By Larry Giuffre
On the first day of All-Star practice, Manager Paul Johnson unveiled an “Every Pitch” Mental Toughness theme that would carry the 12 year olds successfully through the District 39 Tournament and into the Section 5 Tournament. From the dugout in every game, you could hear the coaching staff remind the boys with prompts like “Every Pitch” and “Expect it.” On the field, the boys were reminded to have Mental Focus, to Expect and Attack the ball. In the batter’s box the boys we told to have Confidence and Belief in themselves. To Battle, to Compete and to never back down… on ”Every Pitch.” In the dugout, the boys were told to expect some failure each game but to have a Plan to recover quickly, to be a Positive Force for their teammates… on “Every Pitch.”
To say the team bought it this theme would be an understatement! After finishing District 39 Pool play as one of the two top seeds, Aptos 12 year olds dropped their first game of the Final Four 10 – 0 to Santa Cruz American. What Aptos did next was a testament to the fact that the boys had bought into the “Every Pitch” mentality. Aptos 11-12 year olds went 4-0 in the remaining 4 games of the District 39 Final Four to clinch the District 39 Championship.
First they knocked out Santa Cruz National, beating them 11-4 by scoring 6 runs in the 5th inning. Then Aptos knocked out Santa Cruz American beating them 20-8 after trailing 6-3 at the end of three inning. The victory secured over Santa Cruz American ensured Aptos a chance at the District 39 Championship banner but to beat undefeated Scotts Valley twice to get it.
In the first of two games, Aptos easily beat Scotts Valley 12-7. Scotts Valley answered back in the second game jumping out to an 8-1 lead after 2 ½ innings. At the end of the 4th inning, Aptos had rallied back to within 3 runs, trailing 8-5. Both teams were able to hold the other scoreless until the bottom of the 5th when Aptos scored 4 runs on 5 hits and 1 intentional walk. Aptos had done the impossible. The Comeback Kids beat the “self anointed” District Champions 39, Scotts Valley, by beating them twice in a row!
On to Sectionals
The District 39 Champions’ roster started out as 12 players now is 10. Two of Aptos’ top performers had left for summer vacation. The remaining 10 players put on a heroic effort and were ultimately eliminated from the Section 5 Championships, but not before scoring 20 runs over 3 games including a 10 – 1 victory over District 59 Champions, Gilroy.