Vinnie Estrada of Corcoran and Nick Cramer of Lemoore are two 13-year-olds looking for sponsors for their Visalia Oaks Baseball Club. The Oaks have recently qualified for the 13u Major Division Wilson DeMarini Elite World Series which will be held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney in Kissimmee, Florida July 24-August 2. To qualify for the tournament, the team won two USSSA 13u Major tournaments in Los Angeles taking down some of the top teams in California.
Estrada, Cramer and the rest of the team have been playing with each other since they were eight years old. They have had the opportunity to travel up and down California, Arizona and Nevada. Now the team has completed their ultimate goal of qualifying for the tournament in Florida where they will play against elite teams from across the United States. The tournament will also give the boys a chance to be viewed by scouting representatives from different colleges and professional baseball teams.
Oaks team members represent different areas of the valley including Corcoran, Lemoore, Visalia, Tulare and Woodlake. Representing Corcoran is Vinnie Estrada, son of Jennifer and Gerardo Estrada. Vinnie recently graduated from John Muir Middle School. While at John Muir, he maintained a 3.89 grade point average and was named Scholar Athlete of the Year for his sixth, seventh and eighth grade years.
Nick Cramer is the son of Julie and Gary Cramer of Lemoore. Gary Cramer works for the Corcoran Police Department and is a member of the Corcoran Rotary Club. Nick attended Liberty Middle School where he maintained a 3.5 grade point average. He was named the MVP of Liberty’s Baseball team his seventh and eighth grade years. And he also received the scholar athlete award as well as the Lemoore area Student Athlete award from Lemoore Union High School. And upon graduating from eighth grade, Nick was presented with the Lemoore Elementary Teacher’s Association award for Character.
Both boys, who will begin high school in the fall, are key members of the Oaks according to Coach Joe Romero.
“Nick Cramer and Vinnie Estrada are key pieces to our success. Vinnie ‘Big Vin’ has one of the biggest left handed sticks for his age in the state. Nick Cramer’s strong fundamentals, and ability to play anywhere on the field makes our team very deep at every position. Both young men are a ‘coach’s dream’,” Romero said.
The tournament will be approximately 10 days long and costs including flight, lodging, meals and transportation will exceed $3,000 per player which will total nearly $40,000 for the entire team for tournament expenses alone. Romero said he, along with parents and players will fundraise down to the day they leave for the tournament which is July 23. They have had a poker tournament and rummage sale. They have scheduled a baseball tournament which will be held July 11-12, a cash raffle which ends July 2, and banner sale advertisements. Players, parents and coaches have also stood outside of Sports Chalet to ask for donations.
“We are doing whatever it takes to get this group of highly talented baseball players from the Central Valley an opportunity to shine on the national stage,” added Romero.
The team is currently seeking sponsorships to help offset those costs. There are different sponsorship categories including a Double which is $250 and includes a bold 3×5 size logo on the team’s banners and names on t-shirts, access to Game Changer to view all games live and daily tags on Facebook thanking the company; Triple-$500 which includes a bold 5×7 size logo on team banner, name on t-shirts, access to Game Changer to view games and daily tags on Facebook thanking the company; Home Run-$750 which includes a bold 11×14 size logo ad on banner, logo on t-shirts, access to Game Changer to view all games and web link to corporate website from Visalia Oaks Baseball Club Facebook; and Grand Slam sponsorship-$1,000 which includes corporate name presented in bold above team photo across banner, logo recognition at Grand Slam Level on all marketing and fundraising materials and presented at all local fundraising events, access to Game Changer to view all baseball games, thanks and appreciation posted to Facebook and corporate name/logo on t-shirts.
The team also has a tax ID number for those who are interested in sponsoring or donating to the team. For more information contact Romero at 741-6115 or Gerardo at 380-6260 or via gestrada@richardschevrolet.com.
