6-25-06
The Santa Barbara Foresters Win 4th Annual Best of the West Invitational
Palo Alto, CA- On a warm sunny evening in Palo Alto, California two California Coastal League teams faced off in the finals of the 2006 Best of the West Invitational. The Santa Barbara Foresters threw a three-hit shutout against the Salinas Packers, winning by a decisive score of 9-0. In the bottom of the first, the Foresters' Connor Gillaspie of Wichita State hit a towering homerun to right field, giving the Foresters a 2-0 lead. The Foresters exploded in the bottom of the fourth inning for five runs, including a solo home run by Steve Susdorf. The Foresters starting pitcher, Alexander Francisco threw five scoreless innings, allowing just two singles before turning the game over to the bullpen. Three Forester relief pitcher combined with Francisco on the shutout. This was the Foresters second consecutive title, equaling the two titles won by the Maxim Yankees.
The San Diego Stars defeated the Palo Alto Oaks 12-9 in a wild game at Santa Clara University to win the third place game and earn the $5,000 check.
In the Northern California championship game, the Salinas Packers faced off against the hometown Palo Alto Oaks. In a tough game dominated by pitching and excellent defense, the Packers came out on top 7-3. The Packers starting pitcher, Chris Henry (University of Oklahoma) threw 7 and 2/3 innings earning the victory.
The Southern California championship featured the defending champion Santa Barbara Foresters and the San Diego Stars. The Foresters went undefeated in the tournament's early round bracket play, while the Stars won three games and tied the East LA Dodgers. A win over the Bruins, a team comprised of UCLA baseball alumni, in their last game ensured the Stars a trip to the championship round. With a strong performance from starting pitcher Chris Bodisbaugh, the Foresters defeated the Stars 4-1 to advance to the Championship games.
The host team, the Maxim Yankees went 3-1 in the tournament, losing only their opening game by a score of 9-7 to the Palo Alto Oaks. The Yankees proceeded to dominate the competition from that point on, however the Oaks went undefeated in pool play to earn the berth in the championship round.
In the pool played at the University of California Berkeley, the Salinas Packers emerged victorious with a 3-1 record in pool play. Fontanetti's a finalist from last season also finished with a 3-1 record, but lost head to head to the Packers.
Down in Santa Barbara, the Foresters dominated their pool with a perfect 4-0 record. Finishing second were the Santa Maria Indians with three wins and just one loss to the Foresters.
The most competitive bracket may have been the UCLA bracket, where the San Diego Stars emerged with three wins and a tie. The East LA Dodgers finished with two wins, one loss and one tie. Gary Adams' team of UCLA baseball alumni finish ended the tournament with three wins and a single loss to the San Diego Stars.
With twenty teams in the tournament, the 2006 Best of the West was the tournament's largest edition to date. This year's final featured three teams whom had not reached the finals in the previous tournaments, showing the parity amongst the teams in the tournament. The Maxim Yankees wish to thank all of the teams, players, coaches and umpires who made the tournament a resounding success.