Double Play Sends Twin Cities Toward Elimination

The difference between winning and losing can be a matter of inches. The 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars learned that at the Section 1 Tournament.

Twin Cities, the District 3 champion, was eliminated from the Sectionals in its first two games, but it almost didn’t turn out that way.

Down 3-2 against Vacaville in its opening game Saturday, Twin Cities put runners on first and third with one out in the fifth inning and slugger Clayton Demski at the plate.

He hit a shot up the middle that looked as if it would surely tie the score and possibly trigger a big inning, but the Vacaville shortstop snared it and turned it into an inning-ending double play.

Twin Cities never recovered. Not only did it go on to lose 3-2, but then it suffered a 10-2 loss to Napa National in the losers bracket on Monday.

“We knew we had to win Game 1 to stay out of the losers bracket,” noted Twin Cities manager Bill Ryan. Alas, the catch on Demski’s smash sent Twin Cities down that road, and in the end, it proved to be the wrong path.

Zach Cohen, Andy Ehrenberg and Demski pitched well in the loss to Vacaville.

Cohen belted a home run for one of Twin Cities’ runs in the Napa game. Reese Osborn, Andrew Colletti and John Ryan shared pitching duties in the game.

“We are proud of this team,” Ryan assured afterward. “To reach Sectionals is a real accomplishment. We were honored to represent a very tough District 3.”