Ceres Youth Baseball had seven different teams compete in the 47th George Costa All-Star Tournament, staged June 28-July 3, in Ceres.

The tournament had a field size of 24.

“We had more teams this year,” said Jorge Guerrero, CYB tournament director of baseball. “It was nice to see the kids have fun and hear all the fans cheering.”

Pony

The Ceres All-Stars defeated the Ceres Blaze 12-and-under travel team in the finals.

“It speaks a lot about the talent we have around here,” said Guerrero, head coach of the Blaze. “There are good players here in Ceres.”

The All-Stars topped the Blaze 14-1 in the championship game on July 2 at Costa Fields.

The All-Stars avenged a 12-3 loss.

“It was a good feeling seeing these boys win it,” All-Stars’ head coach Angel Ramirez said. “They came in with positive attitudes. They had confidence in themselves. I knew we were going to beat them. The boys executed and did what they had to do.”

“We’re bummed that we lost,” Guerrero stated. “We’ve been playing against higher-level of competition.”

The All-Stars compiled a 3-2 record at their home tournament.

The All-Stars reeled off three straight wins after opening the tourney with back-to-back losses.

The Ceres All-Stars topped the Blaze, Hilmar All-Stars (13-3) and Bel Passi All-Stars (19-2).

The Ceres All-Stars lost to the Blaze (12-3) and California 33 All-Stars (8-7).

“These boys have been playing together for a long time,” Ramirez said. “They got talent.”

The Blaze went 3-1.

The Blaze notched wins versus the Ceres All-Stars (12-3), Hilmar All-Stars (7-6) and California 33 All-Stars.

“It was a weird tournament,” Guerrero said. “Everybody beat everybody.”

The Ceres Blaze 13-and-under team won one of three games.

Ceres opened the tournament with a 9-6 win over Bel Passi on June 28.

The Blaze lost 10-6 to Hilmar and 8-4 to California 33 on July 1.

11-12s

The Ceres All-Stars amassed a 1-3 record.

Ceres’ lone victory came against Hilmar (11-9).

The All-Stars lost twice to Bel Passi (11-0, forfeit) and once to Oakdale (17-2).

9-10s

The Ceres All-Stars and Ceres Blaze 9-and-under Black travel baseball team did not place.

The All-Stars collected one win, two losses and one tie.

The All-Stars rolled to a 20-13 victory over Bel Passi National.

The All-Stars and Garlic City Aces batted to a 12-12 tie.

The All-Stars lost 16-5 to Bel Passi American and 22-5 to the Newman All-Stars.

The Blaze collected one win and three losses.

The Blaze edged Bel Passi National by one run, 13-12.

The Blaze lost to the Garlic City Aces (12-3), Oakdale (12-6) and Hilmar (17-9).

7-8s

The Ceres All-Stars finished in first place with a 4-2 record.

“It was really special to see the boys win their home tournament,” head coach Daniel Martinez said. “We fought back after our two losses. The big difference was our hitting. Our defense also got better.”

The All-Stars routed Hughson 14-4 in the championship game.

“Our kids listened really well,” Martinez said. “They had fun.”

Ceres players were rewarded each time they reached base.

“Every time our kids got a hit, our first-base coach (Sergio Jimenez) gave them sour, gummy worms,” Martinez said. “We went through two, Costco-sized bags. They loved it.”

The All-Stars won their final four games.

Ceres bested Hughson, Patterson (19-10), Newman (18-1) and Hilmar (14-0).

“They were all hitting,” Martinez said.

The All-Stars lost to Newman (15-2) and Hughson (17-9).

Ceres placed in all three tournaments it competed in this summer.

The All-Stars took second at Hilmar and third at Bel Passi.

“They got a lot of practice in,” Martinez said. “They learned a lot. Their baseball IQ grew.”