Lamorinda Cougars 10, WC Sluggers 4

The LAMORINDA Cougars captured the championship at the 11U USSSA Elite 24 World Series at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex on Saturday.

The Cougars jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead, starting with 5 runs in the opening inning when Marcus Turner hit a lead off single that was followed by a Joe De Mers walk to put two runners on base.  The scoring begin when Danield Slominski, who was later named the tournament MVP, slamed a 2xRBI triple that starting the Cougars on an 5-0 scoring run during the opening inning.  DB Vidal followed with a single that drove Slominski home, putting the Cougars up 3-0 with only 1 out.   From that point, both Johnny Breidenthal and Eric Benedetti each hit doubles that pushed the lead to 5-0 before the Cougars relinquished their first at bat.

After shutting down the Sluggers first at bat, the Cougars came back in the 2nd inning and added 3 more runs to pad their lead to 8-0.  These runs were generated when Connor McNally lead off with a single and was quickly driven home when Tyler Petite hit an RBI double. Joe De Mers quickly followed with an RBI double.  Next Daniel Slominski came to the plate for his second at bat and hit a single.  Next, DB Vidal followed with his second at bat and he also once again hit a RBI single.  This put the Cougars up 8-0 after two.

From that point, the Cougars from Lamorinda, California never looked back.  It was a matter of digging in and playing good defense to stop the scoring threats that the tenacious Sluggers would later mount.

The Sluggers, who had just finished a tough game against the McComb Mudhens that went to the wire in a 3-2 thriller, refused to quit.  They showed why they are called the “Sluggers”.  They mounted multiple comebacks attempts - starting with a 3rd inning rally - that was powered by the bats of Dallas Hall, an RBI double by Tyler Duval, followed by RBI singles from both Jeremiah Johnson and Rodney Hutchinson.  This cut the Cougar lead to 8-3 going into the forth.  The Sluggers would continue to fight back by getting base runners in scoring position, but each time, the Cougar defense - lead by the excellent pitching performance by Joe De Mers – found ways to shut down the tenacious Slugger offense.

In the end, as heat and fatique set in, the Sluggers were unable to overcome the lead that the Cougars had built.  The final score ended at 10-4 but the Sluggers can walk away knowing that they put up a fight down to their last at bat.

The games big hitters
For the Cougars, Daniel Slominski led the way for the Cougars, going 3-for-4 with two singles, a triple and three RBI. Tyler Petite had two doubles, Joe De Mers (pitcher) had two key hits, while DB Vidal had the key RBI singles.

The Sluggers got a 3-for-3 performance from Rodney Hutchinson, who also had an RBI.  Also, Tyler Duval and Jeremiah Johnson had multiple hits and an RBI.

LAMORINDA pitcher Joe De Mers went the distance for the Cougars as he struck out eight Slugger batters.

Cougar pitcher, Joe DeMers, was named the offensive MVP of the championship game, while Haden Senger of the Sluggers was named the defensive MVP of the championship game.

The 2008 11U Elite 24 World Series tournament MVP honors went to Daniel Slominski, whose booming hitting and all around play was displayed throughout this tournament.

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