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Saturday's Internet Edition, July 31, 2010.
CRLL shines in MLB national competition
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Photo courtesy to River Valley Times
Cosumnes River Little League representatives (from left) Sam Whiting, Davis Elgin, Brett Elgin and Quinn Ammaturo display their first place trophies after emerging on top in their age groups at the Giants Team Championship in the MLB Pitch, Hit & Run competition held June 13 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
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By Sheri Barile
River Valley Times Reporter
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Four Rancho Murieta ballplayers from Cosumnes River Little League (CRLL) took first place trophies after advancing to the Giants Team Championship in the Major League Baseball Pitch, Hit & Run competition last month. Brett Elgin, 14, Davis Elgin, 12, and Sam Whiting, 9, represented their age brackets in baseball. Quinn Ammaturo, 12, represented her age bracket in girls’ softball.
The team championship was held June 13 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, and the results were announced on the field just prior to the start of the Battle of the Bays game between the Giants and the A’s.
MLB Pitch Hit and Run is a nationwide baseball and softball skills competition that provides boys and girls ages seven to 14 the opportunity to showcase their abilities in those three critical skill areas of the sport. Scores in all three areas factor into a player’s advancement in the competition.
The first phase of the competition for the RM players started in Stonehouse Park, where 115 kids participated. A dozen top scorers from that group emerged to compete in the Northern California Sectionals held in West Sacramento.
Whiting and Ammaturo, along with the Elgin brothers, were among 24 Sectional first-place all-around winners to advance to the Giants Team Championship, where all four took first place in their age groups.
According to Bennett Mayfield at MLB Pitch, Hit & Run headquarters, this result reflects very positively on CRLL. “It’s remarkable,” Mayfield said. “Team Championships are very competitive, and to have four Team Championship first place winners from the same local baseball/softball league – that speaks to the caliber of that particular league.”
CRLL President Bob Book, who affirmed that this has been the best PH&R harvest for the league thus far, expressed a broader perspective. “This is very special for our league, but it reflects well on our entire community,” Book said. “It speaks to the dedication of our coaches and board, to the commitment and hard work of the many volunteers who make this league better and to the local businesses that do so much to support us. And the kids who show up to practice and work on their own time, as well as their parents, are all to be commended.”
Although none of the four advanced to the national finals after their scores were compared to individual scores from 30 teams all over the nation, they all came close. And each expressed an intense sense of accomplishment.
Whiting said he would definitely try again next year. “It was fun,” he said. “I was really excited to be at AT&T Park, and proud of myself when I got first place.”
Brett Elgin echoed this. “It was a great sense of accomplishment,” he said. “I was glad to get the chance to hang out in the Giant’s dugout, warm up on their field and hit a baseball at AT&T Park.”
Elgin’s brother, Davis, won two years ago in the 9-10 age bracket and said he was excited to get to go again. He was even more thrilled that his league had performed so well. “It makes my brother and me really proud of our community,” he said. “Cosumnes River Little League sure did represent!”
With a final national ranking of fifth coming out of the Team Championships, Ammaturo was elated. “I’m very proud of what I did,” she said. “This was the first time I competed on a Major Baseball League field and the first time I saw a major’s game. It felt like a really big deal.”
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Online publication, Copyright 2005, The River Valley Times.
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