Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 All-Stars Edge Clemmons, North Carolina 7-6 in Game 2 of Pool Play at Cal Ripken World Series, Improving to 2-0 in Pool B Standings
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The high-flying Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 All-Stars edged the Southeast Regional Champions from Clemmons, North Carolina 7-6 in Game 2 of Pool B play on Saturday, August 6, 2022, at the Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 World Series in Branson, Missouri, improving to 2-0 in Pool B standings.
The Eagle Pass All-Stars summoned Jay Jacquez to the mound for Game 2 of Pool play, who was relieved late in the game by Mathan Cruz.
The Eagle Pass All-Stars exploded for three runs in the first inning as lead-off hitter David Hernandez slapped a single to center field, Jay Jacquez blasted a two run RBI home run over the left field fence to score Hernandez and himself, Jose Sanchez received a base on balls, Renato De La Garza hit a fielder’s choice forcing Sanchez out at second base but managed to go to second on a throwing error, Sanchez advanced to third base on a passed ball and scored on another passed ball to make it 3-0 in favor of Eagle Pass, Caleb Hernandez received a base on balls, but the next two hitters struck out to end the inning, 3-0.
The Clemmons, North Carolina All-Stars scored one run in the third inning on a solo home run, but Eagle Pass responded with plating two additional runs in the bottom of the third inning as lead-off hitter David Hernandez received a walk, Jay Jacquez got on base on an error, the next batter struck out for the first out, Renato De La Garza slapped an RBI single to left field scoring Hernandez and advancing Jacquez to third base, Caleb Hernandez hit an RBI fielder’s choice to third base scoring Jacquez, and the next batter flied out to end the inning, giving Eagle Pass a 5-1 lead.
North Carolina stormed back in the fourth inning scoring five runs on two hits, including a home run, two base on balls, and one fielding error to take a 6-5 lead in the game.
Eagle Pass never say die warriors rallied for two runs in the fifth inning to retake the lead 7-6 as lead-off hitter David Hernandez ripped a double to center field, the next two batters struck out swinging, and Renato De La Garza belted a full count pitch over the left field fence for two RBIs, and the next hitter struck out to end the inning.
Eagle Pass relief pitcher Mathan Cruz slammed the door on North Carolina hitters to save the game while Jay Jacquez earned the win.
Leading the offensive firepower for Eagle Pass was Renato De La Garza going 2 for 3 with a home run, single, two RBIs, and scored two runs, David Hernandez went 2 for 2 with a double and single and scored three runs, and Robert Fernandez went 1 for 1 with a single. Renato De La Garza was named the Player of the Game.
With the win, Eagle Pass improves to 2-0 in Pool B standings with two pool games remaining. The two teams with the best won-loss record in each pool advance to Bracket play this coming week and the World Series Championship game is scheduled on Saturday, August 13, 2022, at 7 p.m. There are 28 teams competing at the Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 World Series in Branson, Missouri, including 20 from the United States and eight from international countries.
The Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 All-Stars is composed of Renato De La Garza, Jay Jacquez, David Hernandez, Orly Chavarria, Jose Sanchez, Caleb Hernandez, Mathan Cruz, Sebastian Camarillo, Robert Fernandez, Hiram Mauricio, Izzaiah Chavarria, and Jaime Garcia. Team Manager is Robert De La Garza and Assistant Coaches are Jose Sanchez, Orlando Chavarria, and Morris Libson, Jr.
The Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 All-Stars Team are representing Southwest United States after clinching the regional championship on July 10, 2022 at Eagle Pass, Texas.
The Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball All-Stars went undefeated (5-0) at the Southwest Regional Championship and currently are 2-0 at the Cal Ripken World Series.
