Information Provided by Jill Emerson.
Photos courtesy of community member.
The Carbon Cal Ripken All-Stars took part in the Southern Utah tournament in Beaver from Monday through Thursday. The Carbon Blue 10U team and the 12U Blue team both earned state titles with wins on Thursday.
The 8U team coached by Johnathon Vasquez, Steve Childs and Casey Ware played nine games total. The team began against Panguitch and won 15-8. They next played South Sevier and were defeated 15-3, which sent them to the loser’s bracket. The team then ripped off six straight wins to earn a championship game berth against South Sevier. Unfortunately, South Sevier escaped with the 14-6 win, leaving Carbon with a second place state tournament finish.
“The wins were great but the best thing about this team was their character,” Vasquez said about his team. “Our boys conducted themselves professionally on and off the field.”
The 9U team took third in their tournament. The team was coached by Nathan Wilson, Travis Madden and Cip Madrigal. The team lost their first game against South Sevier, sending them to the loser’s bracket. Just as the 8U team, the 9U’s won six straight games, which took them to a semifinal matchup with Vernal. Carbon lost that one 7-1, ending their championship hopes.
The 10U White team lost both games they played, the first to Manti and the second to Panguitch. The team was coached by Ryan Peterson, Jason Stead and Kevin Saccomano.
The 10U Blue team went a perfect 5-0 to earn their third straight championship. The team, coached by Shane Henrie, Omar Molinar and Joe Vasquez, outscored their opponents 71-10 in the five games they played en route to the title. Their closest game came against Manti in their fourth game, which ended in a 6-5 Carbon win. Carbon then beat South Sevier in the title game 16-4.
The Carbon 11U team notched a fifth place finish. They lost two straight to begin the tourney, the first to Vernal 3-1, then to Panguitch 8-4. The team bounced back to beat Roosevelt Lime 17-1 before losing in extra innings to Roosevelt A 17-11, ending their championship dreams. The team was coached by Mark Emerson, Bryce Dougal and Ryan Falk.
The 12U White team, coached by Josh Vea, Cory Callahan Sharyd Ware, won their first two games (first over Beaver White; second over Vernal) before losing to eventual state champion Carbon Blue. In the loser’s bracket, Carbon White fell to Richfield by just one run.
The championship 12U Blue team went a perfect 6-0 in the tournament, outscoring their opponents by a combined 63-12 margin. The team was coached by Matt Tallerico, JR O’Neil and Bob Fossat. They beat Richfield in the first game 8-3. Blue then beat Milford 15-3 in the second game. In their matchup with Carbon Black, Blue won that game 15-0. The fourth game found Blue taking on Beaver, a game they won 5-3, earning a championship game berth. Carbon then destroyed Beaver in the championship game 20-3, taking the title.
Carbon 10U champs will next travel to San Bernardino, Calif. for the West Regional in two weeks. The Carbon 12U Blue team was slated to play in Hawaii for the Pacific Southwest Tournament on July 11 but will be unable to attend due to travel costs.
