Asps win Termite tournament

The Ortega’s Asps won the 2010 Termite League Single Elimination Tournament Friday beating the Valex Construction Black Widows 12-5.

The Asps, who finished fourth in the regular season with a 11-7 record were led by an impressive pitching performance from Kevin Saldate who pitched his second complete game in two days fanning 12 Friday while giving up eight hits.

But it was the game ending catch by Alex Vera-Galaz that stole the show.

With bases loaded and two outs in the bottom half of the final inning and the Asps up 12-5 Jesus Smith, who was hitting 3 for 3 to this point and had homered earlier in the game, hit a shot to the gap between short and second which almost seemed destined to score some runs for the Black Widows. But Vera-Galaz moved to his left, leaped and snagged the ball in the web of his glove giving the Asps the championship and coach Edmund Garcia his first ever Termite League crown since coming into the league 17 years ago.

The championship capped off a wild week in the Termite tournament that saw the three regular season tri-champions, the State Farm Insurance Ticks the Border Mart Fleas and the Black Widows all lose after posting regular season records of 16-1.

The Ticks fell opening night losing a thrilling 2-1 game to the fifth seeded Backdrop Photography Beetles.

The Fleas had the unfortunate task of forfeiting their first round game to the Palo Verde Meat Market Bees.

The Black Widows won their first round game by forfeit over the Brown and Page Scorpions, and then downed the Bees 16-3 in the semifinals earning the right to face the Asps who had posted a 16-5 win over the Elks Lodge Spiders before beating the Beetles 15-4 last Thursday in the other semifinal game.

The Asps sent seven batters to the plate in the top half of the first inning Friday and scored three runs off four hits taking a 3-0 lead.

With a runner on base Smith hit a two run shot over the left field fence in the bottom half of the inning for the Black Widows cutting the Asps lead to 3-2.

Saldate’s two run double in the fourth helped the Asps score four more runs increasing their lead to 7-2.

Not about to give in just yet the Black Widows responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning making the score 7-4.

The Asps tacked on three more runs in the top of the fifth and added two more in the sixth for a 12-5 lead.

Saldate ended up being the winning pitcher.

Jorge Medina took the loss.

Vera-Galaz hit 3 for 3 for the Asps; Marco Pena was 2 for 3, Saldate 3 for 5 and Elijah Valenzuela 1 for 4.

Smith hit 3 for 4 for the Black Widows with a home run, a double and a single. Orlando Grijalva, Andrew Favela, Jesus Cruz, Damian Campoy and Medina each had one hit.

Counting the tournament wins the Asps end the season with a 14-7 record while the Black Widows end the year 18-2.