lost 17-1, stopped in the 4th inning due to the mercy rule. Their second game was against Ocotlan and the Delfines led 2-1 after four innings but lost a heartbreaker 4-2.
Again the coaches learned that the pitching staff in Little League has to be at least seven pitchers deep. This is the case for All Star tournaments where four games can be played in three days and they limit pitchers to a maximum number of pitches. The final game was against Alfarera and again then Delfines played well and lost a close 6-3 game. The Guadalajara trip was a success regardless of the lack of a victory. Puerto Vallarta are the new kids on the block and we played well but need to learn and train to become more competitive.
Back to the Mascota – PV Delfines All Star challenge. The Mascota starting pitcher’s name was Nicos and he was clearly the best player on the team. Both teams scored a run in both the first and second innings and the score was tied 2-2. Mascota, behind a Nicos two run homer opened a 4-2 lead and after holding the Delfines scoreless Mascota added three more runs in the top of the 4th to open a 7-2 lead.
Both the PV Delfines and the Mascota all stars in a photo after they two played an exciting nine inning game Saturday morning. Mascota who wants to join our league won and they have some quality players up in the mountains.
Oswaldo Cazares who came on to pitch blasted a long three run home run in the bottom of the 4th to close the Mascota lead to 7-5. Mascota added one more run on a homer by Nicos, his second on a line drive just inside the 3rd baseline that traveled to the fence. After 4 ½ innings it was 8-5 Mascota and the two teams played 4 ½ more innings of completely scoreless ball. Mascota won the nine inning game 8-5.
Cazares was the MVP for the PV Delfines. He hit the big home run and added another two hits and pitched three innings, retiring nine of ten batters and seven by strikeout. Co-MVP was Josue Lopez who pitched the final three innings and didn’t allow a run. Mascota has asked to join the Puerto Vallarta Little League as baseball fever for the youngsters is growing rapidly.
After the game and prior to the Yankees-Martillos championship games was a big pot luck made by the moms of all the Puerto Vallarta players. There was enough to feed 200 people so nobody was left out.
Your support provides endless benefits for Banderas Bay area kids, who will develop the qualities of citizenship, discipline, teamwork and physical well-being by participating in Puerto Vallarta Little League Baseball. To learn how you can help, send an email to Bob Cohen at bob(at)banderasnews.com. For more information about Puerto Vallarta Little League Baseball, click HERE.
