The Brentwood Blast 10U boys kicked off their season with a first-place finish in the recent Santa Cruz Shootout Tournament.

The Blast got contributions from everyone to pull out three straight victories. Coach Mark Sargent was proud of his team’s performance. “It’s great to have a group of kids who want to work extra hard on the field and be part of a winning organization,” Sargent said. “I’m very proud of this team.”

In the first game, the Blast beat the Hollister Bandits 13-2. Starting pitcher Joey Miller threw a complete-game three-hitter and stole home. The game was close until the fifth inning, when the Blast took a commanding lead by batting around.

Colby Lane, Joey Paolini and Jacob Bartlett led the attack with multiple hits. Bartlett reached base seven out of eight times in the tournament and Lane went 6-for-8. Anthony Paolini, subbing for the injured Julianna Sargent, contributed to the attack with two RBI’s on a base hit.

Chase Goddard got the win in the second game, a complete-game, three-hitter 11-3 victory over the Los Gatos Hornets. Goddard finished with seven strikeouts against the Hornets’ powerful lineup.

The game stood at 3-2 in the third inning when the Blast broke it open again by bringing 12 batters to the plate. Max Miller went 2-for-2 and Mateo Torres contributed to the attack with a home run. Torres batted 5-for-8 in the series.

Christian Alfaro took a page from Joey Miller’s playbook and stole home. In the championship game, Tournament MVP Joey Paolini took the hill against the Belmont Storm and posted a complete-game, two-hit, 11-strikeout performance to seal the deal 9-1.

Ethan Dumond led the onslaught with an RBI triple and solid defense. Lane, Torres, Bartlett and the Millers continued to swing hot bats. Next up for the Blast is Fall Ball and more competitive tournaments.

– Contributed by David Paolini