Newport Beach Little League: Snake bitten!

Bryce Alderton

NEWPORT BEACH - John Della Grotta had these words for his team when

they were down to the Reds twice in Thursday’s Little League championship

game.

“I told them, ‘Never give up on yourself, you always have a chance,”’

Della Grotta said referencing the sixth and the ninth innings when his

Diamondbacks were down to the Reds, 1-0, and, 2-1, in the Newport Beach

Little League Majors Division championship game at Lincoln #2 field.

Della Grotta’s words of wisdom worked, as the D-backs came back to tie

the game in the bottom of the sixth, 1-1, and come back from a 2-1

deficit to win the championship, 3-2, in the ninth in heart-stopping

fashion.

Della Grotta’s son, Fletcher Della Grotta, was at the heart of the

action for most of the day.

In the ninth, Della Grotta laid down a bunt that Reds’ pitcher Andrew

Silva fielded, but threw wildly past the third baseman, allowing Conner

Whalen to score the tying run.

Chris Rosen walked, and both D-back runners moved up a base when Scott

Colton hit back to Silva, who threw to first for the first out.

That set the stage for Garrett Amoroso, who hit a 1-1 pitch to center

field. The center fielder caught the ball and attempted to pick-off Rosen

at second before he could get back to the base, but the throw was late,

and Della Grotta, who tagged from third on the play came in to score the

winning run.

The D-backs players and coaches stormed from the dugout as they formed

a circle near home plate hopping up and down in jubilation.

“It was almost heart-stopping for awhile, so it was fun,” said John

Della Grotta, who mentioned his team’s 1-0 win over the Angels to get

into the championship game. “At least we’re in practice for these close

games.”

The 1-hour-45-minute game was a pitcher’s duel throughout, with Della

Grotta and Amoroso teaming up for the D-backs while Blaine Nielsen, who

gave the Reds the lead, 1-0, in the fifth with a towering drive over the

left-center field fence for a home run, and Silva combined for the Reds.

Both Della Grotta and Nielsen went six innings.

Della Grotta allowed one run and three hits while striking out eight

with no walks. Amoroso relieved Della Grotta in the seventh, allowing one

run on two hits while striking out three and walking two.

Nielsen threw as sharp as Della Grotta, allowing one run on four hits

while striking out seven and walking two.

Silva pitched the seventh, eighth and two-thirds of the ninth,

allowing six hits and two runs while striking out two and walking one.

He got some help from his defense in the eighth inning as the D-backs

had runners on first and second with no outs. Up came Kelly, who hit a

line drive to second baseman Eric Mooney (two walks), who snared the

liner, then dove to touch second base with his glove to record an

unassisted double play.

Both Della Grotta and Amoroso’s performances sparked the team, John

Della Grotta said.

“(The pitching) lifted the spirits of the whole team,” he said. “(The

pitching) and our bats hit consistently throughout which was huge, it

kept our confidence going and we made some huge fielding plays.”

The D-backs finished with 11 hits. Whalen went 3 for 4 with a double

and two singles, one of which plated Doug Kelly, who was hit by a pitch.

Whalen also scored the tying run in the ninth.

First baseman Chris Rosen went 2 for 3 with an intentional walk in the

ninth. Scott Colton had a double and Tommy Colton, Michael Epstein and

Steven Manning all tallied singles for the D-backs.

In addition to Nielsen’s home run, the Reds managed just three hits,

an infield single by Brett Bartlett and two hits by Dillan Davis, who

scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball in the top of the ninth to give

the Reds a 2-1 lead.

Davis also kept the Reds in the game with his play in the seventh.

With two outs in the seventh, Davis fielded Riley Sullivan’s grounder

at third and threw to Nielsen at catcher, who made the tag on Rosen in a

close play at the plate to send the game into the eighth.

Reds Manager Fred Silva praised the effort of both teams after the

game.

“The kids played so well and the crowd was great,” Silva said. “Blaine

(Nielsen) was awesome, he pitched brilliantly. It certainly was a

pitcher’s duel throughout, there was no turning point. It was a

hard-fought battle that had to come to an end. I’m exhausted. That was

phenomenal coaching on John’s part to keep his team focused the way he

did.”

Della Grotta won his second Majors Division title while managing a

team. He also coached the 1996 Phillies to the NBLL Majors Division

championship, which his older son, Robert Della Grotta, who now plays

baseball and football at Mater Dei High, was a member.

“It’s kind of like deja-vu all over again,” Della Grotta said.

Now both teams enter the District 55 Tournament of Champions, which

begins Saturday when the Reds play North Mission Viejo at 10 a.m. at

Curtis Park in Mission Viejo and the D-backs play Laguna Niguel at 5 p.m.

Tuesday at the Youth Sports Park, also in Mission Viejo.

The Angels and the Red Sox from the Newport Beach Little League Majors

Division also qualified for TOC and will play at 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.

respectively on Saturday.

**In other Newport Beach Little League news:

Two NBLL Majors Division players received the Sportsmanship Award:

Michael Bear from the American League’s Mariners and Alex Schafnitz from

the National League’s Braves.

The Dodgers’ Kevin Wang won the award in the AAA Division.