Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 All-Stars Fall to West Raleigh, North Carolina 4-0 in Bracket Play at Cal Ripken Baseball World Series in Branson, Missouri, Finishing 4-1
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The high flying Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 Baseball All-Stars fell to the West Raleigh, North Carolina All-Stars 4-0 in Bracket Play on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at the Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 World Series in Branson, Missouri, finishing 4-1 and enjoying an extraordinary Cal Ripken Baseball overall record of 10-1 during the Summer of 2022.
The Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball All-Stars summoned ace pitcher Jay Jacquez to the mound against the West Raleigh, North Carolina All-Stars. Jacquez tossed a gem of a game shutting out West Raleigh, North Carolina All-Stars for four complete innings before giving up a run in the fifth inning and being relieved, but it was not meant to be on this particular day for the talented hurler. Jacquez engaged in a pitcher’s duel with West Raleigh’s ace pitcher Nicky Donaldson for four complete innings, going “Mano-a-Mano” and limiting the potent hitters of West Raleigh to one hit.
West Raleigh, North Carolina broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning with a single and an error with two outs to plate the first run of this thrilling game before the third out fell, taking a narrow 1-0 lead.
Mathan Cruz came in relief of Jacquez in the top of the sixth inning due to Jacquez’s high pitch count. Eagle Pass’s defense committed three errors in the top of the sixth inning while Cruz only gave up one RBI single, but West Raleigh capitalized on the miscues and tallied three additional runs to take a 4-0 lead.
Eagle Pass’s warriors battled to the last out, hitting two back to back hits as the first batter struck out swinging, the second batter also struck out swinging, Jay Jacquez legged out an infield hit on a slow ground ball to third base to keep Eagle Pass alive, Mathan Cruz slammed a double advancing Jacquez to third base with runners on third and second and two outs, but the next batter went down swinging to end the game.
Jay Jacquez was named the Player of the Game for his strong performance on the mound and going 3 for 3 at the plate with three singles. Mathan Cruz batted 1 for 2 with a double, Renato De La Garza went 1 for 3 with a single, Jose Sanchez was 1 for 2 with single, and Izaiah Chavarria batted 1 for 2 with a single.
Jacquez allowed only one hit, struck out five batters, had one walk, and allowed one earned run in five innings. Cruz allowed one hit, one strike out, and one earned run in one inning of relief pitching.
The Eagle Pass All-Stars battled valiantly and courageously against West Raleigh, North Carolina, but it was not in the cards this day. They represented their community with outstanding sportsmanship and as Goodwill Ambassadors.
The 2022 Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 All-Stars blazed new trails and set high marks for future local youth baseball teams by reaching the Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 World Series in Branson, Missouri and earning an impressive 4-1 record on the first appearance at this prestigious World Series.
The Eagle Pass Cal Ripken Baseball All-Stars include Renato De La Garza, Jay Jacquez, Jose Sanchez, Orly Chavarria, David Hernandez, Mathan Cruz, Caleb Hernandez, Izaiah Chavarria, Sebastian Camarillo, Robert Fernandez, Jaime Garcia, and Hiram Mauricio. Team Manager was Robert De La Garza and Assistant Coaches were Jose Sanchez, Orlando Sanchez, and Morris Libson, Jr.
A total of 28 teams competed in the Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 World Series, including 20 from the United States and eight from international countries.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal congratulates the 2022 Cal Ripken Baseball Majors/70 All-Stars, coaches, parents, and fans for the historic and fun run at the Cal Ripken Baseball World Series this summer.
