Angels glide to new heights

Chris Yemma

Near perfection has been a common theme all season for the Costa Mesa

American Little League Majors division Angels.

But perhaps no sweeter form of it came Wednesday at Wardlow Park.

Derek Amendola was near perfect from the mound and Matt McEachern

was foolproof at the plate as the Angels clinched a 9-0 District 62

Tournament of Champions title-game victory against the Ocean View

Indians.

The win marked the first time a Costa Mesa Little League team has

won the District 62 championship, Angels’ Manager Jeff Hirsch said.

“This is incredible; it’s an amazing feeling,” Hirsch said. “For

us to win first in our league is great, but to win a district

championship...is something we can cherish for the rest of our

lives.”

The Angels’ sublime season was dotted with just one loss, as the

team finished 23-1. Through four district games, the team outscored

its opponents, 28-1.

And throughout the championship game, Amendola and the defense

allowed just three hits, while McEachern and the offense stretched

eight hits for nine runs.

“Our defense has always been unbelievable,” Hirsch said. “To allow

just one run in the playoffs shows the depth of the defense.”

Amendola went the distance for the shutout, striking out 10 and

walking just two. His first two innings were perfect and his first

three were hitless.

McEachern was 3 for 3 at the plate with four RBIs, including a

three-run blast over the center-field fence in the bottom of the

first inning. He also scored two runs.

Brian Waldron was 1 for 2 with a walk, an RBI and two runs scored,

while Garrett Hirsch drilled a ground-rule double and scored two

runs, P.J. Maloney had a double and two runs, Tyler Sheffner had a

sacrifice RBI, and Amendola scored a run.

It was a day of near perfection to parallel a season of the same.

The Angels had defeated the Costa Mesa National Dodgers, 4-0, on

Monday to reach the championship. The squad blasted Fountain Valley’s

No. 2 team, 10-0, Saturday in the quarterfinals. And the Angels

cruised to a 5-1 first-round victory June 14 over Robinwood’s No. 2

team.

“This team is part of a good program,” Costa Mesa American

President Will LeValley said. “It’s a huge step forward. The kids

stuck together and [Hirsch] did a tremendous job all season.”

The heart of the Angels’ scoring took place during the first two

innings, plating four runs in each.

Maloney led off with a double and Hirsch followed with a walk.

Waldron then brought Maloney home on a chopper to left center,

bringing McEachern to the plate with two on and one out. He smashed

the 1-1 pitch for a 4-0 Angels’ lead.

Maloney reached first on an error in the second inning with one

out, and Hirsch followed with his ground-rule double to center that

soared just over the outfielder’s head. On an Amendola hit, the

infielder threw an errant ball to first, allowing Amendola to reach

second as Maloney and Hirsch scored for a 6-0 lead.

Waldron walked -- still with one out -- and McEachern followed

with an RBI single that plated Amendola. Sheffner then lofted a

sacrifice fly allowing Waldron to score from third for an 8-0 lead.

McEachern scored the Angels’ last run following two errors in the

fourth inning.

“In our own league, we don’t always get the respect,” the elder

Hirsch said. “So that’s what this means to me. This is way larger

than winning in league because [Tournament of Champions] is the best

of the best. It allows these guys to get the respect they haven’t

gotten all year.”

Amendola provided the defensive push from the beginning, retiring

the first eight batters he faced. The ninth batter reached on the

Angels’ lone error and Amendola whiffed the next batter to end the

third inning.

Ocean View posted two hits in the fourth inning, as Kevin Stoops

led off with a single and Cayse Cruz added a single two batters

later. Montana Merhoff then walked to load the bases with two out,

placing Amendola in a tricky position.

But he kept his cool and fanned the next batter to end the inning,

squashing the Indians’ best offensive chance.

Amendola struck out two, walked one and allowed a hit in the

fifth, and came out in the sixth and retired the side for the

victory.

Stoops finished 2 for 3 at the plate for the Indians, while Cruz

accounted for the team’s other hit. Other contributors included Jason

Fernandez, Lars Jensen, Charles Johnson, Brandon Wooten, Nathan Sapia

and Branden Vogl.

Other contributors for the Angels included J.T. McLuckey, Bryan

Williams, Jake Comer, Nolan Manson, Brendon Bonghanoy and Matthew

LeValley.