White Makes World Series Look Like Child's Play

By PAUL McLEOD

Aug. 23, 1997 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. —

Ashton White, eye black on his checks, stepped to the microphone for an interview the other day with the sheepish grin and giggles of 12-year-old boys.

At the plate and on the mound, he is a tiger, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher who can blow away the opposition with a 74-mph fastball, while collecting more base hits than anyone else on the South Mission Viejo Little League team.

But win or lose, when he leaves Lamade Stadium for the final time after today’s Little League World Series final at 12:30 p.m. (PDT) against Guadalupe, Mexico, White will be just another of the boys of summer on this Orange County all-star team that has lost only once in its 22 games together.

Strong, muscular and tall for his age, the 5-foot-8 son of Charles White, former USC running back and 1979 Heisman Trophy winner, is one of a handful of boys who have spent the last week here playing ball before crowds in excess of 35,000 to see who will be crowned the best 11- and 12-year olds in the world.

He has drawn rave reviews from opposing players and coaches as a player, but it’s tough for a 12-year-old to answer reporters’ questions in more than a few words.

This is, of course, the paradox of the Little League World Series: Boys being held up to adult standards for a grueling week of games, camera lenses and dogged interviewers.

White would rather let his play on the field do his talking. And that’s understandable. He’s batting .615 in the four games here, and has driven in 10 runs and scored five. Opponents have gotten him out just three times in 13 at-bats.

He has been spectacular in his last four pitching performances, too. At the Western Region Tournament in San Bernardino he struck out 16 against Arizona and 11 in the championship game against Sunnyvale. In two appearances in the Little League World Series, he has pitched six innings and given up two hits and one run. He was the winning pitcher in Thursday’s 12-1, two-hitter in the U.S. championship game against Bradenton, Fla.

“He is one of the top three or four pitchers we’ve seen,” Bradenton Manager Mike Kennedy said. “We’ve seen some guys that throw faster than him, but with only two dad-gum hits against him, I guess you have to say that he overpowered us.”

Asked what’s the best thing he brings to the team, White simply shrugged and said, “good pitching.”

South Mission Viejo Coach Ed Sorgi said the key to the team’s success has been the lack of big egos, and he credits White for being a quiet role model in that regard.

“There are no heroes on this team and his persona exemplifies that,” Sorgi said. “This is a team of 13 kids and they play for each other.”

When he’s away from the limelight, White is a practical joker who fits in well, said first baseman Nick Moore.

Explained pitcher Ryan O’Donovan: “He’s a good team player and a real nice person.”

One of five children of Judy and Charles White, Ashton says he feels no added pressure because of his dad’s fame. Charles White coaches running backs at USC, which is in the midst of preseason practice. But he is expected to be in the stands today and has been staying in touch with his son.

“He sent me a letter,” Ashton White said with a characteristic giggle. “He said to kick the poop out of [who we play].”

Is football, not baseball, in young White’s future? He says he will attend El Toro High and play running back and linebacker, but also wants to play baseball.

As for today’s game, White, in an uncharacteristic moment after being prodded by interviewers following his two-hit, six-RBI performance against Bradenton, said he thinks South Mission Viejo can do even better.

“We don’t want to make any errors and we can even hit the ball better than we did,” he said.

Then he mentioned the team’s upcoming ice cream party and how much he was looking forward to it. A moment or two later he was gone into the cool night air to celebrate with teammates.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Finalists From California

Mission Viejo is the 19th team from California to play in the Little League World Series championship game, more than any other state. The results of those games:

*--*

1954 Colton lost to Schenectady, N.Y., 7-5 1957 La Mesa lost to Monterrey, Mexico, 4-0 1959 Auburn lost to Hamtramck, Mich., 12-0 1961 El Cajon defeated El Campo, Texas, 4-2 1962 San Jose defeated Kankakee, Ill., 3-0 1963 Granada Hills defeated Stratford, Conn., 2-1 1969 Santa Clara lost to Taipei, Taiwan, 5-0 1970 Campbell lost to Wayne, N.J., 2-0 1974 Red Bluff lost to Kao Ksiung, Taiwan, 12-1 1976 Campbell lost to Tokyo, Japan, 10-3 1977 El Cajon lost to Li-Teh, Taiwan, 7-2 1978 Danville lost to Pin-Tung, Taiwan, 11-1 1979 Campbell lost to Pu-Tzu Town, Taiwan, 2-1 1987 Irvine lost to Hua Lian, Taiwan, 21-1 1991 Danville lost to Tai Chung, Taiwan, 11-0 1992 Long Beach won by forfeit over Zambo anga City, Philippines, after losing, 15-4 1993 Long Beach defeated David, Panama, 3-2 1994 Northridge lost to Maracaibo, Venezuela, 4-3

*--*

FACTS AND FIGURES

South Mission Viejo

Record: 21-1

Manager: Jim Gattis

Coaches: Al Elconin and Ed Sorgi

*--*

No. Player Age Pos. BA 8 Adam Sorgi 12 SS/P .273 10 Gary Gattis 12 2B/3B .300 11 Mike Cusick 11 LF/3B .143 13 Brian Kraker 12 CF .000 16 Chad Lucas 12 2B/LF .571 17 Ryan O’Donovan 12 CF/P .333 18 Andrew Nieves 12 LF .333 19 Taylor Bennett 12 OF/1B .400 20 Adam Elconin 12 C .545 21 Greg Oates 12 RF .100 22 Nick Moore 12 1B .500 23 Gavin Fabian 12 3B/P .300 24 Ashton White 12 CF/P .615

*--*

HR--Moore 2, White, Elconin, Fabian. 2B--Moore, Sorgi. RBI--White 10, Fabian 5, Elconin 3, Moore 3, Gattis 3, Nieves. Pitching--Fabian 2-0, 12 IP, 3.00 ERA, 13 K; Sorgi 1-0, 4 IP, 0.00, 5 K; White 1-0, 6 IP, 1.00, 6 K; O’Donovan 0-0, 1 IP, 0.00, 0 K.

Opponent: Score

Lake Forest: 8-3

North Mission Viejo: 16-2

Rancho Mission Viejo: 13-1

Laguna Niguel: 3-1

Rancho Mission Viejo: 11-1

Tustin Eastern: 12-3

East Yorba Linda: 8-7

East Yorba Linda: 2-3

East Yorba Linda: 10-2

Thousand Oaks: 7-2

El Monte American: 1-0

Rancho San Diego: 6-2

W. Covina Pac. Coast: 4-3

Albuquerque, N.M.: 11-1

Tucson, Ariz.: 4-1

Gresham, Ore.: 3-0

Gresham, Ore.: 11-1

Sunnyvale: 2-1

At Williamsport

Bradenton, Fla.: 10-6

Dyer, Ind.: 9-0

Pottsville, Pa.: 3-0

Bradenton, Fla.: 12-1

NOTE: Player statistics are for games played in Williamsport only.

Guadalupe

Record: 26-2

Manager: Jaime Luna

Coaches: Jose Angel Valadez and C. Julio Garza

*--*

No. Player Age Pos. BA 1 Juan de Dios Garza 12 2B/P .111 2 Rene Hinojosa 12 RF .000 3 Rafael Hinojosa 11 RF .167 4 Alejandro Guajuardo 12 2B .000 5 Pablo Torres 12 P/CF .583 6 Daniel Baca 11 SS/P .000 8 Gerardo Rios 12 1B .000 9 Ricardo Garcia 12 3B/C .500 10 Alejandro Robles 12 CF/P .571 12 Francisco de Isla 12 P/LF .000 15 Luis Robles 12 C .222 22 Gabriel Alvarez 12 P/CF .000 23 Everado Ordonez 11 1B .667 24 Adrian Luna 12 P/LF .444

*--*

HR--Torres 2, Luna 2, Alej. Robles, Garcia. 2B--Torres 3. RBI--Luna 5, Torres 4, Garcia 3, de Dios Garza 2, Alej. Robles. Pitching--Luna 2-0, 12 IP, 0.00 ERA, 21 K; Torres 1-0, 4 IP, 0.00, 8 K; Alvarez 1-0, 4 IP, 0.00, 0 K.

Opponent: Score

N. Libertad: 15-0

Apodaca: 18-0

Vitro: 5-1

M. Torres: 8-1

Santiago: 21-0

Las Puentes: 5-2

Hidalgo: 10-0

S. Catarina: 2-1

Mitras: 4-3

Cuauhtemoc: 4-1

Oriente: 4-0