Spirit of Duke glows

Rick Devereux

The Costa Mesa Little League American and National All-Star teams

must have watched John Wayne movies before the first game of the

best-of-three series for the Mayor’s Cup, because both squads

displayed true grit on Thursday at TeWinkle Field.

The National League, which has won the trophy the last three

years, won the opening game, 2-1, but needed a focused effort from

pitcher Benny Seliner to end it.

Ahead, 2-0, in the sixth and final inning, the American team

started to rally. The team managed one hit in the previous five

innings, but the bats came alive in the sixth. Dylan Daily started

the inning by smacking a line drive that ricocheted off Seliner’s

glove. What looked like a sure infield single was turned into an out

when National second baseman Nick Federiconi scooped up the loose

ball and tossed out the runner.

The head’s up play by Federiconi became a major play because Tyler

Sheffner lined a double to the right-field line over the diving reach

of outfielder Ryan Cherney. Derrik Amendola followed with a double

deep into the right-center field gap that scored Sheffner.

“I was worried [about an American come back],” National Coach

Clint Brown said. “I thought Benny was struggling a little bit, in

fact I told him he had one more batter. If he walked that batter he

was coming out.”

Seliner was pushed to a full count to the next two batters, but he

registered strikeouts both times to end the game.

“He said he was OK [when I went out to the mound after Amendola’s

double],” Brown said. “He wanted to go another batter, which is good.

I’m glad he had the tenacity to do that. If he tells me he’s good to

go, I think he’s good to go.”

Seliner wasn’t the only pitcher to keep his cool in a pressure

situation. The red-jerseyed National All-Stars had the bases loaded

with no outs in the bottom of the fourth inning and threatened to

blow the game wide open, but Willy LeValley settled down to register

three outs without allowing a run.

“A lot of kids would have buckled and walked a guy, thrown a

passed a ball, whatever, but he trusted his defense and played well,”

American Coach Jeff Hirsch said.

The second game of the best-of-three series is today at 10 a.m. at

Costa Mesa High.