The Windsor 12-Under baseball all stars made history this month, capturing the first-ever Cal Ripken Nor Cal State Tournament in Oakland.
The team, led by manager Scott De Mars and coaches Robert Johnson and Jason Wright, were undefeated in Nor Cal State competition. The pre-tournament, held in Elk Grove and the state tournament, held in Oakland, provided tough competition, but Windsor was up to the challenge in going undefeated in the tourney.
The team will now advance to the Pacific Southwest Regional Championship in Long Beach on July 15-22 and will face the champions from Hawaii, Arizona, Utah, Nevada and Southern California.
In the team’s most dramatic win, Landen Rota brazenly stole home while the pitcher was in the wind-up to tie Fremont 3-3 in the sixth. A sacrifice fly by R.J. Johnson scored the winning run.
Windsor seized another victory in dramatic walk-off fashion, thanks to a dramatic home run to topple Laguna Purple. The game was tied at one in the bottom of the seventh when Rota homered on the first pitch of the at-bat, scoring two runs.
Pitching was a key to success, as Windsor posted a team earned run average of 1.75. Top hurlers included Rota, Carson Dillon, Elijah Hackathorn and Diego Boardman.
The outfield was fiercely patrolled by right fielder Gio Lucchesi, center fielder Clayton De Mars and left fielder Joseph Campbell. Jake Scott and Rota both homered for the team. The defense finished with only three errors.
Windsor displays sportsmanship
On a side note, Windsor played the Oakland All-Stars in early June at the pre-state tournament. The boys, led by third baseman Diego Boardman and pitcher Carson Dillon, recognized that the team from Oakland was not as equipped for the tournament. They discussed raising money to buy them team batting gloves and matching belts and presented them as gifts.
They also thought if the Oakland A’s knew of the predicament, they’d be sure to help. They were right. Through a friend of a friend who knew someone at the A’s, the team made contact and the Oakland youth team showed up for the tournament decked in all new gear.
Special thanks to the Oakland A’s for supporting local youth sports and Windsor’s Diego and Carson for being the epitome of good sports.
