The Sonoma Babe Ruth 14-year-old all-stars went 3-1 in tournament play and are the District 2 Babe Ruth Champions.
On Sunday afternoon in Golis Field in Rohnert Park, in the close fought championship game, Sonoma came back from an early 5-0 deficit to beat Novato 12-11 in a nail biter to win the District 2 Championship.
Sonoma was led offensively by Tanner Rozema who had two hits including a clutch bases-loaded double that cleared the bases and put Sonoma ahead for good. Brady Armitage picked up the win for Sonoma on the mound with Nolan Dunkle closing the game down to earn the save.
The Sonoma 14-year-olds advance to the Northern California State Tournament this weekend in Woodland. This is an eight-team double elimination tournament in which the winner will advance to play in the Western Regional in Murray, Utah. Followed by the Babe Ruth World Series in Westfield, Massachusetts. Sonoma’s first game is this Saturday, 4 p.m. vs. Palo Alto.
The 14-year-old all-stars include Brady Armitage, Ricardo Cab, Jason Chiotti, Nolan Dunkle, Dom Fiorito, Ricky Mendoza, Will Natuzzi, Claude Pepe, Riley Phelan, Tucker Pierce, Tanner Rozem and Trevor Velarde. Curt Dunkle is the manager while Johnny Armitage, Luke Dunkle and Jim Hess are coaches.
Sonoma’s other two teams didn’t fare as well as the 15-year-olds went 1-2 and were eliminated and the 13-year-olds went 2-2 and made it to the championship game but were eliminated by Novato.
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