For the sixth time in tournament history, Alameda hosted the annual World Baseball Tournament, welcoming teams from South Korea, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Fresno, and San Diego. In addition to competing, local players also opened their homes to visiting athletes, creating lasting connections on and off the field.
Alameda’s team was made up of 13-15 year olds from Encinal High, Alameda High, and Saint Joseph High School. This year, Alameda went 5-2, making a historical run to the championship, before losing to Japan 3-2. However, the Alameda team beat Japan for the first time in tournament history, a 6-3 win on August 3 in the tournament opener.
“Although we didn’t take it home, the journey to the championship was the best team experience I’ve ever been a part of,” said Saint Joseph sophomore Dominic Dollar. “The team was playing for each other, not just individuals.”
Dollar played in his second tournament along with Encinal junior Kainoa Otenbriet.
“[The tournament] was pretty fun, I had a really good time with all my new teammates and my homestay players,” said Otenbriet.
Along with having fun, members of the team also contributed to making it into the championship, something an Alameda team has not done since 1986.
“It felt cool, knowing that we are the first team to beat Japan in [over 20] years,” said Otenbriet. “I do think our team was better this year, I think we had a lot better players skill wise,” he added when asked about the team’s success.
To accompany the experience, Alameda players had the opportunity to homestay other players, with every household having 2-5 other teens. Encinal John Cunningham hosted two players from Seoul, Korea.
“I home-stayed two people from Seoul, Korea, it was a lot of fun, a lot of connection was made, we showed them a lot about America and Alameda culture and they were able to share their culture with me too,” Cunningham said.
While some players just saw it as more people in their homes, Kainoa Otenbriet created a special bond with his two players from Japan, Genki and Hiroto.
“It was honestly really special, I really really enjoyed it, and it was like I had two brothers for a week,” said Otenbriet. “Yes it was very sad, when we dropped them off at the hotel with their family to go to the airport, we were all crying and saying goodbye, … it was pretty sad to see them go,” he said when asked about his homestay experience.
Led by coaches Adam Boyd, Zach Boyd, Justin Dea, and Patrick Collins-Bride, the Alameda World Baseball team ended the tournament with unforgettable experiences—and hope to make even more memories next year in Italy.
