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Jack Trent rounds third after blasting his second home run on July 3.
Enterprise photo by Guy Dossi
SONORA—The Bret Harte Little League Junior team went all the way to the championship game in the junior division tournament, only to fall to Amador County East on back-to-back days to have the title snatched away.
Bret Harte had already once topped Amador County East earlier in the tournament, but couldn’t come up with an answer in both of the possible championship clinching games.
“We were all disappointed to lose to those guys,” Bret Harte coach Eric Maurer said. “They are a good team and I thought we had a good chance to beat them; it just wasn’t meant to be. I thought we played well in the tournament. We didn’t have the luxury of combining multiple teams into one all-star team and we got to the final game.”
Shortstop Sawyer Maurer throws to first for an out.
Enterprise photo by Guy Dossi
The nine-day, double-elimination tournament, which featured Bret Harte, Amador County East, Westside, Foothill, Woods Creek and Amador County West, began on June 26 and concluded on July 4 at Standard Park in Sonora. The tournament featured teams from Calaveras County, Amador County and Tuolumne County.
Bret Harte began the tournament with a 9-4 win over Woods Creek on the opening day of play. On June 27, Bret Harte knocked off Foothill 8-6. Foothill found itself in the second round of play following a first-round bye. On June 30, Bret Harte took care of Amador County East 11-6 to improve to 3-0 in the tournament and put the squad in the championship game.
After losing to Bret Harte, Amador County East topped West Side 14-7 to not only keep its championship dreams alive, but to get a rematch with Bret Harte.
Starting pitcher Wyatt Skrobecky throws in the top of the third inning.
Enterprise photo by Guy Dossi
With just one win needed to be crowned as champions, Bret Harte lost to Amador County East 11-6 June 3. In the loss, Bret Harte’s Jack Trent blasted two home runs. His first was a two-run shot that had no problem flying over the left field fence. Trent’s second home run came in the bottom of the fifth and that one hit the foul pole for a solo shot.
After losing 11-6, Bret Harte had one final chance to put Amador County East away, but none of the Fourth of July fireworks came off the bats of Bret Harte. In the final game of the tournament, Bret Harte lost to Amador County East 11-1. Bret Harte ended the tournament in second place with an overall record of 3-2.
“There is nothing for my boys to hang their heads for,” Maurer said. “They are a fantastic group of kids. Not just ball players, but quality kids in general. I wouldn’t trade them for any of the other teams.”
Bret Harte’s players are: Barrett Berger; Brayden Bowersox; Daniel Broglio; Gyver Crawford; Rhys Kelsey; Ryan Lee; Sawyer Maurer; Sean Poortinga; Kyle Skrobecky; Wyatt Skrobecky; Finn Smith; Ian Styre; and Jack Trent.
Under 12 division
In the U-12 division, Bret Harte went 1-2. Bret Harte began the tournament with an 8-5 win over Amador County East. In the following round, Bret Harte lost to Westside 15-0 and on June 30, lost to Amador County West 9-5. Westside beat Amador County West 7-4 in the championship game.
Under 10 division
Bret Harte’s U-10 division went 1-2 in their tournament, also held at Standard Park in Sonora. The first game of the tournament went in Bret Harte’s favor, as they knocked off Amador County East 13-8. On June 27, Bret Harte lost to Westside 14-2 and then got eliminated from the tournament on June 28 with a 34-14 loss to Amador County East. Amador County West beat Westside 13-12 in the championship game.
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