Baseball: Home (run) field advantage

Joseph Boo

COSTA MESA - Since when is a cozy ballpark a little too cozy?

When you’re the Costa Mesa National Little League Majors (11-12)

All-Star team and you gave up three home runs to Costa Mesa National’s

Brendan Hoffman, Skylar Cozad and Jamie Tinnion at Costa Mesa High’s cozy

Minor Field. Behind those three blasts, the Costa Mesa Americans won

Wednesday’s Mayor’s Cup opener, 7-2.

It has the chance to be the third Costa Mesa American representative

in four years to win the Mayor’s Cup today at TeWinkle School, starting

at 5:30 p.m . The annual series between Costa Mesa’s two little league

teams have never seen a third game.

“It’s a big deal to the kids,” Costa Mesa American Manager Cliff

Duernberger said. “If they win, they get to go to City Hall, meet the

mayor and receive a trophy. The kids are excited to play this game. I’ll

tell you one thing, whenever our kids step on the field, they always want

to win.”

It looked like Costa Mesa American would get what it wanted after it

jumped out to a 5-0 after three innings. R.J. Duernberger got the game’s

first run. He singled and scored on an error in the opening frame.

Costa Mesa American’s first home run was hit by Hoffman. He led off

the second with a blast to straightaway center. In the third, Cozad hit a

three-run shot over the left-center wall to give the Americans a 5-0

lead. That home run also scored Jordan Kalke and Hoffman.

The word “blast” was a relative term from the Nationals’ side, who got

the short end of the small dimensions.

“That first home run would have been a routine fly ball at TeWinkle,”

National Manager Julian Valdez said. “The fence says 200 feet, but I’m

going to go out there one day with a tape measure to see how long it

really is.”

The Nationals tacked two runs on in the fourth of four consecutive

hits. Evan Vangeem smacked it to the left-center wall, but he was held to

a single. The next hitter, Victor Valdez, doubled. That was followed by

consecutive RBI singles from Vinnie Valdez and Hillary Larsen.

But that was it for Costa Mesa National. R.J. Duernberger was solid on

the mound. He pitched a complete game and gave up six hits and no walks.

Four of the hits he gave up came in that fourth inning.

“He struggled there a little bit, but he pitched well,” Cliff

Duernberger said. “He got really mad at me in the fourth because I kept

telling him to throw change-ups and curveballs,and he wanted to throw the

fastball.”

Costa Mesa American got those runs back in the fifth with a two-run

homer by Tinnion, which also scored Chambers.

“That was a good hit for Jamie,” Duernberger said. “He struck out his

first three times at bat. He didn’t show up for the start of the game,

but he really redeemed himself.”

While Costa Mesa American is ready to schedule a date with the mayor’s

secretary, Valdez believes that three home runs are highly unlikely

today.

“It’s not like this at TeWinkle,” he said. “You really have to hit the

ball to score there. So it’ll be a different game. At least, I hope it

is.”

For Costa Mesa American, Duernberger went 2 for 4 at the plate and

Cozad was 2 or 3. Vinnie Valdez was 2 for 3 for the Nationals, and Matt

Jeranko hit a double in the fifth inning.

MAYOR’S CUP

Costa Mesa American 7, Costa Mesa National 2

CMNLL 000 200 - 2 6 3

CMALL 113 02x - 7 9 0 Bagwell and Vin. Valdez, Errington (5); Duernberger and Cozad. W -

Duernberger. L - Bagwell. 2B - Vic. Valdez (CMN), Jeranko (CMN). HR -

Hoffman (CMA), Cozad (CMA), Tinnion (CMA).