The Santa Barbara Riptide, a 12-and-under club team, capped a successful season and two years of fine play together by traveling to Cooperstown, New York, recently to compete with teams from across the nation.
Santa Barbara squared off against teams from the East, South and Midwest during a week of tournament play held in the Cooperstown Dreams Park, a kind of twelve-year-old baseball heaven, with its collection of 22 perfect diamonds plus dormitories where the boys and coaches stayed.
The week of youth baseball was all the more special because it coincided with the Major League Hall of Fame induction week in Cooperstown. Fans from around the world flocked to the small town to witness the induction of Ricky Henderson and Jim Rice and to glimpse scores of baseball idols from Willie Mays to Yogi Berra.
The Riptide played well, winning five of their six games, and earning the team a No. 21 ranking among the 103 teams from the U.S. and Canada.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the boys,” declared manager John Jensen. “They were in every game and exceeded all our expectations—particularly with the bat.”
Indeed, for a team built around pitching and defense, the Riptide triumphed (in uncharacteristic fashion for the club) by out-slugging their opponents. Santa Barbara leadoff hitter Carlos Fairbanks hit the first pitch in the first inning of the first game over the right field fence. The Riptide went on to best the Upper St. Clair (PA) Panthers 10 to 5.
In the first inning of its second game, the Riptide loaded the bases with no outs. Clean-up hitter Daniel McKinney crushed a fast ball over the left field fence for a grand slam. Santa Barbara kept hitting and defeated the Virginia Rattlers 9 to 5.
Santa Barbara slugged two-dozen homers in eight games, led by Dylan Tarpening with 7, McKinney with 5 and Fairbanks with 3. Johnny Weger, Dalton Schroeder, Cody Deason, Trevor Moropoulos, Kevin Goudy and Alexander Smith also hit round-trippers and returned home with official Cooperstown home-run balls.
The longball, while important to the team’s success, was only part of the story. Second basemen Brice Morrison, who sparkled in the field, and outfielder Colby Hill had timely hits, bunted well, and added some aggressive base-running to the Riptide attack. The top of the line-up—speedsters Fairbanks, Schroeder and Tarpening—had a very high on-base percentage and McKinney in the four spot led the club in RBIs and with a .531 average.
After dropping its third contest 9-6 to the Hopedale (MA) Blue Raiders, Santa Barbara crushed the Middleburg Heights (OH) Hornets 13-6, walloped the Elk Grove (IL) Travelers 10-4 and mauled the Mendham (NJ) Generals 19-8.
While the hitting was first-rate, the unsung heroes of the tournament were surely the catchers and pitchers. Catchers Cole Atelian, Weger and Deason worked well behind the plate in challenging conditions: hot and humid, muddy and rainy.
Santa Barbara’s pitching staff began the tournament depleted by injuries and tired. Most of the Riptide roster is that of the Santa Barbara Pony Bronco All Stars, which completed more than two months of tournament play only a few days before departure to Cooperstown. Nevertheless, southpaw Tarpening and right-hander Fairbanks turned in one quality start after another. And reliever Alexander Smith not only bailed the team out in critical situations, but went on to pitch many scoreless innings thereafter.
Santa Barbara began single-elimination play against fellow Californians, the Palos Verdes Wave, at 9:30 p.m. in a game delayed more than five hours by rain. Showers alternating with downpours continued throughout most of the game. The rain, however, did not dampen Riptide spirits as Santa Barbara swamped the Wave-2.
The next morning, on a very muddy field, the No. 12-ranked Fayette (GA) Mudcats ended the Riptide’s run, outlasting Santa Barbara 10 to 6.
“Cooperstown is definitely a once in a lifetime experience,” stated manager Jensen, who was assisted by coaches Richard Schroeder, Alden Fairbanks and Mike Hill, and with the additional assistance in Cooperstown of Gerald Deason, Paul Morrison and Craig Moropoulos. “And the boys played great ball.”
that was a great time. i will never forget it