BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

West U Champs: The Scoop from West U Seniors

By Jacob Padden, Contributing writer | August 21, 2014

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(From left) Aaron Cranfield, Carson Maxwell, Turner Gauntt, Andrew Hoffman, John Doxakis, and Jared Burch. (Photo source: Official Website of the Senior League World Series.)

The West U Seniors successfully got their revenge against Latin America, beating them 7-4 in the championship game. The team was fueled by the offensive explosion in the first and second innings, scoring a total of 6 runs and jumping out to a 6-1 lead.

John Doxakis came up with a huge 2-RBI double in the first inning which began the offensive outburst and struck fear in the opposing team, who ended up making 4 total errors. The lead gave starting pitcher, Joe Gobillot, confidence to get to work on the mound. He pitched 5.1 innings, striking out six and only giving up four hits. Fatigue set in however in the sixth inning and Jimmy Winston was forced to come in to relieve after 4 Latin American runs came in. Winston pitched well, only giving up 2 hits in 1.2 innings, capping the victory for West U.

Andrew Hoffman, one of the team’s pitchers, said, “I was pretty confident [we could win the whole thing] once we won regionals. I was never 100 percent sure until about the 6^th inning in the championship when it looked like [Curacao] began to give up. [The win is] definitely my best accomplishment while being a part of West U Little League. It’s really exciting to be able to accomplish something [like this] with a bunch of your friends.”

Carson Maxwell, who played third base and batted third during the tournament said, “[Winning the tournament] meant everything! It was my last year playing and we went up [to Bangor] for one reason and it was to win the World Series.”

When asked what allowed the team to be so successful, he responded with “Our pitching and our team-work/love. If somebody would have a bad game or get a bad call, everybody in the dugout would pick that person up by giving them hugs, telling them it’s ok, etc.” Clearly an incredible journey by the team, their title run meant more than being world champions. The team was very close and all the players will surely remember this throughout their lives.

While talent can take a team so far, what really makes the difference is the ability for teammates to support one another, have fun together, and be victorious together, creating great memories along the way.