The Elite World Series brings together the nation’s top 24 elite travel baseball teams in each age division, to face off in a week long battle for the National Championship title at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando, Florida.
The Cougars, of the Lamorinda Baseball Club in Moraga, blazed through the tournament going undefeated, despite facing some of the top ranked teams in the country. They were seeded first after pool play, having defeated the #3 ranked Florida Fire and the North Alabama Giants.
Entering the double elimination playoff round, the Cougars first met the RBA Seahawks from Corpus Christi, Texas, ranked 10th by Travel Ball Select. Next, the Cougars had to beat the Houston Lightening (#5 nationally) twice. The first game was a 9 run shut out, but the 2nd game would not come as easy as they had to come from behind to win late in the game. The Cougars, down by 6, scored 7 runs in the 5th inning to take the lead. The scoring marathon was kicked off by Drew Downing with a line drive single to left field and was capped off by Walter Tucker’s game winning hit. The Cougars held on to their one run lead to win the game with a 7-6 final.
In the semi final game, the Cougars met up with their Northern California rivals, TABU (#2 nationally). This game lived up to the expectation of being "the big game". The Cougars and TABU have met on their home turf three times this season, with the Cougars coming out on top with a come from behind win each time. The semi-final game did not disappoint. The game was a defensive battle, scoreless through 3 innings. Pitcher Daniel Slominski struck out 9 batters, allowing only 2 hits and 2 unearned runs. The Cougars then pulled off yet another come from behind win advancing them to the Championship game.
The Cougars took an early 8-0 lead in the Championship game against the West Chester Sluggers of Ohio. They went on to win the game 10-4, taking home the National Championship crown.
Slominski was named the tournament MVP, pitching 3 complete games over the nation’s #2, #3 and #5 ranked teams and giving up only one earned run in 18 innings. Joe De Mers pitched 3 wins and a save, including a perfect game, and was named the Offensive MVP, leading the Cougars’ offense. DB Vidal and Tyler Petite added to the offensive strength by providing 9 and 7 RBI’s respectively. Defense was lead with solid infield performances by Marcus Turner and Conner McNally, and stellar outfield play by Tyler Petite, Walter Tucker and Drew Downing. Johnny Breidenthal and Jake Rider manned 1st base, with Eric Benedetti catching 5 complete games. A shoulder injury in game #3 placed Matt Bicker on injured reserve; however, his speedy base running proved critical in putting runs on the board.
The Cougars finished their 2008 season with a record of 87 wins and 21 losses, only 4 of those losses to 11U teams. The Cougars domination in the 11U division forced them to look for equivalent competition which was achieved by playing up in the 12U division most of the season, winning 11 out of 18 USSA tournaments.
This team consists of a group of 12 baseball driven boys who excel at all aspects of the game. Their greatest attribute of the team is their love of the game and their ability to play winning baseball regardless of the circumstances each game brings.
The Cougars will head to Cooperstown Dream Park next summer and will also compete in the upcoming Super NIT qualifiers to earn a 2009 birth to the Elite 24 to defend their National Champions title.
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