Little League: What A Game!

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - Cubs Manager Ronnie Dunmore said his team’s win

Saturday was their biggest victory of the season. Dillan Freiberg, of the

NHBA Mustang division team, certainly came up big with some huge heroics

that led to a 12-10 dramatic win over the first-place Dodgers at Kaiser

Elementary. The victory snapped the Dodgers’ 10-game winning streak.

Freiberg ended the bottom of the fifth inning by recording a strikeout

as his Cubs were down 10-9. In the sixth, with two outs, he displayed

some more coolness in the clutch when he smashed a bases-clearing double.

He then struck out the first two batters and, after a single and a

walk, he fanned another to end the game.

“It was great,” Dunmore said of the effort. “All the kids came

through. Every kid participated in the win. Those last three runs that

scored for us were from the bottom of our lineup.”

After the Cubs built an 8-3 lead, the Dodgers responded with the

division-maximum five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The

Mustang division rules require that no more than five runs are allowed.

The Dodgers had no outs when they had to give up their at-bat.

The Cubs broke the tie in the fifth inning, but the Dodgers responded

with two runs in the bottom of the frame for the 10-9 lead.

“That’s exactly what my kids needed,” Dodgers’ Manager Mike Griffin

said of the loss. “It’s hard to get them motivated when they’re winning

all of their games.”

The Cubs (8-7) opened the game with three runs in the first. Connor

Curry cranked out an RBI single to score Freiberg, who walked. Gabriel

Gomez, who finished with four stolen bases, then pounded a two-run base

hit which scored Ronnie Dunmore Jr. and Curry.

Producing another three-run inning in the third, the Cubs seemed to

have control over the first-place team. Erik Heimstaedt unleashed some

power with a double to center field and Dunmore Jr. brought him in with a

base hit. Gomez earned another RBI with a base hit.

The Dodgers (12-3) would later respond with their five-run fourth

inning as they made the most of their two hits. Victor Done, Peter

Thomsen, Justin Cotham, Jeff Allee and Max Jolliffe all scored. Jolliffe

picked up an RBI and so did Thomsen, who blasted a shot to center field.

Thomsen raced to second and eventually made his way to home by virtue of

errors.

Cubs pitchers included Gomez, Curry and Freiberg. Gomez started and

went the first three innings with five strikeouts. Curry recorded three

strikeouts in his one inning of work and Frieberg fanned four in two

innings.

The Dodgers also had some steady pitching as Chris Griffin, Daniel

Norris, Garrett McRoberts and Jeffrey Frum Jr. took to the mound. Griffin

started and struck out seven in three innings and completed a perfect

second inning with three straight K’s. Norris went one inning with one

strikeout and McRoberts fanned three in his one inning of work. Frum

struck out two in the last inning.

NEWPORT HARBOR BASEBALL ASSOCIATION

Mustang Division

The Cubs

3 Richie Lowery

9 Dillan Freiberg

7 Ronnie Dunmore

4 Connor Curry

6 Gabriel Gomez

8 Brandon Kula

11 Michael McKay 10 Fernando Gutierrez

1 Justin Cerrato 5 Casey Murr

2 Erik Heimstaedt

Manager: Ronnie Dunmore

Coaches: Dennis Cerrato and Bob Freiberg

The Dodgers

18 Jeff Allee

13 David Panas

17 Braden Cluck

20 Justin Cotham

16 Victor Done

15 Jeffrey Frum Jr.

21 Chris Griffin

14 Max Jolliffe

19 Daniel Norris 12 Garrett McRoberts

22 Peter Thomsen

Manager: Mike Griffin

Coaches: Jeff Frum and Joe De La Fuente