Mickey Weisser takes a short lead off first after a fourth inning leadoff walk put him on.  Weisser eventually scored and the Oaks went on for a 12-3 victory over B&L Properties. Photo by Joe Blenkle

Fair Oaks 12, B&L Properties 3 (League: 16-1, Overall: 17-1) - June 29 @ Laurel Creek Park, Fairfield, CA - Fair Oaks drew perennial powerhouse B&L Properties to open the Western Amateur Baseball Federation Championship Tournament in Fairfield, but when the final out was recorded, the Oaks owned a 12-3 victory over the Fairfield Legion team.
    The Oaks jumped on B&L starter Vince Gonzales for four first inning runs and owned a 5-2 advantage when they drove him off the mound in the second.
    Designated hitter Steve Rinaudo led off the first with a hit to left and then with one out, first baseman Mickey Weisser was hit by a pitch. Third baseman Austin Morgan drove in both runners with a triple to center and then he scored after two were out on a ground ball to short by shortstop Chris Dennison to make it 3-0. Dennison was safe at first, beating the throw to the bag, and he moved to second on catcher Joe Holguin's hit to right. Right fielder Trevor Lewis followed with a hit to left to score Dennison and give the Oaks a 4-0 lead.
    B&L came back in the bottom of the inning to score twice, including a leadoff home run to right field by center fielder Mike Douglass off Oaks starter Tyler Robertson. With one out, a ground ball to short by second baseman Chris Engell went for an error. He moved to third on a hit by left fielder Jordan McCullough. With shortstop Trent Fuller at the plate, Robertson had McCullough picked off first, but then on a play the Oaks have used many times in the past, the runner bolted off third base on the pickoff throw and scored to make it a 4-2 game.
    The Oaks came back for three more runs in the second as Rinaudo led off with a single to center and second baseman Kyle Richardson followed with a hit to center, sending Rinaudo to third. Weisser was the next batter and he sent a hit to center to score Rinaudo and make it a 5-2 game. B&L sent Bryan Aldridge to the mound to replace Gonzales, but he didn't have any better luck as a passed ball advanced both runners and a walk to Morgan loaded the bases.
    Center fielder Ryan Stevens was next up and his hit to right scored Richardson and Weisser to make it 7-2. Morgan also tried to score on the play, but was thrown out at the plate. But Stevens took second on the play and wound up on third when the ball got away at home.
    The Oaks failed to score any more runs, however, as Dennison hit a ball to short with the throw coming home to get Stevens and Holguin flying out to right field.
    Post 383 added one run in the third as Lewis led off with a hit to left. Left fielder Nikolai Rowe moved him to second on a bunt back to the pitcher and then Lewis took third on a fly to center by Rinaudo. Lewis then scored on a wild pitch with Richardson at the plate to make it an 8-2 game.
    B&L scored its final run of the contest in the bottom of the third without virtue of a hit. Douglass led off with a walk and moved to second on a bunt by third baseman K.J. Randhawa. A mental lapse by the Oaks, however, let Douglass advance to third and he scored on a fly to center by second baseman Chris Engell to make it 8-3.
    Not to be outdone, Post 383 came back for four more runs in the top of the fourth as Weisser led off with a walk. With one out, Weisser scored on a double to left by Stevens and then Stevens scored on a triple to right by Dennison. Holguin followed with a hit to left to score Dennison from third and then with two out, a Rowe double to left center scored Holguin to make it a 12-3 game.
    With the tournament's 10-Run Mercy Rule nipping at their heels, B&L tightened up their defense and sent a new pitcher to the mound in the Oaks' fifth. Matt Kuzma did what the other two hurlers couldn't - shut Fair Oaks down, as the Oaks managed only a pair of walks the rest of the way.
    But B&L didn't have any luck getting to Fair Oaks' Robertson either, as the left-hander shut down the Fairfield team into the seventh when teammate Brian Garber took the mound in relief.  Garber gave up only one hit and faced only four batters as the Oaks recorded the 12-3 victory.  

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
FAIR OAKS	4	3	1	4	0	0	0	12	14	2
B&L PROPERTIES	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	4	1

Fair Oaks: Pitching - Robertson, Garber (7) and Holguin. Top Hitters - Rinaudo 2x5; Morgan 3B, 2 RBI; Stevens 2x4, 2B, 3 RBI; Dennison 2x3, 3B, 2 RBI; Holguin 2x4; Lewis 2x4; Rowe 2B.
B&L Properties: Pitching - Gonzales, Aldridge (2), Kuzma (5) and Pope. Top Hitters - Douglass HR; McCullough 2x3.