Pony Baseball: Teaching matters for the Angels

Steve Virgen

CORONA DEL MAR - Walt Harper has got a strategy that seems to be

working as of late. The Angels, a Corona del Mar Pony League team, showed

the results of Coach Harper’s game plan with a 9-4 victory over the

Braves Saturday at Eastbluff Park.

“I don’t coach baseball to win baseball games,” Harper said. “I teach

baseball ... sooner or later the winning takes care of itself.”

The Angels scored one run in the second, another two in the third, two

more in the fifth and four in the sixth all the while holding the Braves

scoreless.

The 9-4 victory marked the Angels’ eighth victory in 10 games,

including a win over the second-place Mets when Eric Eadington slammed

the game-winning home run in the last inning.

Against the Braves, Eadington went 2 for 3 with one RBI which came in

the third. Angels Ben Maggard, John Knezevik and Eadington scored two

runs each, while Ross Dillion, Scott Leimkuhler and Corbin Medina tallied

one apiece. Maggard slammed a triple in the third.

The Braves’ Michael Kordich also roped a triple when he led off in the

seventh inning with a shot to right field. After rounding second, he beat

the throw to third when he slid safe. Avery Fenton, the Braves’ starting

pitcher, brought in Kordich with a screaming line drive to right field

for a base hit. Michael Morgenstern added another run when his groundout

scored Fenton.

The Braves also picked up two runs in the sixth as Spencer Herbert and

Matt Raiger, who cracked a double, crossed home plate. But, the damage

was done in the top of the sixth when the Angels scored four runs.

Leimkuhler led off with a base hit to right field and Medina followed

with a single of his own. Maggard pounded out yet another base hit to

load the bases and the trio scored on errant pitches. Eadington, who took

a first pitch to right field for a single, also scored on a wild pitch to

give the Angels a 9-0 lead.

Tyler Ellis started as pitcher for the Angels, while Eadington, Paul

Neff and Maggard also took to the mound. For the Braves, Fenton went

three innings, while Kordich and Herbert also pitched.

CORONA DEL MAR

Pony Division Baseball

The Angels

7 Ben Maggard

12 Eric Eadington

8 John Knezevik

5 Tyler Ellis

1 Michael Aspegren

10 Ross Dillion

3 Paul Neff

14 Scott Leimkuhler

11 Corbin Medina 2 Patrick Reynolds

Manager: Walt Harper

Coach: Ron Maggard

The Braves

7 Matt Raiger

6 Matt Doran

8 Jonathan Kroopf

11 Michael Kordich

14 Avery Fenton

10 Andrew Keligian

4 Michael Morgenstern

5 John Legan

2 Ryan Guthrie

1 Spencer Herbert

3 Peter Berg

Manager: Joe Bonafede

Coach: Bob Fenton