Babe Ruth: Tri-Valley 14's Set to Open World Series Play

Courtesy of Ron Dronkers

A very talented group of boys have once again assembled to make an assault on the Babe Ruth World Series title.  Last year, the Tri-Valley Babe Ruth 13-year-old All Stars acquired several titles on their way to the World Series held in Murray, Utah in August of 2009.  First, they won the Babe Ruth District V title, then the Northern California title, followed by the Pacific Southwest Regional title. The team then won six consecutive games in World Series preliminary games before losing to a team from Tallahassee, Flor., to become the nation's second best team. 

This year, many of the same boys returned to join the TVBR 14-year old All-Star squad and continued their winning ways in 2010.  In a repeat of last year's performance, TVBR-14's swept the competition; first going 2-0 to win the District 5 title, 4-0 to win the Northern California State title, and 4-0 to win the Pacific Southwest Regional title held in Surprise, Ariz.

Babe Ruth players, ages 13-to-15, come from all over the Tri-Valley area to play on teams such as the A's, Royals, Giants, Mariners, etc.  Once their regular seasons conclude, a few of the boys are voted by the coaches to participate in a post-season All-Star playoffs; one team for 13-year-olds, one for 14-year-olds and one for 15-year-olds.  To reach the World Series, a team must advance through three separate tournaments — the District, Northern California and Pacfic Southwest Regional. The Pacific Southwest Region includes Northern, Central and Southern California, Hawaii, Guam, Arizona, Utah and Nevada. 

The TVBR-14's departed on August 20 for an all-expenses paid trip to the World Series where they will compete with the other regional champions.  The boys will be housed with local host families, which is a long-standing Babe Ruth tradition.

The members of this year's team are in local EBAL high schools and will either be sophomores or freshmen this Fall.

Returning Members:

Paul Pluschkell, manager

Ron Anderson, coach

Daniel Jackson, C

Jake Dronkers, P, 1B, 3B

Ryan Anderson, 2B, OF

Noah Robbins, 3B

Casey Soltis, P, 1B, OF

Josh Sprugasci, OF, P

Kyle Franco, P, 2B, OF

Austin Piscotty, 3B, SS, 2B

Bradley Pluschkell, 2B

Sam Nathan, P

David Gomez, OF

New Members:

Mike Vincent, coach

Shawn Vincent, OF

Cameron Santos, SS

Keith DeHollander, P

Brian Hsu, P

Note:  With membership on TVBR-14, Dronkers, Anderson, Piscotty and coach Ron Anderson have been all-star teammates since 2006.  This is their fifth-consecutive all-star team — three with Pleasanton American Little League and two with Tri-Valley Babe Ruth.  They have also won five- straight District Championships and three-straight State Championships as teammates.

Blog: www.ptownron.wordpress.com

Local website: www.tvbrbaseball.org

National website: http://baberuthonline.com/home/worldseries/world_br14.asp