| THE
RED WAVE SEASON: EN FUEGO WINS THEIR SECOND CHAMPIONSHIP, CRUSHING
DA HORRA 23-6 IN THE FINAL.
August
18, 1997
ALICIA
PARK, MISSION VIEJO – FINAL: En Fuego 23, Da Horra 6
Donning
brand new all-red jerseys for the first time, En Fuego finished off
perhaps the best season in team history by beating Da Horra 23-6 in
the championship game at Alicia Park in Mission Viejo.
“The
team seemed to become united with everyone wearing red,” said
third baseman Jason England. En Fuego, playing focused all season,
set team records for wins with ten and had an .875 winning
percentage. “It really brought the team together.” Added
England.
En
Fuego finished with an impressive 10-1-1 record overall with the
only loss and only tie coming against Stac Pac who lost to Da Horra
in the first round of the playoffs by a score of 6-5. En Fuego also
had a close game in the first round beating Runner Blue 16-15 to
advance to the championship game.
In
the championship game En Fuego scored seven runs through the first
two innings to lead 7-3 and were up 7-4 going into the top half of
the fifth inning. A determined En Fuego team then buried Da Horra
with an eleven run fifth that gave them an 18-4 lead. With
outstanding defense, led once again by shortstop Derek
Gingerich, En
Fuego shut down Da Horra’s offense and everyone seemed to
contribute offensively to surprise Da Horra with the lopsided win.
“I’ve never seen those guys hit like that,” said Da Horra
outfielder Jason Vivonia.
Outfielder
Vince Petruzzi and first baseman Kevin Dull collected four hits each
to lead the team and team MVP catcher Jason Santoro homered twice
and drove in five runs. “This was a true team effort. Each guy did
his job.” Said En Fuego manager and pitcher Craig Watkins who also
homered and drove in four runs.
The
win over Da Horra completed a season sweep, (3-0); with the earlier
two matches being much closer. A 13-6 win on June 6th and a 14-12
win July 21st.
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