Just two days after the final games of the CIF Southern Section baseball championship rounds, the Inland Empire Baseball Coaches Association (IEBCA) held their annual senior all-star game. Founded in 2008, the IEBCA is an organization that promotes high school baseball in the Inland Empire.
The 2021 IEBCA Senior All-Star Game was held Monday, June 21, at Fiscalini Field in San Bernardino and was sponsored by the City of San Bernardino, San Bernardino PONY, Pro 9 and OC Sports. The game featured coach-nominated high school seniors from member schools that play in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Players were treated to pro-style workouts before the game, as well as on-field batting practice during the day. With a 6 p.m. start time, the Riverside County All-Stars got things started first as the visiting team. Paloma Valley’s Wyatt Bush singled to lead off the game and scored when his Wildcats teammate, Dylan McEvers, doubled to get Riverside County going in the first inning. Redlands East Valley’s Chase Dabbs got the start for San Bernardino County and struck out two over two innings. He also walked twice, stole a base and scored a run.
The game would stay somewhat close the entire time as a handful of Riverside County pitchers, including Southwestern League Pitcher of the Year Jhayden Raineri (Murrieta Mesa), and IVY league MVP Matt Gaunt (Paloma Valley), teamed up to keep the San Bernardino batters at bay during their two innings on the mound. Raineri’s inning included a pivotal play at the plate early on when Vista Murrieta outfielder, LeTrey McCollum, helped keep a scoreless inning going with a laser beam throw to Murrieta Mesa catcher, Makana Olaso, to get a motoring Dabbs out at the plate.
Temescal Canyon’s Nolan Smith bombed a two-run home run 400-plus feet into the left-field parking lot for a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but San Bernardino County got on the scoreboard in a big way in the fourth inning when Summit’s David Fimbres and Kaiser’s Nate Campos-Jaramillo each slammed three-run homers to take a 6-3 lead.
A double by Olaso and an RBI single by Raineri would help ignite the Riverside County All-Stars in the fourth inning, which was followed by Ramona senior Max Berber’s two-run double that capped a four-run fifth inning to help Riverside County retake the lead. Cajon’s Christian Leos would then reach on an error and score to tie the game in the sixth before San Bernardino County busted the game open with four more runs in the seventh for an 11-7 lead. Bloomington’s Edward Rengifo singled and scored on Omar Rosas’ RBI triple in the eighth, and Summit’s Yahir Sotomayor pitched the eighth and Grand Terrace’s Jerry Granado pitched the ninth in the win.
Campos-Jaramillo, who won the Freddie Lee Smith MVP Scholarship award for the San Bernardino County All-Stars, went 2 for 2 with a home run, four RBIs and got the win in relief as San Bernardino County rallied to win the first IEBCA event held since 2019. Murrieta Mesa’s Colby Moran (Southwestern League MVP) went 2 for 3 with a triple, a double, two runs and an RBI for Riverside County. Nolan Smith was the other Freddie Lee Smith MVP Scholarship award winner, talking it home for the Riverside Country all-stars.
Freddie Lee Smith was a graduate of San Bernardino High School where he played football all the way up to junior college at San Bernardino Valley College. He worked for GTE/Verizon for 39 years before he retired. After multiple sports for several years, Smith started umpiring, which he did for 29 years with IBUA. Smith, who died a few years back, will forever be part of a fraternity that so many long for. As a token of appreciation from the IEBCA, they present the MVP from each county a $250 scholarship to help with their college fees as a symbol of Smith’s dedication and service to student athletes throughout the Inland Empire.
The roster for the Riverside County All-Stars was: Wyatt Bush, Paloma Valley; Dylan McEvers, Paloma Valley; Gabe Castro, West Valley; Logan Hunt, ML King; LeTrey McCollum, Vista Murrieta; Chris Scovel, Centennial; Aidan Torres, Poly; Hudson Boncal, Centennial; David Butler, Ramona; Colby Moran, Murrieta Mesa; Max Berber, Ramona; Mario Landeros, Santiago; Jhayden Raineri, Murrieta Mesa; Matt Gaunt, Paloma Valley; Parker Pund, Ramona; Makana Olaso, Murrieta Mesa; Seth Gregory, Beaumont; Nolan LaChappa, Hemet; Jason Del Villar, Centennial; Nicholas Salgado, Canyon Springs; Ruben Cervantes, La Sierra; Fernando Guzman, San Jacinto; Andrew Gamez, La Sierra; Jacob Kocaya, Great Oak and Nolan Smith, Temescal Canyon.
Members of the IEBCA provide exposure to players for recruiting purposes and promoting cooperation and camaraderie within the coaching ranks. Learn more by searching IEBCA online or by following them on Twitter @inlandempirebca.
Photos and sports scores/stats/highlights from any sport can be submitted to sports@reedermedia.com.