The So Cal Dirtbags played in the 2011 Firecracker Classic Tournament (18U), hosted by USA Premier Baseball. The schedule was for July 1-6, which falls on top of my favorite holiday of the year... Fourth of July.
Since I am now a starting pitcher, my weekend schedule improved dramatically when my coach said I just needed to be at the third game on July 3rd. And it gets better. Even though this is an Orange County tournament, the third game would be at San Diego State University... in my town of San Diego.
The first three games were pool play, and the Dirtbags had lost their first two games. For the third game we were matched against the ASD Bulldogs, and they were 2-0. We were going to have to win by a lot, and pray a bit as only two teams from our pool would advance.
I pitched the first three innings, where the only run I gave up was in the second inning after hitting the leadoff batter. It was looking like a very costly mistake when we had yet to score a run, but luckily our bats came alive in the bottom of the third inning, and we rolled to a 3-2 victory.
Unfortunately, our game score wasn’t enough for our team to advance out of pool play, but it was a privilege for me to pitch on the same mound as Stephen Strasburg and countless other Division 1 players. After sitting in the stands at Tony Gwynn Stadium, I was pretty stoked to be on the other side of the fence.
Oh, and the Bulldogs went on to the Finals where they lost to the San Diego Gamers.
