By Ari Levin
Over 100 players were whittled down to 12.
About 115 players were in the Artesia minors little league. After coaches selected the top players to attend tryouts, ultimately the top 10% of the league was named to the All-Star team, to compete against nearby cities.
Now, those 12 players have a chance to represent Artesia on the state level, and are one win away from doing so. The Artesia minors little league team defeated Roswell’s Noon Optimist 5-4 on Monday in the winner’s bracket final to reach the district championship.
The team of 8, 9 and 10-year-old players will play in the finals on Wednesday evening in Artesia, and will face either Noon Optimist or Carlsbad Shorthorn. The Bulldogs will have two chances to win, and the second game, if necessary, will be on Friday. Artesia had previously defeated Clovis American and Shorthorn.
“I was proud of them for defending their home turf,” said Artesia manager Jason Mendoza. “I feel like we didn’t finish the game good, but they ultimately came out and they executed our game plan.”
The Artesia juniors team, of 12-14 year-olds, won their tournament two weeks prior in Carlsbad, and will compete at their state tournament.
Bleachers were crowded on both sides on a hot evening at Jaycee Park, with Artesia hosting the minors district tournament.
“It’s special, any time you can come and represent your city, especially at such a young age, is a really cool event for the kids, and I’m glad they’re part of it,” Mendoza said.
Jamies “Major” Mendoza took the ball to start the game, and delivered three shutout innings, including a 1-2-3 top of the first.
Artesia took the lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Matthew Fox.
In the third, Gavin Baldwin reached third base on a Little-League-style infield triple. Then, he scored after getting into a pickle on a passed ball, missing home plate on his slide, but beating the tag anyway.
After giving up one run in the top of the top of the fourth, Artesia added three runs in the inning, including RBI hits by Jed Bilberry and Jackson Desko, to take a 5-1 lead.
Noon Optimist scored two runs in the fifth inning on some fielding miscues. And in the sixth and final inning, they scored one more on a groundout. But Artesia escaped a jam in both innings, and came out with the win by a run.
“This team has grit, determination,” Jason Mendoza said. “They’re eager to come out here and work every day. Today was the day that we could put all that work to show.”
After playing on different teams throughout the season, the All Stars began practicing together to form a team.
“It’s been great,” Mendoza said. “We’ve worked the whole month of June. We came out, we’ve been working in facilities here at the fields, batting practice. We have swim parties, we have them eat together. We try to bring them together as a group, as brothers.”
Now, the young Bulldogs are a win away from going to the state tournament.
“As long as we play our game we’re going to be fine,” Mendoza said. “Just execute the game plan. We emphasize hitting, our pitchers are ready to go, and just playing as a team.”