THE BENICIA OUTLAWS 14-under traveling softball team took first place at the ASA NorCal 14U “C” Championships last weekend. The Outlaws are (back row from left) coach Marco Ruiz, Georgia Thomas, Lily Towarnick, Marlee Tuttle, Devyn Trias, Kennedi Cox, Mauraga Ruiz, Lexi Moulton, coach Jason Mathews; (front row) Athena Jameson, Sydney Vigil, Kasi Ingram-Lux, Jessica Convey and coach Eric Moulton. Not pictured are Analisa Hernandez and coach Rey Trias.

The Benicia Outlaws 14-under traveling softball team won the ASA NorCal “C” Championship last weekend after going 5-1 overall.

The Outlaws, playing in only their fourth tournament of the season, won the 14-team double-elimination tournament behind solid pitching and timely hitting and earned a trip to the ASA Nationals in San Diego later this year.

Benicia’s pitching duo of Lexi Moulton and Kasi Ingram-Lux combined to pitch 38 innings. Moulton put up a 2.09 earned-run average over four games and Ingram-Lux had nine strikeouts in three games.

Sydney Vigil caught all 38 innings and put up remarkable offensive numbers with a .667 on-base percentage and a .500 batting average. Moulton had a .444 batting average with no strikeouts and eight hits over the weekend. Ingram-Lux added five hits with a .500 on-base percentage.

Second baseman Mauraga Ruiz led the offense with a .529 batting average and led the team with nine singles, six walks and 11 runs. Ruiz also provided stellar defense with an unassisted double play to end the championship game against Sunnyvale. Devyn Trias’ defensive play in left field kept opposing runners stranded on the bases.

Lily Towarnick led the team with two home runs and 10 hits, and Athena Jameson had one homer and a .571 on-base percentage. Kennedi Cox provided nine hits and nine runs with a .652 OBP. Jessica Convey and Marlee Tuttle combined for 12 hits and Georgia Thomas scored two runs.

The Sunnyvale Shockwaves handed Benicia its only loss of the tournament during pool play and the Outlaws had to beat Sunnyvale twice in the championship round to take home the title. The Outlaws won 8-4 in the first game to force a decisive nightcap.

The Outlaws stormed out to a 10-4 lead in Game 2 but Sunnyvale rallied to within 11-7 in the seventh inning, forcing Moulton to come in as a closer. Moulton walked the first two hitters to add some drama, but she struck out the next batter to pull Benicia closer to the championship. Moulton gave up a RBI single and Sunnyvale pulled to within 11-9 on an unearned run, but Ruiz made a great catch on a line drive and completed an assisted double play to end it.

Manager Marco Ruiz, coach Eric Moulton and coach Jason Mathews have been coaching the Outlaws together for five years.

“This was, by far, the best win ever,” Moulton said.

The Outlaws will play their next tournament in Tahoe the last weekend in July.

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