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Tournaments | Championship | 6/4/2025

Turn 2 Garcia Takes Home BCS Qualifier

Ashley Zunic

Turn 2 Garcia 15U defeated 2028 Bay Area Show Scout 3-0 on Monday to win the 2025 BCS Qualifier Championship.

The weather began breezy with overcast skies that offered a break from the Florida heat. However, conditions quickly shifted as clouds thickened, and lightning forced a delay in the bottom of the 5th inning. Despite the interruption, both teams played strong defense throughout, with Turn 2 Garcia capitalizing on key moments to secure a shutout in their victory.

Right-handed pitcher Brody Root was lights-out on the mound for Turn 2 Garcia. Root threw 81 pitches through 5 innings of work. He fanned 6 batters, allowing 4 hits, 2 walks, and 0 runs. Root relied heavily on his fastball, which averaged 83 mph, and rarely mixed in his slider, averaging 73 mph.

“They just weren’t catching up to it,” Root said, “I threw it down the middle – [and they were] nowhere close.”

In the top of the 5th, Root faced a big moment on the mound - with the bases loaded, 2 outs, and a full count.

“I was really thinking, like, ‘strikeout,’” Root said. “But he hit a ground ball, and I was a little upset. I really wanted a strikeout.” Root still got out and preserved the shutout. “No runs scored against B-Root,” he added. For every at-bat, Root said he wanted only one thing: a strikeout. “I hear one, I want more. I want more strikeouts…”

Turn 2 Garcia’s center fielder Darrien Rodriguez drove in the first run of the game with a 2-out double to left field to score Alexander Gomez, who singled to left field and advanced to second on a passed ball in the bottom of the third.

When asked about the at-bat, Rodriguez stated, “I was thinking about my previous at-bats and what I could do better to make the current at-bat like the best hit of my life.”

Rodriguez gave insight into the team’s mindset during the weather delay: “We were talking about the game, talking about how they’re pitching and what we were going to do next when we came back to the field. Other than that, we were just eating and just hanging out having fun and team bonding.”

During the delay, head coach Joshua Garcia kept the message simple. He reminded the team that the job wasn’t finished.

“We are winning but it is not over,” he told them, urging the players to stay focused and ready to finish strong once play resumed.

Once they re-took the diamond, the camaraderie of Turn 2 Garcia shined. “They’ve been together for a while, and they just click.”

He also expressed an extra factor that was driving them: “We are playing for ‘JC,’” a player the team lost a few months back. Every time the team breaks their huddle, they say his name – keeping his memory alive with every game they play.

Infielder Alex Manetta was named the MVP of the tournament - slashing an impressive .667/.692/.834 and never striking out. He had a tournament-leading 8 hits, 6 of them singles and 2 doubles. Manetta also contributed 3 stolen bases, 7 runs, and 2 runners batted in for Turn 2 Garcia.

Manetta attributed the team’s championship victory to a few key factors: “everyone staying focused the whole entire time, hitting the ball, playing good defense, and playing baseball.”

Jhon Rodriguez, the tournament MVPitcher, stepped up in his start in the semifinals vs JR7 Baseball for Turn 2 Garcia. Rodriguez shut out JR7, allowing 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 7 batters through 5 innings pitched through 71 pitches. Rodriguez threw strikes in 74% of his pitches, throwing mainly fastballs topping out at 89 mph while mixing in his slider, averaging 71 mph.

Rodriguez said that anytime he steps on the field, he wants to “just go out there, try to have fun, and just win with my team.”

From the first pitch to the final out, Turn 2 Garcia played as one, winning all four of their games and proving that chemistry, focus, and heart can carry a team to a championship.

Root put it simply: “The boys were dialed this weekend.”

PERFECTGAME.TV