The IMBA Mob Squad won its second tournament of the 2009 summer season when it beat the Walnut Creek Nationals, 10-1, in the final of the 2009 Nations Kickoff Classic 16U Wood Bat in Manteca.
The Albany team again won with timely hitting (31 runs in four games), solid pitching (only five runs allowed) and outstanding defense (five double plays -- including double plays in each of the last two innings of its closest game, a 5-2 win over Kali Baseball).
(Photo: top row-Coach James Izumizaki, Zachary Chiang, Lucas Yovanovich, Pike Goldschmidt, Yoshi Uemura, Kyle Tannahill, Michael Rabin, Coach Sam Marthinson; bottom row-Patrick Xu, Marcellus Love, Isaiah Smith, Nathan Gill, Adam Lieber, Paul Kennedy.)
Yoshi Uemura went the distance in the final, scattering four hits against the hard-hitting Nationals.
The Mob Squad made key defensive plays in the championship -- Zachary Chiang, Kyle Tannahill and Lucas Yovanovich turned a 6-4-3 double play in the 1st inning, catcher Marcellus Love, the tournament MVP, tagged out a runner trying to score from third base on a blown suicide squeeze in the 3rd, and left fielder Patrick Xu threw out the potential tying runner trying to take third base from first on a ball hit down the left-field line with two outs in the 4th.
The Mob Squad led the Nationals on RBI by Nathan Gill and Uemura and broke the game open with eight runs in the bottom of the 4th. Paul Kennedy led off with a double over the left fielder's head and scored on an infield error. After Gill walked and Isaiah Smith loaded the bases with his second single of the game, the Mob Squad added runs on singles by Xu and Chiang and Love's walk and got two runs apiece when the Walnut Creek infield couldn't handle balls hit by Uemura and Kennedy.
Weekend highs included Uemura's nine RBI (including six in the opener against CV Elite), Chiang's seven hits (including five in a row to open the tournament), Xu's six runs and Kennedy's two doubles. Chiang, Love and Kennedy each reached base safely nine times. Gill earned two saves, while Xu, Chiang and Yovanovich also earned wins on the mound.
The Mob Squad improved to 15-8 in tournament play.
POOL PLAY
Castro Valley Elite 000 00-0 3 1
IMBA Mob Squad 403 2x-9 11 0
Xu, Gill (5) and Love.
WP-Xu (1-0).
2B: Uemura (4).
SH: Yovanovich (2).
SF: Gill (1).
GW RBI: Uemura (4)
Hitting-Uemura (3-3, 2 R, 6 RBI, SB), Love (3-3, 2 R), Chiang (2-2, 2 R, HB), Kennedy (1-1, R, 2
BB, SB), Gill (0-1, 3 RBI).
Pitching-Xu (4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K), Gill (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K).
IMBA Mob Squad 040 010 0-5 7 1
Kali Baseball ......... 000 200 0-2 8 1
Chiang, Gill (6) and Love.
WP-Chiang (2-4). Save-Gill (2).
2B: Kennedy (6).
GW RBI: Xu (1).
Hitting: Chiang (3-4, 3 RBI), Xu (0-2, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, SB).
Pitching-Chiang (5 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K), Gill (2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K).
SEMIFINALS
Castro Valley Elite 001 100-2 1 6
IMBA Mob Squad 201 04x-7 3 3
Yovanovich, Gill (3) and Love.
WP-Yovanovich (2-1). Save-Gill (3).
SF: Uemura (1).
GW RBI: Uemura (5)
Hitting-Xu (1-2, 2 R, RBI, BB, SB), Love (0-1, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB), Smith (0-0, 2 R).
Pitching-Yovanovich (2.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 3 K), Gill (3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K).
FINAL
Walnut Creek Nationals 000 10- 1 4 3
IMBA Mob Squad ....... 011 8x-10 9 1
Uemura and Love.
WP-Uemura (3-1).
2B: Kennedy (7).
SF: Uemura (2).
GW RBI: Gill (1).
Hitting-Smith (2-2, 2 R), Chiang (2-3, R, RBI), Love (1-1, R, RBI, 2 BB), Uemura (0-2, 2 RBI).
Pitching-Uemura (5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K).
