CMNLL Majors: VIN-SANITY!

Tony Altobelli

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Vinnie Valdez did everything except drag the

infield, sell the popcorn and park the cars as the Costa Mesa National

Little League Major Division All-Stars took care of Seaview, 9-3, in the

second round of the District 62 All-Star Tournament Wednesday.

Valdez went 3 for 3 with four RBIs and pitched a complete-game

masterpiece for the locals, who will advance to Saturday’s Area 2

championship game Saturday at 10 a.m. against the winner of today’s

Robinwood-Seaview matchup.

Should Costa Mesa win either on Saturday or on Sunday, if necessary, a

best-of-three battle for the District 62 championship against the Area 1

champion awaits the 11- and 12-year-olds.

“These guys are making me look real smart,” Manager Bill Redding said.

“Everyone is contributing, both offensively and defensively.”

Despite the team effort, it was Valdez who led the charge. “He’s

always in control out there,” Redding said. “He’s a smart pitcher who is

in command on the mound and he’s a smart hitter who waits for his pitch.

He’s a real leader for our team.”

Mesa used a little two-out magic to get on the scoreboard in the

bottom of the first inning when Michael McDaniels doubled down the

left-field line and scored on a single to right by Valdez.

After a 1-2-3 second inning for Seaview, courtesy of Valdez, Costa

Mesa took control with a four-run outburst. Austin Elliott led off with a

single, Starnes Arnold walked and Caleb Burgess was hit by a pitch to

load the bases.

After a strikeout, Trevor McDonald singled to right, scoring Elliott

for a 2-0 Mesa advantage. Evan Van Geem followed with an single of his

own, scoring Arnold.

After a runner was thrown out at the plate for the second out, Valdez

came through with a two-run single, scoring McDonald and Van Geem for a

5-0 Mesa lead.

“Taking an early lead makes such a difference,” Redding said. “We were

facing a pitcher who plays on a tough travel-ball team so we knew he

could throw hard. You could see their team start to get down a little

bit, while we started to get up a little bit.”

Valdez continued to mow down the Seaview batting order until a two-out

solo home run by Brad Adams in the third inning cut the lead to 5-1.

Using a strong assortment of fastballs and breaking stuff, Valdez kept

Seaview guessing at the plate. “He would throw his off-speed pitch a

couple of times to each batter, not just once, like most pitchers,”

Redding said. “They really didn’t know what was coming at them.”

Mesa continued to pour on the offense in the fouth inning. Taylor

McClanahan was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a single by McDonald

and scored when Van Geem’s grounder was misplayed by Seaview’s second

baseman, giving Mesa a 6-1 lead.

After a double play, Valdez singled to left to score Van Geem from

third and P.J. Errington ended the four-run frame with a two-run home run

to right.

“Last game, it was Michael (McDaniels) and Vinnie (Valdez) with the

big hits and today, P.J. came through with a big hit,” Redding said.

Seaview finally showed some life in the top of the sixth. After the

first batter was retired on a ground out, five straight Seaview hitters

singled off of Valdez, but even that rally was minimized by the Mesa

pitcher.

With two runners on, Seaview’s Mike Lucas singled to left to score

David McLaughlin from second. Valdez caught the relay throw from center

field and faked the throw to the plate, which lured a Seaview runner too

far off of second base. Valdez threw to shortstop Van Geem who tagged out

the runner for a very important second out.

“Only Vinnie would have done that,” Redding said. “He stays under

control and he’s always thinking out there.”

Two more singles followed and a third run scored, but Valdez ended the

game with his seventh strikeout of the game to end Seaview’s rally.