Dodgers' UYA youth team wins RBI Showcase

Score one for home-field advantage.

The Dodgers saw their youth team from the Urban Youth Academy in Compton, Calif., win the inaugural MLB Jr. RBI Showcase Classic championship on Monday. The UYA entry beat the Dodgers' RBI Venice Boys & Girls Clubs team in an 18-17 thriller that included a game-tying home run and a walk-off shot.

RBI, which stands for Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities, invited several Los Angeles-area teams to play in the round-robin tourney. It was the first competitive tournament for RBI's younger playing divisions, which consists of youths of ages 11 and 12. A similar showcase will be held at the Houston Urban Youth Academy next week, right after the end of the Civil Rights Game weekend.

The Dodgers, who co-hosted the event with Major League Baseball, will recognize the winning team at Dodger Stadium at some point this summer. Opening ceremonies and a skills clinic took place at Dodger Stadium last Friday, but all of the tourney's games were played at the Urban Youth Academy.

The participating teams all went to Angels Stadium on Memorial Day, and they were housed at the University of Southern California during the tournament. The championship game, won by the UYA entry, provided some drama with a late score to tie the game and a walk-off to win it.

Patrick Nova homered to tie the game at 16 in the bottom of the sixth inning, and after the Dodgers RBI Venice Boys & Girls Club pushed ahead, the RBI team won it in dramatic fashion. Vincent Temesvary hit a walk-off home run -- his second homer of the game -- to provide the final margin.