Nothing was going to rain on the Silicon Valley Xtreme’s parade
as the 12-under travel baseball team played out its dreams in
Cooperstown, N.Y
– home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nothing was going to rain on the Silicon Valley Xtreme’s parade as the 12-under travel baseball team played out its dreams in Cooperstown, N.Y – home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Losing in extra innings in their opening game – no big deal.
The Xtreme went on to win their next six games in a row and soon became the team everyone was talking about. And there were 80 teams from all over the country competing in the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame Invitational, tagged ‘The Greatest Tournament in America.’
Losing in extra innings in their first elimination game that was played in the rain – no big deal.
The Xtreme were satisfied with a 6-2 tournament record and there were plenty of other thrills awaiting, including a visit to the Hall of Fame, tickets to a New York Yankees game, and a tour of Manhattan
“It was all that and more,” Patrick Shield said.
Teammate Jordan Holler agreed, “I wanted to just stay a little bit longer.”
It was a dream-come-true for the 13 Xtreme players, five coaches and parents who made the Cooperstown trip, one that will be remembered for the rest of their lives.
“I kind of wish we were still back there because it was fun, especially in the dorms,” said Kaohu Gaspar, who belted six home runs in the tournament and batted well over .500.
Gaspar quickly got Barry Bonds-type respect with opposing pitchers not giving him anything to hit and pitching around him in the later games.
That didn’t matter, either.
The team from the garlic capital of the world was in the baseball capital of the world in Cooperstown and only a train ride away from the ‘Big Apple’.
“(Cooperstown) was great,” Jered Schreckengost said. “It was so inspiring seeing all the players who made it there. That is everyone’s goal to achieve. Everyone wants to be in the Hall of Fame.”
“It was unbelievable,” Shields added. “We all went together. … Seeing all the players and memorabilia was awesome.”
Every player at the tournament was inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame; they received Hall of Fame rings and baseball bats with their names as well as their team rosters etched into the wood; and another highlight was pin swapping between teams.
But just being in Cooperstown was the greatest experience of all.
“That was awesome,” Taylor Chris said. “Every store had baseball in it. You have to like baseball to be there. Even McDonald’s had baseball stuff inside.”
After the team completed tournament play and soaked in everything Cooperstown had to offer, some of the players took the train into Manhattan for a sight-seeing tour – including a visit to Ground Zero
“It’s big and there are a lot of people,” said Chris of New York City. “It is a little too busy for me, but I’ll go back to Cooperstown anytime.”
Gaspar added: “It was very big and crowded. It was a lot different than here.”
Players also experienced what it is like to ride in a New York City taxi, and lived through it.
“My first taxi ride, that was scary,” Schreckengost said. “We were zipping through cracks (of traffic). We came inches of hitting cars. … The city was overwhelming. All the buildings were huge.”
The team also attended a ball-game at historic Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, where the players got a chance to visit Monument Park in the outfield before the game started.
“There was a lot of characters in the stands,” Schreckengost said. “I like Pac Bell … but Yankee Stadium has so much history. It was breathtaking, just knowing all the great players that played there. It was really cool.”
It was even cool for Taylor Chris – a loyal Boston Red Sox fan.
“It was kind of weird,” said Chris, who left his BoSox gear in the hotel room.
“Very, very rowdy crowd,” said Gaspar of the Yankee faithful.
The Xtreme players never once looked back and sulked about their heart-breaking loss back in Cooperstown, where they made a strong showing against some of the best youth teams in the country.
“I don’t think there were any heads down after that game. We knew we had a shot. We just needed a couple of breaks. … It could’ve gone either way,” head coach Warren Gaspar said. “Of all the years I coached, this was the most ultimate deal I’ve ever been to. The kids all played up at a different level.”
In the rain-delayed elimination game, the Xtreme dropped an 8-6 decision to an all-star team from Louisville. Most of the game – which started at 6:30pm and did not end until 2am – was played in the rain, a first for the Xtreme.
“When we first came out, everyone was quiet. We really didn’t want to play in the rain. I could sense it. Our heads were down,” said Schreckengost, whose squad fell behind 4-1 before the two-hour rain delay stalled the game in the third inning.
“But in the later innings, we were so pumped. We had so much energy forming. It was so much fun.”
The Xtreme came back rejuvenated after the delay with Ronnie Chapa and Kaohu Gaspar both hitting solo home runs to cut into the deficit. The rally continued with a walk issued to John Kruger and a game-tying RBI double off the bat of Dylan Nobida. The Xtreme threatened for more with two runners on, but could not take the lead.
“That was a good chance for us to put it away,” Coach Gaspar said.
With the game knotted at 4-4 in the sixth inning, Xtreme pitcher Zachary Decremer fanned the first two batters. However, Decremer had to come out because he was not feeling well. The Louisville team then mounted a two-out rally and claimed a 6-4 advantage.
“They just didn’t give up,” Shields said. “They were a tough team.”
Gilroy fired right back in the bottom of the sixth, tying the score at 6-6 on Jordan Holler’s RBI single and a Kruger sacrifice fly.
After battling to a tie a the end of regulation, Louisville took another two-run lead on a two-run homer. The Xtreme, however, were not done yet, putting runners on second and third with no outs.
Kaohu Gaspar came up, but never got a chance to swing the bat as he was pitched around to load the bases.
“I called time-out and told him to swing at anything close because I knew they weren’t going to give him anything,” coach said. “He was hitting everything hard. He was in a zone the whole tournament. I told him anything close go after it.”
“They pitched him low and away. … That was the key to the game.”
The next three Xtreme batters went down in order to end the game, but not the fun.
“After the game and stuff, we didn’t even talk about the game. We went back to dorm and had a two-hour pillow fight,” said Coach Gaspar, whose players stayed together in the barracks of Cooperstown’s Dreams Park. “We told the kids we were proud of them. They came a long way. We went back and we had a blast.”
And the Xtreme are still hungry for more baseball. This weekend, the team will compete in a tournament in Salinas.
“I think we’re a way better team than what we were,” Schreckengost said.
