Coaches

It is long over due but we wanted to highlight those who have been faithful in helping and coaching this year. We have a great group and we are looking forward to working alongside them as well as many others for years to come!

Candelaria

Rosita Vega - Indians

Rosita is currently in her final year of high school, and is an avid sports lover having played softball for most of her life. She is actively involved in the church and has been for almost 7 years. Rosita loves children and does a great job with the youngest ones. She always refers to them as her “children”. Rosita began helping out in August of 2015 when we started with some scrimmages. The picture above is her with her team at the time (six are still playing today) after a scrimmage and the bottom picture is her with her team after winning the championship!

Mario Gomez – Reds

  

Mario is married with two kids. Pictured are his wife, nephew, and granddaughter. His daughter, Scarlet (not pictured), helps him with the team and is also one of the best softball players in all of Nicaragua. Mario is currently undergoing dialysis and at the moment goes to Managua (3 hour bus ride) every Monday and Friday to receive treatment. He gives practices Tuesdays and Thursdays, and his free time is spent with his family. Two months ago in June, Stan got to lead Mario to Jesus after having spent years of sharing the Gospel with him!  

Cuitanca

Ivan Ramirez – Red Sox, Athletics, Red Sox

Ivan is the elder statesman of all the coaches. Here he is pictured with his two daughters (left), his wife, son-in-law, and two of his grandsons. The older grandson pictured is Ivan who plays for the Red Sox. Ivan owns a couple of acres in Cuitanca where he harvests plantains and sells them at the market.  Ivan has over 15 years of experience in coaching young kids. He says he prefers working with younger kids instead of sixteen year olds. For the past five years or so he has been the coach of Chichigalpian All Star teams, and is one of the most prominent figures for youth baseball in Chichigalpa.

Walberto Reyes – Padres, Athletics, Red Sox

 

Walberto is married with three boys all whom play in our league. Ceasar (pictured) is the youngest in the league at only 6 years of age; Kevin, 12, plays for the Red Sox; and Jose, 13, also plays for the Red Sox. Walberto worked for the sugar cane company for over 15 years and currently works odd end jobs. He has been coaching with Ivan for around 10 years and has helped Ivan coach the All Star teams for the past 5 years. The teams from Cuitanca are not only the best coached teams, but the most respectful kids that we have and for that reason we are looking at these two to work with us in helping us develop our sports ministry.

Santa Matilde

Marvin Rodriguez – Tigers

 

Marvin is pictured with his wife, daughter, nephew, and son. His daughter Belen, 8, and his son Eliseo, 10, (the two on the ends) are members of the Tigers. Marvin started coaching the team halfway through the first season, and we are glad he did because he does a great job. He works in construction but always makes time to give practices and come to the games. He is an active member in the church at Santa Matilde and is a great example to the coaches and kids.

Orlando Flores – Cardinals

Orlando is pictured with his wife, two kids, and nephew. His son, Orlando (pictured in the middle), plays for the Tigers. Orlando worked for the sugar cane company but no longer works. Like Marvin, Orlando started coaching the Cardinals half way through the first season. Unlike all the other coaches, Orlando has never played baseball, but he has a passion to learn and teach. He has been faithful in giving practices and it has paid off as the Cardinals are the most improved team in all of the league. He is also an active member of the church in Santa Matilde.

Ervin Arroyo – Yankees

Ervin is pictured with his wife, sister-in-law, son, and three daughters. Two of his daughters Britney and Natalie play for the Cardinals and Tigers respectively. Ervin is the youth pastor for the church in Santa Matilde and works in the small farm the church has. Ervin also has helped us with the upkeep of the baseball fields for over a year. He grew up playing baseball and softball and does a great job developing relationships with the older kids in the league.

Nuevo Amanacer

Esteben and Lissette Lacayo – Pirates, Rangers, and Giants

Lissette is pictured with their daughter and two sons. Their sons Estiven and Eslyn play for the Giants and Pirates. Esteben and Lissette have double teamed coaching the three teams. Esteben worked for the sugar cane company but now spends his time as somewhat of a political figure in the community. Most of his time is spent being the voice of ex-sugar cane workers who have not received pension money. He represents them in front of the company. Both he and his wife are baseball lovers, and both still play softball.

July 30 - August 13 Game Recap

We have missed a couple of updates so here is a three game recap!

AGE GROUP: 7-9

Pirates of Nuevo Amanacer

Past three games: Lost 12-1 to Tigers, Lost 13-0 to Indians, Lost 10-3 to Padres

Unfortunately the little Pirates are just overmatched. They have faced similar results over the past three weeks. They fight hard but the other teams are just better. Despite their struggles as a team Marvin Tinoco, Eslin Lacayo and Jostin Mayorga always seem to shine each week. Through six games their batting averages are .400, .286, and .250 which are the best on the team.

The young catchers always look so cute

Tigers of Santa Matilde

Past three games: Won 12-1 against Pirates, Won 6-5 against Padres, Lost 11-4 to Indians

The past three games for the Tigers was highlighted by a walk off winner to come down from 1 run in the bottom of the fifth to beat the undefeated Padres. Yet they were brought down to earth by committing too many errors against the Indians. Jose Aranda, Justin Sommarrilla, and Elisero Rodriguez have led the way so far by batting .462, .375, and .375 respectively, but little Belen Rodriguez is close behind them as she is batting .357 on the year.

Who knows what they are all looking at

Indians of Candelaria

Past three games: Lost 1-0 to Padres, Won 13-0 against Pirates, Won 11-4 against Tigers

The 1- 0 loss to the Padres was one of the best games all season. The two teams played great defense but ultimately it was the Padres who had the bases loaded with 2 outs in the bottom of the fifth that came through with a clutch hit to win the game. The Indians have bounced back big time by scoring 24 runs after being shutout. They have been led by Norlan Tranan, Martin Gonzales, and Wilber Munez who have averages of .533, .500, and .421 respectively.

Kevin and his killer eyes

 

Padres of Quitanca

Past three games: Won 1-0 against Indians, Lost 6-5 to Tigers, Won 10-3 against Pirates

The 1-0 victory over the Indians was the first time they have beat the Indians in five tries and they were thrilled after the game. They followed up their walk off winner to lose on a walk off to the Tigers, but got back on track against the Pirates. The Padres as a team are batting .375, which leads this division, and it has been Josue Rostran, Norlan Vasquez, and Roger Espinoza leading the way with averages of .600, .533, and .467

Standings

Padres 5-1, Indians 4-2, Tigers 3-3, and Pirates 0-6

Walberto giving instructions to his hitter from the mound

AGE GROUP: 10-11

Rangers of Nuevo Amanacer

Past three games: Lost 13-0 to Athletics, Lost 4-0 to Cardinals, Lost 12-0 to Braves

The Rangers and the Pirates share in the same struggle, and that is at the moment they are just overmatched. The whole team cannot find their bats, but they look to turn things around over the last three games. Jefry Zelaya, Junior Zelaya and Kevin Vilchez always come rearing to go each and every week to give the Rangers some hope.

Everybody is watching the Rangers bat

Cardinals of Santa Matilde

Past three games: Lost 6-3 to Braves, Won 4-0 against Rangers, Lost 9-7 to Athletics

The Cardinals are definitely the most improved out of all of the twelve teams they have. They have practiced hard and it shows. They are always a tough out as the Braves and Athletics can attest. They are a team that fights to the end and will look to continue improving over the final three weeks. There is not another player that defines the kind of improvement that the Cardinals have had more than Luis Marin. Last season he was batting below .150 and this season he has an average of .474 highlighted by a enormous homerun shot against the Athletics. 

Jose being his goofy self

Braves of Candelaria

Past three games: Won 6-3 against Cardinals, Lost 7-6 to Athletics, Won 12-0 against Rangers

The Braves would like to have the second inning against the Athletics back. After taking a 3-0 lead in the first they gave up 5 runs on zero hits. It was an error-riddled inning that ultimately did them in. However they did bounce back very well against the Rangers as they shut them out in a big victory. Alexander Lopez, Jose Luis, and Missael Rivas have led the way for the Braves this season as they are batting .600, .313, and .294 respectively.

The Braves feeling pretty good

Athletics of Quitanca

Past three games: Won 13-0 against Rangers, Won 7-6 against Braves, Won 9-7 against Cardinals

The Athletics got back on track in a big way by winning three straight games. They had two tough, nail biters against the Braves and the Cardinals but the A’s used their championship resolve to pull through with victories. Like the Padres, this team from Quitanca leads the division in batting as they have an average of .343. They can thank Julio Somarrilla, Luis Ramirez, and Evert Somarrilla who have contributed to such a great team average as they are batting .444, .421, and .400 respectively.

Standings

Athletics 4-2, Braves 4-2, Cardinals 4-2, and Rangers 0-6

The A's are back rolling

 

AGE GROUP: 12-13

Reds of Candelaria

Past three games: Lost 7-3 to Yankees, Won 7-5 against Red Sox, Won 5-4 against Giants

After struggling the first go around by only winning one game, the Reds reversed their fortune by going 2-1 over the past three games. Although they have had helped from other teams committing errors, they will gladly take wins any way they can get them. It has been Luis Santana as the clear leader for batting as he has an average of .429. After Luis there are four players who sport a .250 average.

The Reds trying to get a groove going

Yankees of Santa Matilde

Past three games: Won 7-3 to Yankees, Lost 5-3 to Giants, Lost 9-5 to Red Sox

After starting off red hot, the Yankees have cooled down a bit by losing two in a row. The Giants loss was especially hard to swallow as a routine pop fly was dropped by their star Crisanto Mesa. The error eventually led to a 4 run inning by the Giants. Yet, the Yankees knowing how good they are, will surely bounce back with vigor. The Yankees are led by their three oldest player Crisanto Mesa, Julio Flores and Francisco Mendoza as they are batting .571, .438, and .438 respectively. Julio Flores gets a special shotout as his 3-run homerun against the Giants was the longest hit so far.

 

Julio is always filthy after the game but always enjoys the snacks

Red Sox of Quitanca

Past three games: Lost 13-3 to Giants, Lost 7-5 to Reds, Won 9-5 against Yankees

The Red Sox were humbled in a mighty way against the Giants and they looked like they were still feeling the sting of the loss as they followed it up by also losing to the Reds. The Red Sox have not been batting as well as they were last year but they did not have any problems against the Yankees. It will be interesting how this team finishes out the season as they have been Jekyl and Hyde like over the first six games. The Red Sox have two studs who can always be counted on an they always lead the way for them each Saturday. Pedro Perez and Ivan Zeledon are batting .545 and .500 respectively as Pedro Perez has a ridiculous 14 RBI’s so far which is double the amount of the next closest.

Pedro (middle) thinks he is cool

Giants of Nuevo Amanacer

Past three games: Won 13-3 against Red Sox, Won 5-3 against Yankees, Lost 5-4 against Reds

The Giants were rolling as they took down the Red Sox and the Yankees. They did end up hitting a bump in the road as they gave the game away to the Reds. The Giants would have been sitting solo at the top of the division with a 4-2 record, but they will have to settle for a 3-3 record like everyone else. Estiven Lacayo, Joel Vilchez, and Jorge Aragon have done most of the damage for the Giants as they are batting .476, .412, and .375 respectively.

Standings

Giants 3-3, Red Sox 3-3, Yankees 3-3, and Reds 3-3

Giants playing some lock down defense