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CHAMPS! EN FUEGO WIN 27TH CHAMPIONSHIP
EN FUEGO DOMINATION CONTINUES
December 9, 2010
LAGUNA HILLS – FINAL: En Fuego 22, Nunya 7
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A determined En Fuego (10-2) left little doubt in anyone’s mind
that they were the best team in the 2010 Fall Thursday league at
Laguna Hills. With a convincing 25-18 win over Stac Pac (5-6) in
the first round playoff game they would advance to face Nunya
(6-6) for the league championship. Nunya defeated Double’s D’s
(5-6) in their first round match-up. It was the third time in
the last five seasons the two would face off in the title game.
Nunya won the two previous meetings, back-to-back title wins in
the 2009 summer and fall seasons. This season En Fuego would
avenge those losses with an all out offensive assault and a
staunch defensive effort in the 22-7 mercy for their 27th league
championship in team history.
After a slow start against Stac Pac, En Fuego trailed 7-1 when
they came to bat in the bottom of the third inning. With ten
hits, including a Jason Mooneyham three-run home run, En Fuego
rallied for ten runs to get back in the game and led 11-7 after
three innings. Mooneyham, who led the team with 8 home runs and
29 RBI on the season, went 4-for-4 with four RBI and four runs
to help lead En Fuego. The game remained close until the bottom
of the sixth when the En Fuego offense erupted for nine more
runs. Shortstop Cesar Reyes capped
off the rally with a two-out, two-run home run that gave En
Fuego a 25-12 lead after six innings. Stac Pac rallied for six
runs in the seventh but it wasn’t going to be enough as En Fuego
held on for the 25-18 win. Reyes went 2-for-3 with two walks and
four RBI and played outstanding defense in the win over Stac
Pac.
Other contributors in the big win were
Jerry Langner who went 4-for-4
with two RBI and had a big assist when he threw out Stac Pac
catcher Wayne Zucker trying to score from second base on a
single to centerfield. On the other end of the play Mooneyham
made a great play on the one hop throw home and tag on Zucker
who in a failed attempt to try and take out Mooneyham, did a
barrel roll into the backstop after Mooney applied the tag for
the out. It was definitely the defensive highlight of the game.
Mike Kerr went 2-for-4 with four RBI
and third baseman Jason England
went 3-for-3 with two RBI and three runs scored in the win.
“Whether it was a timely hit or a key defensive play, everyone
contributed tonight.” Said En Fuego Manager
Craig Watkins |
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In the championship game En Fuego quickly jumped out to an early
lead with a ten run second inning that gave them an 11-5 lead.
Rookie infielder Tony Kerr started off the scoring with a
two-run home run. Mooneyham finished off the scoring in the
inning with a three-run home run. Over the next four innings the
En Fuego defense would completely shut down Nunya’s high scoring
offense with highlight plays around the horn. Jason England made
several big stops at third. The middle infield turned several
double plays to end Nunya rallies. First baseman
Ryan Johnson teamed up with
pitcher Craig Watkins for some put outs that helped end Nunya
scoring efforts. The outfield made all the plays as well to help
hold Nunya to just seven runs in the game. “We were flawless on
defense tonight.” Said outfielder
Vince Petruzzi. It was the best the En Fuego defense had
played all season long and the timing couldn’t be better.
The offense kept adding runs over the next four innings to
extend their lead. With a sizeable lead En Fuego was able to get
two players into the lineup that had been previously out with
injuries. Jason Martnick who
had been battling arm and hip injuries doubled in the bottom of
the sixth with one man on. Kevin
Lorton who had major knee surgery earlier in the year
pinch-hit and was intentionally walked to load the bases as
Nunya was trying to avoid the mercy. With none out Ryan Johnson
singled home two runs for the walk off 22-7 championship win.
Big Game James Verdi came up big
again for En Fuego as he went 4-for-4 with four RBI in the
championship game. Other top performers in the title game were
Mooneyham who went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Justin Shultz went
3-for-3 with two RBI and two Runs. Watkins went 2-for-2 with a
walk and added two RBI while scoring three runs.
Mike Lorton went 2-for-3 with a
home run and two RBI. Petruzzi went 2-for-3 and scored two runs.
And Corrie Willkie went 3-for-4
and scored three runs to help lead En Fuego to the victory.
England played stellar defense at the hot corner as he helped
shut down the Nunya offensive attack.
It was a collective team effort for En Fuego as they proved
again that you win as a team. “You could’a given every guy MVP
this season.” Added Petruzzi
In fact it was one of the best offensive seasons in recent time
for En Fuego as they batted .621 as a team with a .648 on base
percentage in twelve games. Remarkable for the highly
competitive Thursday night league at Laguna Hills. Only one
regular batted less than .500 on the season and it was only by
one hit shy of a .500 average. For the first time in En Fuego
history the team named three MVP’s. Team Captain Mike Kerr led
the way with a .735 batting average and scored 22 runs while
driving in 23 RBI. Mooneyham batted .731 just missing the Triple
Crown by one hit and collected team high’s with 29 RBI and 8
home runs. Corrie Willkie batted .700 on the season with 24 RBI
and 23 runs scored and played outstanding defense all over the
field. All three deservingly earning MVP honors for En Fuego. |
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Notes: It was the 98th time En Fuego and Stac Pac have met
overall and the 22nd time in the playoffs. En Fuego is 5-5
(.500) in early round playoffs games and 8-4 (.667) in
championships versus Stac Pac. Since they first met in the 1996
Chapparosa Winter-Spring League En Fuego is 54-42-2 (.561)
versus their longest standing rival. It was the third time En
Fuego faced off with Nunya in the championship game in the
Laguna Hills Thursday league…With this win En Fuego avenged the
previous two losses to Nunya when Nunya won back-to-back titles
in the summer and fall seasons in 2009…En Fuego has now appeared
in twelve consecutive championships in the Thursday league at
Laguna Hill and have won five titles in that span…They have
appeared in the championship game in sixteen of the last
eighteen seasons and have won eight championships in those
sixteen appearances…overall since the league began in the spring
of 2001 En Fuego has appeared in twenty of the thirty
championship games winning the title ten times. |
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EN
FUEGO SOFTBALL CLUB
2010 FALL
THURSDAY NIGHT LAGUNA HILLS LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
Top Row (L to R): Corrie
Willkie, Jerry Langner, Kevin Lorton, Jason Martnick, Cesar Reyes, Jason
Mooneyham, Mike Lorton, Vince Petruzzi, Justin Shultz.
Bottom Row (L to R): Jason England, Craig Watkins,
James Verdi, Mike Kerr, Ryan Johnson, Tony Kerr (Not pictured: Greg
Reynolds). |
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