Little League baseball: Fountain Valley draws first blood
Bryce Alderton
HUNTINGTON BEACH - It’s difficult to come back from a nine-run
deficit in the first inning in any game, let alone an All-Star game where
you’re dealing with the best of the best.
But that’s just the predicament Costa Mesa National 9- and
-10-year-old Minor A All-Stars found themselves in Saturday in the
opening game of the double-elimination District 62 All-Star Tournament
against visiting Fountain Valley at Wardlow Park.
Fountain Valley sent 13 batters to the plate in the first, five of
whom smacked hits. The visitors also got some help from two Costa Mesa
errors to score nine runs, two unearned, en route to a 13-5 victory.
With the loss, Costa Mesa next plays Westminster Tuesday at 5 p.m. at
the same site.
“It’s very difficult to stake any team to a nine-run lead let alone an
All-Star team,” said Costa Mesa Manager Clint Brown. “They put the ball
in play and we made errors. We didn’t execute our plays and that was the
difference.”
Costa Mesa infielders appeared tentative in the first inning,
mishandling three ground balls, two of which they failed to charge.
“I felt a lot of nerves out there,” Brown said. “These players are
usually smooth, slick fielders. In the first, we were a little less
aggressive going to the ball and making the play. We let dribblers on the
left side turn into hits. But after (the first inning) I thought we
calmed down.”
Costa Mesa outhit Fountain Valley, 9-7, but Fountain Valley made its
hits count.
Fountain Valley’s Kyle Ball, Skyler Yap and Ryan Strachan, all
connected for hits in the first inning.
Ball hit two doubles in the first to plate three runners. Yap singled
to bring home A.J. Cardenalli and Strachan singled up the middle to drive
in Ball and Cody Morad.
Morad hit a two-run home run in the fourth, which upped Fountain
Valley’s lead to 11-2.
Brown stuck with his starting pitcher, Eusebio Castillo for the entire
six-inning game and was pleased with his effort.
“(Castillo) kept throwing pitches to get ground balls like I told him.
He threw a good ballgame,” Brown said. “We should have been out of the
(first) inning way before nine runs. A first inning like that is tough on
any pitcher.”
After a 39-pitch first inning, Castillo made only 61 pitches the rest
of the game, using no more than 16 in an inning. He had four strikeouts
and three walks.
Fountain Valley Manager Steve Ball said he prefers to bat first to get
his hitters going.
“Sometimes you want to start off as a visitor to get runs and get
comfortable,” Ball said. “After that first, all I was looking for was to
hang on to the lead. (Starting pitcher Tyler Buckles) pitched a great
game.”
Buckles also went the distance, allowing five runs (two unearned)
while striking out four and walking seven.
Costa Mesa had runners on base in every inning, and might have scored
more runs if it hadn’t been for two spectacular defensive plays in the
fifth.
Costa Mesa first baseman A.J. Roth was robbed of a hit by center
fielder Patrick McGinn, who charged a shallow fly ball then made a
diving, backhanded catch.
After a Ryan Burns’ single and an RBI single by Eusebio Castillo to
plate Bryan Maurer, Fountain Valley second baseman Ryan Strachan dived to
his left to scoop up Daniel Carter’s grounder and threw from his knees to
first for the second out, saving a run. Buckles struck out the next
batter to end the inning.
“Offensively we put the ball in play and made contact when we had to,”
Brown said.
Brown was especially pleased with his players’ aggressiveness with two
strikes.
“They shortened up (on the bat), moved up in the box and made contact
on two-strike counts,” Brown said. “That counts as outstanding hitting in
my book.”
Seven Costa Mesa players had at least one hit to help cut into the
lead. The locals scored two in the first, one in the fifth and two in the
second.
Center fielder Sean Anderson singled twice and had one RBI and Ryan
Burns also singled twice.
Catcher Chase Harrison had an RBI double in the first and scored two
runs, while Bryan Maurer went 1 for 3 with a single and a walk and scored
twice.
A.J. Roth smacked an RBI double that one-hopped the fence in
left-center field in the sixth and Jeremy Jeranko ripped a single to left
in the fourth.
Ryan Baselo walked twice and scored a run while Coleman Brown walked
and William Evans swung the bat hard in his only plate appearance.
Kevin Kiser played a strong second base. He caught a pop fly for the
second out in the fifth, then ended the inning by ranging to his right to
backhand a grounder and throw to first.
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