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Gallup baseball teams take top two spots in state

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It has become somewhat the norm in Pee Wee Reese play – baseball for the U12 set – for Gallup to capture the South Plains Regional Tournament as they did for the third straight year, July 7 - 10. What is not so normal is for another Gallup team to battle eight out-of-town teams and come in a close second to the eventual champion Giants.

Both the Red Sox and the Giants started strong and, except for minor blips resulting in a narrow loss for each, which pushed the final game to Sunday morning, all the players handled the pressure and the competition very well. Unfortunately, one team had to lose for a second time so the other could advance to the next round in Puerto Rico on August 3 - 7. The winning team was the Giants — 5-3 winners over the Red Sox in the championship game.

The Giants roster is included below the team pic, but it wouldn’t be quite right if the players for the Red Sox were not celebrated in this article as well. These are all Gallup boys, and they’re all winners in their own right.

Coached by Blas Saucedo, who was assisted by Ben Chavez, Tracy Joines, and Greg Stewart, the Red Sox team members are, alphabetically: Bryce Balok; Dylan Barney; Chris Chavez; Jacob Fernandez; Miguel Hernandez; T.J. Jimenez; Dylan Joines and his older brother Ethan; James Leleiwi IV; Blas Saucedo IV; Chris Silva; Cael Stewart; Logan Tsosie; and Talon West.

Spectators got to see some very good play from all teams. But one-by-one, the away teams — Aztec, El Paso, Estancia, Farmington, and Santa Fe — fell victim to the homeboys, though not without a fight.

This is the year for the Gallup Giants. And now the hard work begins, raising enough money to ensure the team’s expenses are covered for the upcoming tournament. Please contribute generously to whatever fundraiser appeals to you. It is for the youth of Gallup, after all!

By Tom Hartsock

Sun Correspondent