District 62 Tournament of Champions: Yankees fall in pitchers’ duel

Steve Virgen

COSTA MESA - In a pitchers duel, the team that makes the most key

plays usually wins. The Costa Mesa American Little League Yankees found

that out the hard way in a 3-0 loss to the Westminster Pirates in the

first round of the District 62 Majors Tournament of Champions Tuesday at

Costa Mesa High.

Yankees pitcher Andrew Niles used 97 pitches to go the distance,

striking out 10 and walking just two.

Frankie Cortez, the Pirates’ pitcher, turned in his first

complete-game shutout of the season against a team which had not been

shut out this season. He threw 98 pitches, which included nine strikeouts

and four walks. Costa Mesa managed just three hits.

The difference: The Pirates (15-7) scored two runs with two outs in

the top of the fourth inning and one run with two outs in the fifth.

“Andrew Niles really brought us through this game,” Yankees Manager

Scott Willson said. “We had some great defense, too, by Mike Willson at

shortstop, Skylar Twohig in center field and Andy Dawson (third base).

And we had great catching by Jordan Palmer and Josh Werdel.”

The Yankees, the CMALL Majors Division champions, nearly scored in the

fifth. Jesse Dawson walked with one out and Ben Lounsbury followed with a

shot to deep center field. But the Pirates’ Britt Snider, the lone girl

in the game, came up with a great snag.

Niles followed with a base hit to the left-field corner, but the

Yankees left Niles and Jesse Dawson stranded.

Twohig, who was hit by a pitch in the second inning, collected the

only extra-base hit of the game. He pounded a double to the gap in

right-center field in the sixth inning.

Leadoff man Matthew Culp also had a hit for the Yankees, who defeated

the Tigers, 10-6, Saturday to claim the CMALL Majors crown.

Both teams played sparkling defense, committing just one error each.

Yankees left fielder Chris Robinson put on the jets to glove a shallow

fly ball in the third and Twohig made a diving catch in center field in

the fifth.

The Pirates, second in the Westminster Little League, didn’t allow a

runner to reach third base.

“We started out thinking we could make a run because we had such a

great team at the beginning of the season,” said Scott Willson, whose

team, ousted in the single-elimination TOC, finsihed 11-12. “We had a lot

of attitude adjustments to make and one of our best players (Dylan

Stiller) injured his arm early in the season and couldn’t make it back.

But, we came out a stronger team by the end of the season.”