Cobras End Inaugural Season with 6-2 Loss in Championship Game
8/6/2008 9:52:55 PM
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No one outside of the Cobras organization would have predicted that this first-year collegiate team of young, local guys would have had a chance to participate in post-season games this year, and certainly not the success they had against teams that recruited ball players from Division I schools around the country. The Cobras shined this year, but the run came to an end in the Western Region American Amateur Baseball Congress championship game this past Sunday against Fontanetti’s, a team that the Cobras defeated earlier in the playoffs.
In what was a well-pitched game by both teams, a few extra hits by Fontanetti's proved to be the difference sending Fontanetti’s to the World Series in Huntsville, Texas with a 6-2 victory over the Cobras.
“Our guys worked hard and persevered through some tough games against the top collegiate teams in the country this summer, and we saw a team-wide tremendous improvement in their physical and mental aspects of the game,” said Cobras manager, Mike Breining.
The Western Region American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) Playoffs started on Friday with a marathon game featuring the Cobras the Sacramento Legends. The game went almost four hours before the Cobras finally scored the game winner in the bottom of the 15th inning, for the 3-2 win. Luke Gadow (Pollock Pines, American River College) hit a two-out bases-loaded ball over the right fielder's head to score Aaron Mascoe (Carmichael, Butte College) from third base. The other two Cobras runs came when Ian Cook (Rescue, American River College, Sonoma State) scored on a single in the second inning by Jameel Ziadeh (Roseville, American River College). In the third, Matt Breining (Granite Bay, Sierra College) scored on a double by Michael Marjama (Granite Bay, Sacramento City College)
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The Cobras pitchers limited the Legends to only six hits during the entire game, with three of those hits, and both runs, coming in the fifth inning. Starting pitcher Nick Young (Granite Bay, UC San Diego) went six innings, Jeff McLean (Roseville, Sacramento City College) allowed no hits in 3 1/3 innings of relief, Mark Lincoln (Citrus Heights, American River College, Long Beach State) followed for 3 2/3 no-hit innings, and then Danny O'Brien (Sacramento, American River College, Missouri Valley College) closed out the last two innings of the game and earned the win.
In the second contest played in the winner’s bracket, Chris Garcia (Roseville, Sacramento City College) pitched a complete game against the Southern California champion Pasadena Redbirds, which had just defeated Fontanetti's the day before with an 11-5 score. Garcia limited the Redbirds to seven hits and only one run over nine innings, and Steve Camillucci (Carmichael, American River College, Abilene Christian University (Texas) scored both Cobras runs which came on a sacrifice fly by John DeCarlo (Roseville, American River College) in the fourth, and then on a sacrifice bunt by Marjama in the top of the eighth inning.
After the win over the Redbirds, the Cobras hit the ball hard, but had a tough time stringing consecutive hits together to put runs on the board producing only four runs in their final two games.
Top hitters for the Cobras in the Western Region playoff series games were Luke Gadow (six hits, at least one in each game), Michael Marjama (five hits) and Steve Camillucci (four hits).
For Breining, he was were proud of how their players competed and looks forward to next year.
“This was a great group of competitive ball players, described in a positive way as
‘scrappy’ by one of the playoff tournament directors, that each of us coaches, including Lloyd Moseby, Hayward Cook, Tony Vargas, and Fred Breining, really enjoyed working with this Summer. I'm looking forward to watching them take this experience and do well with their respective college teams next spring, and to having them all back again in a Cobras uniform next summer.”
Stoddard on the hill against Fontanetti's of San Jose Sunday (photo by Bob Stoddard)
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Marjama had a total of five hits in the Western Region playoffs (photo by Bob Stoddard)
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Young was the starting pitcher in the Cobras' 3-2 win over the Legends (photo by Bob Stoddard)
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Camillucci slides in safe (photo by Bob Stoddard)
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Garcia is congratulated by Mascoe following the win over the Redbirds (photo by Bob Stoddard)
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