The Santa Barbara Pony Baseball 12U Bronco All-Star team won the West Zone Southern California District Championship in Newbury Park on Tuesday.
They defeated Northside of Oxnard 9-6 in the championship game and went a perfect 4-0 in the tournament. Santa Barbara had two wins over Newbury Park by scores of 18-3 and 15-5, and a win over Santa Susanna Simi Valley 10-6.
This is the first District Championship for Santa Barbara’s 12U All-Star team since 2002 and only its fifth in 39 years.
“We scored all nine runs with two outs and had eight two-out hits,” league president and head coach Bret Biegert said. “It was the most clutch performance I have ever seen in baseball! Every single player on the roster contributed in a huge way.”
The team had four starters hit .500 or better in the tournament; including Will Fisher, Carter Soto, Izzy Reyes and Braeden Biegert.
The championship game winning pitcher was staff ace Steven Macias, who went 6 and one-third inning and got the win. Jonah Spach was four for five in the championship game, and Will Fisher was three for four with two doubles.
The team’s players are Julian Amador, Braeden Biegert, Will Fisher, Cedar Gately, Ben Gunther, Emerson Liebl, Josh Kang, Steven Macias, Michael Moschitto, Izzy Reyes, Carter Soto and Jonah Spach. The team is managed by Biegert, and assistant coaches are Mike Moschitto, Steve Kang and Steve Fisher.
Santa Barbara will next play in the Sectional Tournament this weekend in West Hills against teams ranging from Bakersfield to Los Angeles.
— Bret Biegert is president of and a head coach for Santa Barbara Youth Baseball.