California places second in St. Louis

The 12-year-old California All-Star travel baseball team went up

against the best the United States had to offer and finished second

to Illinois in the national championships in St. Louis in play

completed Aug. 10.

California, nicknamed the Cal Stars, which includes Manager Mike

Griffin, his son, Chris, and Garrett Gallegos -- all from Newport

Beach -- played nine games in six days. The Stars, who represented

the Western United States, reached the best-of-three championship

round against Illinois, but couldn’t surpass the final hurdle.

The Stars lost to Illinois, 3-1, in the first game after leading

by a run through the top of the fifth inning. Illinois tied the score

in the bottom of the fifth and added two more runs in the bottom of

the sixth to take the lead. The Stars loaded the bases in the top of

the seventh with two two-out hits by Kennedy Winkler and Brett

Adelman followed by a walk to Steve Hagy, but Illinois stifled the

rally, allowing no runs to score in the inning.

Illinois scored seven runs in the top of the first inning in the

second game and cruised to an 11-1 triumph to claim the championship.

The Stars placed first in their seeding pool to open the

tournament, defeating Illinois, 9-8, and St. Louis, 6-3. Chris

Griffin squeezed in Hagy with the winning run in the bottom of the

seventh inning against Illinois.

After the seeding games, the field was placed in winner’s and

loser’s brackets with each team playing best-of-three elimination

series. The Stars went 2-0 in the elimination rounds, winning 9-1 and

8-7 over a team from Fort Meyers, Fla.

Chris Griffin went 4 for 6 in the two games while Gallegos

contributed on the mound.

To reach the championship series, the Stars had to rebound from a

first-game defeat against Wisconsin to win the final two games.

In breakout fashion, the Stars notched a 15-3 victory in a

mercy-shortened, three-inning Game 2. Gallegos had two hits and two

RBIs while Griffin added an RBI hit.

California held off Wisconsin, 6-5, in the deciding third game,

surviving a seventh-inning rally. Gabe Huerta came on to strike out

all three batters he faced in the seventh after Jordan Beck pitched

five innings, allowing only one run.

Griffin finished with two hits and two RBIs while Gallegos also

had an RBI hit.

The Stars finished 12th in the Major World Series, comprised of

teams from across the U.S., which was played in Chino Hills prior to

the national championships.

California defeated the Louisiana Lightning, the top-ranked team

in the tournament, on its way through the championship bracket.

The Stars scored 44 runs in their six games.

Next up for the Stars will be the Triple Crown state championship

in San Diego over Labor Day weekend, an event that will feature 24 of

California’s best travel teams.