2012 Less is More…
2012 Home Run Derby & Alumni Game Slide Show
Sometimes less is more, addition by subtraction so to say. The volume of home run derby participants was down from last year but it made for a more relaxed pace and made room for the newly added Dad’s division which had the largest number of participants (22) on the day. In the younger divisions, Drew Sommers and Charlie Dunlap ran away with the 12u and 16u divisions by more than doubling their next closest slugger’s total. The 14u division was stocked with talent; the champion John Murphy personifies that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters. Craig Foster won the inaugural Dad’s division while alums Joe Nunez and Jeff Meyers had a hit-off for the silver and bronze tee shirts.
The alumni game followed suit with quality over quantity. In 2011 there were so many alums that not everyone got to participate and the game got a bit sloppy. This year a manageable 19 players returned home to form a strong and balanced opponent for the varsity squad. Mark Montgomery (’03) and Mike Frazee (’00) provide stellar defense up the middle and speed at the top of the order. Jon Talley (’07) anchored first and is a legitimate long ball threat, and the Carreon brothers (Robert ’84 and Paul ’99) brought the best cheering section. Tim Mulligan (’92) and Jeff Meyers (’89) still cover an impressive amount of ground in center field although Robert Carreon stole the show with a ‘not in front of me’ belly-flop catch with runners on in the second inning.
The alum battery was stocked well enough to compete for 9 innings with catchers Joey Tappon (’00), Tim Ganich (’88) and Joe Nunez (’83). Isidro Perez (’11) led a staff that included Troy Forester (’11), Lief Palmquist (’99), Tally, Carreon and even the Wizard Joe Pimentel (‘70-something) baffled the high school kids for a frame.
Varsity ace Thomas Eshelman started the game by striking out the side in the first two innings. Meanwhile his teammates turned doubles by Nathan Mann and Austin Avan into runs in the first and third innings and got a 2 out RBI single from Jake Baccay for another run in the second. The alum had runners in scoring position in the first, second and third and then broke through with an unearned run in the fourth to cut the varsity squad’s lead to 2 (3-1). The youngsters scored their own unearned run in the sixth and then plated Max Gough in the seventh after he opened the inning with a lead-off double.
In the seventh inning the alum were gifted a runner with a base on balls but Addison Domingo single handedly killed their rally by knocking down a line drive and turning it into a 6-4-3 inning ending double play. In the eighth inning with two runners on base, Kevin Menker turned a well struck ball up the third baseline into a 5 to 3 inning ending double play. In the alum’s final at bats, Frazee doubled and was platted by a Forester RBI single. Carreon then walked to bring the tying run to the plate with two outs. Cory Bice deftly picked a shot off the bat of Tappon that was headed for extra bases up the first baseline and turned it into a game ending unassisted put-out. Ball game. Youth was served once again by a final score of 5-2.
The vibe in the alum dugout and in the stands was extremely positive and appreciative. The kids will understand some day. There was a moment of silence before the game for fallen brother Joe Rodriguez (’74). Glenn Domingo and Sam Eshelman’s smooth job with announcements eased the pain a bit. There were countless volunteers from the Boosters club, and tons of help from the players that helped make this event a huge success in spite of not having a big turnout. If profit could be measured by a quality community event, this year’s effort would be a walk-off home run! Thanks to all!
All proceeds go to the Carlsbad Baseball Boosters and will be used to help achieve their mission of enhancing the environment of Carlsbad High School Baseball with emphasis on community, education, sportsmanship and fun!
2012 Raffle Prizes: a $100 gift certificate to Dick's, a Heath Bell authographed baseball, 4 tickets to a Padre game, Lake San Marcos golf foresome, a new glove from Rawlings, a one night stay at the Carlsbad Inn plus dinner and drinks at Norte Restaurant, a snowboard and lift tickets to June Mountain and a one night stay at the La Costa Resort and Golf for 4. Nice!
2012 Sponsors...
Tee Shirt Sponsors:
AMIGO CUSTOM SCREEN PRINTS; MARY FROLANDER / HOMELIFE VILLAGE REALTORS; SUE LIETHEN, DDS; THAT PIZZA PLACE; THE GRAND BAR & GRILL & WORKWAY
Raffle Prize Donations From:
JEFF BENSON @ MITCHELL INTERNATIONAL - $100 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO DICK'S; SMITH OPTICS SUN GLASSES; NORTE'S RESTURANT; THE CARLSBAD INN
Event Specialties:
AA TROPHIES; PROGRESSIVE GROWERS