Aaron Johnson, front row from left, Cody Ruby, Kody Griffis, Tyler Wattanachinda, Jakob Costley, Assistant Coach John Pfister. Back row from left, Assistant Coach Sean Griffis, Kevin Lehmann, Alex Kasper, Chris Pfister, Daniel Hibler, Cameron Johnson, Kyle Dane, and Manager Mark Lehmann. Photo/Provided

By Kelly Johnson

The South Tahoe All Stars gave their all at last weekend’s tournament at Jack Tighe Memorial Park in Reno.

The 13-year-olds were led by pitchers Kevin Lehmann, Chris Pfister and Cody Ruby during the four-day tournament. All three shared responsibilities at second base and short stop when not on the mound.

Cameron Johnson had the responsibility behind the plate in three of the four games. He was responsible for picking off several runners at second and third base.

Kyle Dane finished out the tournament behind the plate.

Completing the infield were Alex Kasper at first base, who dug every ball that came his way, and Daniel Hibler at third base, who was responsible for laying down the tags when the pick-off throws were made.

The outfield was led by Kody Griffis at center, with Aaron Johnson, Tyler Wattanachinda and Jakob Costley sharing the responsibilities of left field and right field. They were kept busy with some big hitters from the other teams sending fly balls their way all weekend. The most commanding performance at the plate for South Tahoe was Alex Kasper’s opposite field two-run home run, clearing the fence at least 315 feet.

All other batters took their turns getting base hits and driving in runs. The team was led by Manager Mark Lehmann, and assistant coaches Sean Griffis and John Pfister.

South Tahoe fell short in game one to Yerington 5-4 on Thursday, but came back with a strong performance Saturday morning against Sparks, winning 7-1. That meant facing Yerington again Saturday evening, where the team ended out front 8-7. South Tahoe was down 7-6 going into the top of the seventh inning with the top of the order up. Kevin Lehmann hit a double and stole third base, leaving the tying run in scoring position. Cameron Johnson drove the tying run in with a single shot over the short stop’s head.

Yerington was fearful to pitch to Alex Kasper again after he sent one over the fence earlier in the game. This left the opportunity wide-open for Cameron Johnson to advance to second and third on steals, and eventually scoring the game-winning run.

The defense was able to hold them in the bottom of the seventh inning.

With Yerington and South Tahoe having 2-1 records, the true championship game or the “if” game was played Sunday morning. In 103-degree heat, South Tahoe came out wanting to send Yerington home, but fell short with a final score of 9-7.