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Bakersfield Jr. Blaze baseball team qualifies for World Series

Bakersfield Jr. Blaze qualifies for World Series

The Bakersfield Jr. Blaze baseball team won first place at Big League Dreams in Chino Hills the weekend of Feb. 5-7, securing their spot in the World Series in Steamboat Springs, Colo., this July.

It also allows them to compete in the Fall Nationals in Henderson, Nev., in September.

The Blaze went 3-1 in the tournament, only allowing a total of two runs in the three games they won. The team's defense and pitching were outstanding. The pitching staff only allowed nine hits total in all four games, with a total of 27 strikeouts being recorded by the pitchers in the tournament. Their offense was great, also. The Blaze recorded 15 singles, three doubles, two triples and three home runs throughout the tournament. They had a total of 36 stolen bases and 18 total runs. The Blaze knocked out two of the top Southern California teams that weekend: the La Puente Heat and the So. Cal Bandits. Each player had tremendous moments.

Hanz Harker was a strong pitcher on the first day, throwing 29 strikes and recording two strikeouts in the second game. Hanz played a great center field, robbing the other teams of some sure hits. He was our lead-off batter and did his job by getting on base with four singles throughout the tournament. Harker also had a total of 11 stolen bases.

Jake Sweaney was the team's catcher for the entire tournament, crouching behind the plate for a total of 23 innings. Jake did a solid job keeping the ball in front of him, only giving up one passed ball the entire tournament. Jake also hit well. He hit a home run in the third game, which sparked the winning rally for the team. He also hit a double in the last game, sparking another rally in our 6-1 win.

Corbin Burnes also hit a home run, with a batting average of 600 for the entire tournament. Corbin pitched well in the third game, throwing only seven balls with 24 strikes, allowing him to record six strikeouts in three innings. He also pitched in the fourth game, throwing only three balls and 16 strikes and recording four strikeouts in only two innings. He also played a strong shortstop in game four, assisting in four of the outs.

Eric Belmontez hit a home run in the first game with a man on second to score the game-winning run. He also pitched great in the fourth game, with three strikeouts, only allowing one run in the three innings he pitched. When he wasn't pitching, he played first or third without causing any errors. We should also note the Eric played with a 102-degree fever and still did an awesome job!

Kaidan Meadows hit two great triples over the weekend, along with two singles. He was a strong pitcher in two of the games. In the first game, he pitched two innings, recording 24 strikes and one strikeout. In his second appearance, he was brought in in the middle of the inning with runners on first and second with only one out. He threw only four pitches, all strikes, retiring the other team for the inning.

Andy Cantu was another one of the Blaze's strong pitchers. He threw a total of six innings in two different games, throwing a total of 50 strikes and recording six strikeouts. He was able to keep the opponents scoreless, and only gave up one hit while he was pitching. Throughout the tournament, Andy hit two doubles and a single. He had an RBI in a critical game and a few stolen bases. He also played a great third base, recording three great plays in the final game.

Frankie Maitia also pitched extremely well for the Blaze. In the two games he threw in, he had 31 strikes, recording four strikeouts. He only allowed one earned run and two hits in the three innings he pitched. Frankie hit a single in the third game, which scored a run, breaking the tie game. He played a strong second base, not allowing anything to get by him. He assisted in seven of the team's outs as the second baseman throughout the tournament.

Mitchell Haas was our strong first baseman. Being the first baseman, Mitchell gets a lot of throws at him, including some junk. He recorded 25 outs at first base, either assisting other players or taking the out himself. He was able to stretch time after time or dig the ball out of the dirt to get the out. When Mitchell wasn't at first, he played right field, where he caught some great fly balls. He had two great singles, recording an RBI, and kept the other catcher guessing by stealing three bases.

Andrew Daughtery was a solid outfielder. He played in all three of the fields and made a couple of great catches. He also played a couple of innings at second base, where he made one diving play. He was able to stop the ball, get up and still throw the runner out at first. It was a fantastic stop. Andrew hit a single in the third game, which resulted in an RBI, breaking the tie game and scoring the winning run.

Andrew Duerksen was also a solid outfielder. He is extremely fast and is able to get under just about anything in order to catch it. He made a few outstanding catches throughout the tournament. He was also able to get on base a few times in the tournament, and with his speed was able to steal three bases.

The overall performance of the Blaze was outstanding. These boys poured their hearts and souls into these baseball games and came out the champions. The team is coached by Rick Burnes, Nick Harker, Frank Maitia and Andy Sweaney. Congratulations, boys! Oh, and let's not forget our fabulous bat boys: Tyler Burnes, Chaz Harker and Marco Maitia. Good Luck in Colorado!