Members of the Ceres Blaze 12-and-under travel baseball team flew to New York recently to compete in a Cooperstown All-Star Village Tournament.
The Blaze reached the Elite Eight of the June 17-23 event.
The tournament featured 94 teams.
“We went there to compete and we did,” head coach Jesus Guzman said. “I’m proud of every single one of the boys.”
Ceres posted a 7-1-1 overall record en route to an eighth-place finish.
“We didn’t go into the tournament expecting to finish that high, but we believed in each other and worked hard to prepare,” Blaze pitcher William Ochoa said. “Before Cooperstown, we spent a lot of time practicing in the batting cages and on the field.”
The Blaze won two of three games in bracket play.
Pacific Ghost eliminated Ceres from the tournament with a 26-2 victory in the quarterfinals on June 22.
The Blaze beat GBC Prospects-Clark 8-7 and Aces Baseball Club-Johnson 6-4 on June 21.
“We lost to a really good team that reached the finals,” Jesus Guzman said.
Ceres collected five wins and one tie in pool play.
The Blaze topped the Sylvania Mavericks 12-6 and Rawlings Tigers Chicago 19-6 on June 20.
Ceres defeated the Bellaire Bullets 12-6 and tied Carlsbad 9-9 on June 19.
The Blaze bested Sparks North 12U Eder 8-5 and ZT Southeast 14-10 on June 18.
Ceres hit 25 home runs during the course of the tournament.
“You have teams from all over the country,” coach Guzman said. “The level of competition is really high. We have 12 kids on the team. They all did amazing. They performed to the level we know they can. It was a great performance all the way around. We have a pretty elite pitching staff with a great defense. That helped us get to where we were.”
“Winning our first game gave our team a lot of confidence,” Ochoa. “After that, we just wanted to keep winning. I think this was the best baseball we’ve played all season.”
Ochoa and Blaze teammates Ian Avila, Jackson Beutel, Mason Cardoso, David Guzman, Malachy “MJ” Guzman, Austin Madrigal, Joseph Nicholas, Levi Oates, Jaiden Santana, Mason Williams and Jaiden Wright were housed in dorms during their week-long stay at the Cooperstown All-Star Village.
“I had a lot of fun with my teammates,” Ochoa said. “Some of my favorite memories were playing wiffle ball in the bunkhouses whenever we had free time. I also really enjoyed trading pins because it gave us the chance to meet players from teams all over the country.”
“They went to Cooperstown as teammates and left as brothers,” coach Guzman added. “They were always together. They had each other’s back.”
Players, coaches and family members visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on June 20.
They also attended a pair of Major League Baseball games, including the New York Yankees’ home game versus the Chicago White Sox on June 16 and road game against the Boston Red Sox on June 25.
“It was an amazing experience,” Jesus Guzman said.
Ceres accomplished its goal of competing in Cooperstown.
The Blaze turned their dream into a reality thanks to a $25,000-fundraiser campaign.
“We’ve been building this team for a couple years,” coach Guzman said. “We decided to do something special for the players. The team had a lot of support from the community. The majority of the expenses were covered for the players.”
