Fulfilling a dream that many aspiring young athletes have, Adam Gonzalez, a baseball player from Canyon Country, recently helped the USA Baseball 12U national team to a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier.  “It was unreal wearing those three letters across our chests,” Gonzalez said. “It was pretty cool. And then when you can come through in an at-bat — I got a base hit, and it was pretty cool to win the game for your team.”  Competing in Panama with 17 others from across the U.S. — including four others from California, tied with Florida for the most of any state — Gonzalez had to go through five tryouts in total. The final one in Texas saw him picked out of a total of 26 players.  The U.S. beat the Dominican Republic in the championship game, 14-7, for back-to-back WBSC World Cup Qualifier titles and a seventh gold medal in 11 years, and nine medals overall in that span.   Adam Gonzalez, 12, of Canyon Country, helped Team USA to a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier. Courtesy photo. A sixth-grader at Grace Academy in Newhall, Gonzalez said he started playing baseball when he was 5 years old. Since then, he’s moved his way up to competing in travel ball with 365 Lights Out, playing for both the 12U and 13U squads.  But nothing compares to wearing his country’s colors on the diamond, he said, and that’s what drives him now.  “Wearing this,” Gonzalez said, pointing to the USA jersey he was wearing, “this is pretty cool. So, I just keep on working at it just try to get to wear this again.”  His favorite moment during the tournament was when he got an RBI hit against Cuba. That was one of three games that Gonzalez started at second base, a position in which he also made what he described as a “Derek Jeter” play, backhanding a ground ball before jumping up and throwing across his body to first base for the out.  Off the field, he and the other American players got to meet Rod Carew, a Panamian-American who played for the Minnesota Twins and California Angels. One of the fields used for the tournament is named for the member of the Baseball Hall of Fame class of 1991.  Gonzalez was also surprised by some of the locals wanting his autograph, an experience that he called “pretty cool.”  Adam Gonzalez, 12, of Canyon Country, helped Team USA to a gold medal at the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-12 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier. Courtesy photo. And while he was representing his country on the international stage, his favorite MLB team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, was competing in the World Series. All eyes were glued to the TV during game one when Freddie Freeman hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the New York Yankees en route to the title.  “That’s when I thought the Dodgers were gonna win the World Series,” Gonzalez said, recalling his thoughts after that Freeman blast in game one.  Dreaming of more, Gonzalez said he plans to work as hard as possible so that one day, he might be the star people watch on TV. Seeing the hard work pay off is what he said gives him the most joy.  “That’s why I just keep on — it’s like a routine every week,” Gonzalez said. “And then on the weekends, you don’t know what’s gonna happen, but you already have your swing and your fielding, and you just put up the best chances for yourself. And when you succeed, that’s pretty cool when that happens, too.”  The post Canyon Country baseball player helps 12U national team to gold medal  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.