EMERSON, Ga. – The So Cal National Travel Team (NTT) are well aware of the powerhouse programs that have been dominating at Perfect Game events as of late, but that doesn’t affect their confidence coming into the 2015 14u WWBA National Championship.

The 643s, East Cobb teams, and Team Elites of these tournaments usually run amuck against the competition, but this travel team originating from June Lake, Calif., is ready to show everyone what they’re about; and what they’re about is winning games. It’s that simple, they won’t dazzle you with showmanship or dug out antics, but they will play the game with a strong emphasis on fundamentals.

Catcher Daryl Ruiz feels like his team is no-nonsense, and when it comes to playing the game of baseball, winning is the only thing on their minds.

“There isn’t anything that is going to stand out when you look at us; we’re just a group of ballplayers trying to win games,” Ruiz said with a glimmer of confidence. “Each time we step on the field, we know that we are capable to go out there and get a W against anyone in the country.”

This roster is comprised of kids from all four corners of the United States, including kids from Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, and of course, California. From coast-to-coast, So Cal NTT scours country for kids who are not only talented, but have good character.

The main goal of this program that Scott Luke founded in 2005 is to develop his ballplayers in order for them to achieve their own baseball aspirations. With that in mind, when these players commit to the idea of bettering themselves day in and day out, the wins come along with the process. They are hoping that their hard work will pay off this tournament, as they got underway with pool play against Knights Baseball National.

Their first game started off a little bit slow, but eventually So Cal got on the board in the third inning with the help of their speed. SoC al put the ball on the ground a lot, which is a good strategy due to the pressure it puts on the opposing defense to make plays. Keeping the ball out of the air allows them to use their speed to manufacture base hits and put runners on. The only problem with putting runners on is actually bringing them in to score; which is something that So Cal had trouble with today, seeing as though they left runners on base in multiple innings.

The game stayed very close until the bottom of the fourth inning. The Knights woke up their bats and tagged So Cal's starter, Noah Matsumoto, for five runs off of a string of base hits. Aside from the base hits, the Knights also received a little bit of help from the So Cal defense. So Cal committed four errors, and the Knights took advantage.

A lot of credit can be given to the Knights for their hitting performance; they made So Cal pay whenever their pitchers missed their spots and had a lot of deep drives to the outfield when they found a pitch they could hit.

The game would get out of hand, and the Knights cruised to a 9-1 win. However, So Cal NTT was able to come up with five hits, and considering that none of their players had more than one hit, they were lacking that breakout performance by one of their players that could have carried them to a win.

Daryl Ruiz did what he could to help his team win today from the batter’s box and behind the plate. Ruiz had one base hit and threw a couple of runners out trying to steal, but his efforts were not enough. Head Coach Scott Luke knows that his team is capable of more, and expects them to settle in after this game.

“We have guys from eight different states, and some of them have played with us before, and some haven’t,” said Coach Luke. “It takes some settling in to teach them how to play the game the right way. Everybody plays the game a little different but we try to mold them to compete at a high level as quickly as we can.

“In today’s game, we played a really good program. The Knights are one of the better teams in our pool, so give them credit for coming out here and playing good baseball.”

Moving forward, So Cal knows that they have to clean up their defense if they want to improve. In these tournaments, there is very little margin for error and having coached multiple championship So Cal teams in the past, Coach Luke is well aware of that. So Cal has the talent to bounce back from this first lost, but they will have to rely on their mental strength to make the changes they need to come out tomorrow and win.

It is a long round of pool play, and there will be six wild card spots in this year’s 14u WWBA National Championship, so the playoff hopes for the So Cal NTT are still alive.

“Today we got some bunts down early but errors, base running mistakes, and wild pitching put this game out of reach pretty fast,” said Coach Luke. “Some of these guys just got here from California last night, and for some it is day one of the summer baseball season. These guys just need to settle in. The reason we come here at 14 is to get comfortable with this environment and prepare them for the older age group tournaments. I want them to compete and want them to win, but that’s not always possible.

“We’ve dug ourselves a hole today, but we’ll see how the rest of the tournament plays out. Our team moniker is to be gritty and battle to the end, and these guys are going to have to do that if they want to advance out of the pool.”