The Turlock American 11-year-old All Star squad is looking strong.
How strong?
Two of the top five homerun hitters during the 2015 Turlock American Majors regular season are on the team.
If that doesn’t cut it, head coach Kurtis Carr is back and returning eight players from last year’s roster and they have a score to settle after finishing second in the 2014 section tournament.
“We won District 73, but lost to the eventual champions,” said Carr. “We didn’t play how we were capable of, so we are back now for a second chance.”
Aside from being Section runner-ups at the 10-year-old level, Carr also led his team—the Yankees—to a City and Tournament of Champions titles less than two weeks ago.
Carr also has the pleasure of returning five players from his Yankee team back to the roster for one last run.
“The team is looking good. I also think the kids know the opportunity is there and expectations are high for the group, but they are not letting the pressure get to them,” said Carr. “They want to perform well and do what they are capable of doing and results will take care of themselves.”
Zach Mayol and Griffen Sotomayor will look to lead as the big bats for the lineup.
Combined, they had a total of 10 homeruns hit during the regular season, which for the age of 11 is unheard of.
Not to mention that 11 of the 12 players on the team can pitch.
“We have an ample number of kids that will do lot of damage. I would say strength is bats, we have power up and down the lineup and just about every kid on our team can pitch,” said Carr. “I think we will rely more on offense though.”
With such a talented and deep team, Carr also mentioned that each player will more than likely play all around.
“We are deep in the infield and everybody should play everywhere,” Carr added. “I will move the kids and I think I can afford to do it with the type of roster we have.”
The Turlock American 11s' first game will be against the Turlock National squad at 4:30 p.m. Monday in Atwater.