‘Impossible comeback’ earns Expos Western Regional title.
It was a comeback that defied logic.
“One could almost say that it was an impossible comeback,” Fairfield (Calif.) Expos manager Brad Hanson said.
The situation: facing League City (Tex.) Post 554 in the Western Regional championship game, Fairfield trailed 2-0 with two out in the top of the seventh inning when Cole Rodda hit a 2-2 single to left field, Jack Armstrong walked and Sage Nelson was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Aiden Perrin was then hit by a pitch to score Rodda; Royce Baker singled to drive in Armstrong and pinch-runner Nicolas Fullen; and Baker scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-2.
The improbable drama wasn’t over.
Fairfield pitcher Maddox Ruiz forced a groundout that Baker handled at first for the first out, ensuring that the home run League City’s Asa Sampson hit was only a solo shot.
“To beat Texas in the first game 5-4 and then in the championship game, 4-3, once is lucky, twice is a miracle. They’re a very good team,” Hanson said of League City, which had won four straight Western Regional titles.
For Fairfield (40-22-1), this is the third ALWS visit for the program, which advanced to the series in 1993 and 1997. They’re also the first California team in the ALWS since San Mateo in 2016, although the state as a whole remains the leader in total appearances by a large margin, with 54.
Hanson credited his team’s chemistry for this year’s success.
“The kids amazingly get along well. I mean, they pull together as tight as any group I’ve ever seen. There is no outcast, they’re all one,” he said.
They’re also very young, Hanson conceded, noting that 15-year-old Ruiz earned the championship game win with five innings of relief, allowing just one run and four hits.
“We only have two 19-year-olds. I got four 16-year-olds in the starting lineup. It’s a young team. I think I got four players that started on varsity, everyone else is either JV or not starting,” Hanson said.
He’s not worried about it, though.
“We’re playing on house money,” Hanson said.
ALWS SCHEDULE
Aug. 13: Game 2, vs. Lincoln (Neb.) Carpet Land Post 500, 1 p.m.
Aug. 15: Game 7, vs. Whitehouse (N.J.) Post 284, noon
Aug. 16: Game 12, vs. Tupelo (Miss.) Post 49, 7 p.m.
Roster
No./Camo* Name Pos. Ht./Wt. B/T Graduates / School
5/5 Armstrong, Jackson SS/P 5'8"/155 R/R 2026 I Vanden HS
55/12 Austin, Carter P / 1B 6’0”/170 R/R 2028 I Vacaville HS
23/23 Ayers, Robert P / 1B 5'10"/238 R/R 2026 I Benicia HS
3/3 Baker, Royce P / 1B 6'0"/160 R/R 2028 | Rodriguez HS
10/20 Collins, Nolan P / LF 6'3"/200 R/R 2026 I Vacaville HS
12/10 Eddings, Dylan P / 1B 6'4"/200 R/R 2026 I Vacaville Christian Academy
19/16 Frank, Dylan LF / RF 5'9"/170 L/L 2028 I Rodriguez HS
35/4 Fullen, Nico 2B/P 5’8”/150 R/R 2027 I Rodriguez HS
22/2 Fussell, Blake 2B/SS 5'8"/130 R/R 2030 I Vacaville HS
9/9 Gibson, Gibby C/RF 5'9"/165 R/R 2026 I John Swett
7/7 Haynes, Javon CF /RF 5'11"/155 R/R 2028 I Rodriguez HS
13/24 Hernandez, Donny P / 1B 5'9"/250 L/L 2026 I Will C. Wood HS
8/8 Nelson, Sage C/RF 5'9"/175 R/R 2026 / Benicia HS
15/15 Perrin, AJ 3B / P 6'3"/190 R/R 2025 I Rodriguez HS
6/6 Rodda, Cole P/ LF 5'4"/135 L/L 2027 / Vacaville HS
4/11 Ruiz, Maddox P / 1B 5'9"/175 R/R 2028 I Vanden HS
1/1 Simons, Aiden 2B/ SS 5'11"/155 R/R 2026 I Will C. Wood HS
28/14 West, Dallas P / 1B 6'0"/205 R/R 2026 I Vacaville HS
Team manager: Brad Hanson
Head coach: Raymond Canavesio
Assistant: Robert Searcy
*Players will wear camo jerseys for Military Appreciation Day.
Regional results
Aug. 5: Fairfield (Calif.) Expos d. League City (Tex.) Post 554, 5-4.
Aug. 6: Fairfield (Calif.) Expos d. Reno (Nev.) Knights, 3-2.
Aug. 7: Fairfield (Calif.) Expos d. Clovis (Calif.) Post 147, 5-1.
Aug. 8: League City (Tex.) Post 554 d. Fairfield (Calif.) Expos, 11-5.
Aug. 9: Fairfield (Calif.) Expos d. League City (Tex.) Post 554, 4-3.
- Baseball