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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/22/2018

Sakaino’s slam fuels Show

Nate Schweers     
Photo: Shun Sakaino (Perfect Game)

EMERSON, Ga. – The San Diego Show improved to 2-0 at the 15u Perfect Game World Series on Sunday with a thrilling 5-1 win over the St. Louis Prospects Scout Team. The victory puts the Show on top of what has been a competitive Pool F.

Trailing 2-0 heading in to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Show was able to scratch across one run on an infield single from Victor Lizarraga Mendoza. After a walk loaded the bases, Shun Sakaino came to the plate looking to put his team ahead.

“My first two at-bats of the day I grounded out to third and short, so I knew I needed to find a way to get a hit,” said Sakaino. “We were down by one, I got an inside pitch, and I turned on it.”

As Sakaino sprinted out of the box, he watched the ball fly over the wall down the right field line for a grand slam. Standing at 5-foot-5, 130-pounds, the unlikely hero raised a fist in the air as he rounded the bases to give the Show a 5-2 lead.

“I started sprinting so fast out of the box because I thought it was just a fly ball to right. It found a way to get over the fence. It was my first home run, first grand slam; I’ll take it.”

After providing the game-winning hit, Sakaino was then tasked with getting the final three outs on the mound. A native of San Diego, California, Sakaino was able to set the down the St. Louis Prospects’ hitters 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, securing the victory.

“I want to be like [Shohei] Ohtani, so I am trying to work both the pitching and the hitting at the same time. If you throw strikes you can get outs, so that is what I try to do every time.”

After a long night at LakePoint on Saturday, this San Diego Show team started slow out of the gates on Sunday. After falling behind 2-0 in just the second inning, they found a way to stay locked in and fight until the very end.

“We didn't get out of the yard last night until about three in the morning, but we got home, got some Waffle House, and tried to get some sleep before today’s game,” said Show head coach Anthony Stabile. “The boys were a little lackadaisical to start the game, but they don't waiver. It's a tough group.”

Though unfamiliar to many of the local teams on the travel ball circuit, the San Diego Show is historically a powerhouse program from the West Coast. It is a long trip from San Diego to Emerson, Georgia, and when this group shows up to the ballpark they mean business.

“Any time we come to an event and get on an airplane, we’re trying to go as deep as possible. You have to get a little lucky and a little fortunate, but we come with players who we think can get deep into tournaments and who are proven. We feel like we should be playing on the final day of all Perfect Game events.”

While Shun Sakaino stole the spotlight during Sunday’s win, San Diego Show reliever Dante Schmid turned in a great and needed performance out of the bullpen. Schmid came in to the game trailing 2-0, and he was able to keep the score right there with three shutout innings.

“Coach let me know that I was relieving before the game today, so my mindset was to come in and get outs,” said Schmid. “It’s my first time with this team, so I was trying to leave a good impression. I felt really good out there.”

Any championship caliber team has to go through adversity to come out on top, and this Show team was able to grind their way through their first test of the week.  With a plethora of outstanding teams at the 15u Perfect Game World Series, coach Stabile knows his team needs to continue playing great baseball to survive.

“This tournament is one of those tournaments that you’re always going to have one or two tough days. This was one of those days, and we found a way to get through it,” said Stabile. “We came a long way from San Diego to get through to the playoffs, and we have put ourselves in a pretty good position to do exactly that.”

This group is back in action looking to secure a spot in the playoffs on Monday afternoon when they take on the Rawlings Arkansas Prospects 15u. One more win gets them a step closer to the ultimate goal, and this group from California looks ready to take on the next challenge that comes their way.
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