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Escalon plays host to 12U baseball tournament
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Sending the pitch toward the plate in Saturday morning all-star action is Reece Tyler, 28, pitching for the Escalon 12U team. Five teams took part in a weekend tournament hosted at the Hogan-Ennis Park sports complex on July 13 and 14. - photo by Times Photos By Marg Jackson

It was a full weekend of baseball competition at the Hogan-Ennis Park sports complex in Escalon, with a 12U All-Star Tournament featuring several teams.

“Overall, we had a lot of good compliments about the facilities, the tournament,” said Escalon 12U All-Stars manager Chad Rich.

Along with host Escalon, the all-star event featured teams from Hilmar, Oakdale, Ceres and Bel Passi. Coming away with the championship was Bel Passi, defeating runner-up Oakdale 2-1 in Sunday’s championship game, July 14.

The young Escalon squad went 1-2 in their trio of contests. They opened up with an 8-3 win over Hilmar in a 10 a.m. contest Saturday, July 13 and then fell to Ceres in an afternoon game Saturday, 9-2. They faced off against Oakdale on Sunday morning, falling 8-3.

“We battled every game,” said Rich. “Based on the points system, we were third overall.”

The manager/head coach said there were several strong defensive plays by his team along with players getting solid hits but ultimately, they couldn’t quite string enough runs together out of those hits to get past Ceres or Oakdale.

On the roster for Escalon were Mason Smith, Carter Silva, Justin Trimble, Reece Tyler, Beckett Trimble, JD Rich, Mikey Achterberg, Thomas Caton, Mason Rodriguez, Gunner McCurley, Cooper Thompson, Seth Lane and Jayce Lopez.

The tournament was co-hosted in conjunction with Escalon Strong and Escalon city recreation officials were also on hand to make sure the fields were prepared for each contest and the event ran smoothly.

Assistant coaches for the 12U team are Jay Trimble, Nick Caton and Greg Soares.

“Everybody contributed,” Rich said of his team. “We had some good pitching, some good hitting, outfield assists … the kids left it all out there on the field.”

Along with the snack bar on site being open, there was also a taco truck and shaved ice truck on scene.

With a successful tournament this year, Rich said they hope to work with Escalon Strong to expand it out next season to include both a 12U and 10U All-Star tournament, hopefully with six teams in each bracket.

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Third baseman Mason Smith, 17, gets in position to receive the throw and apply the tag as the Hilmar runner tries to advance in a Saturday morning game in 12U all-star competition.
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Hustling down the line, Thomas Caton of the Escalon 12U all-star squad tries to beat out a ground ball to the left side of the infield against Hilmar in a Saturday morning contest.
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Assistant coach Jay Trimble goes over some strategy with Cooper Johnson, 10, at home plate during a brief break in the 12U action Saturday morning at the Hogan-Ennis Park sports complex in Escalon.