Rotary, FireFighters play for postseason Majors title

Rotary set up a winner-take-all showdown with the FireFighters for

the Laguna Beach Little League Majors Division postseason

championship by defeating the FireFighters, 8-0, in a must-win

situation at Riddle Field.

Rotary, which lost its postseason playoff opener to the

FireFighters, has won four straight games to set up a third and final

meeting between the teams.

Rotary, which had an undefeated run (15-0) in Laguna Beach Little

League action and was 18-1 overall before the postseason, is now

21-2.

Raphael Vickers threw a four-hit shutout and Michael Hyden, Chris

Lavery and Michael Maxsenti each had two hits.

Hyden doubled up the gap in left-centerfield in the second inning

and scored the game’s first run on Drew Wheeler’s pinch-hit single.

In the bottom of the third, Lavery and Maxsenti delivered

back-to-back doubles to score Lavery, and Hyden knocked in Maxsenti

to build the lead to 3-0.

Rotary batted around in the fifth and consecutive singles by

Maxsenti, Will Bonsey, Vickers and Hyden led to two more runs and a

5-0 advantage.

Mike Rubel’s infield grounder knocked in another run and Lavery

doubled to score both Hyden and Sawyer Pierce to bring Rotary’s lead

to 8-0.

Vickers finished the game with eight strikeouts, as did

FireFighters starter Brennan Mulvaney.

Adam Selevan doubled and Jack Clark, Ian Greene and Tyler Kesler

had hits for the FireFighters.

In other postseason play:

Rotary 2, Sportsworld 1

A pitchers’ duel between Rotary’s Michael Maxsenti and

Sportsworld’s Ryan Raffo ended when Rotary scored the decisive run in

the bottom of the sixth inning.

Raffo limited Rotary to five hits and recorded five strikeouts.

Maxsenti, meanwhile, held Sportsworld to four hits and racked up

11 strikeouts.

Travis Sampson gave Sportsworld a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning

when he singled and later scored on Michael Opera’s sacrifice fly.

In the Rotary fifth, Michael Hyden had a leadoff double, Sammy

Witte laid down a bunt single to advance Hyden, and Drew Wheeler

dropped a Texas Leaguer into the outfield to score Hyden to tie the

game, 1-1.

With the score still tied heading into the bottom of the sixth,

Will Bonsey reached base on an error and was sacrificed to second

base on a Raphael Vickers bunt.

Bonsey sped around to third base, and when a throw to get him came

low and deflected into left field, he raced home for the winning run.

Hyden doubled and singled to lead Rotary on offense.

Raffo, Stevie Contursi and Taylor Preston all singled for

Sportsworld.

Rotary 10, VFW 0

An all-around team effort backed the pitching of Raphael Vickers

as Rotary stayed alive in postseason play.

Vickers tossed a two-hit shutout while striking out four.

He allowed just one baserunner after the first inning and was

backed by the defensive play of Mike Rubel, Drew Wheeler and Michael

Hyden.

Rotary jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one inning behind Michael

Maxsenti’s RBI sacrifice fly, a two-run single by Vickers and an RBI

by Hyden.

They scored five more runs in the second behind hits by Maxsenti,

Vickers, Michael Niebuhr and Chris Lavery to take an 8-0 lead.

Lavery finished with two hits.

Logan Schoembs and Clayton Steele singled for VFW.

In club baseball action:

Laguna Surf and Sport 13, Cubs 1

Nine innings of solid pitching, hitting and defense helped Laguna

Surf and Sport avenge an earlier season loss to the Claremont Cubs at

Alta Laguna Park.

Surf and Sport, which led 1-0 at the time, took control of the

game in the third inning.

A bunt single by Daniel Selevan and singles by leadoff hitter Jake

Sganga and Alex Shusko were followed by back-to-back doubles by Gabe

Stansbury and Matt Piha, which resulted in four more runs and a 5-0

lead.

They tacked on two more runs in the fifth behind hits by Caine

Fair and Kyle Snyder.

Sganga led all hitters with a 4 for 5 performance.

Stansbury and Piha each doubled twice, and each Surf and Sport

player scored at least one run.

Piha also threw three shutout innings with three strikeouts.

Fair followed in relief with three shutout innings in a row and

Selevan closed on the mound.

Snyder and Shusko led Surf and Sport on defense.