Firefighters douse Twins

A quirky start to their Little League Juniors Division game against the Rancho Niguel Twins didn’t prevent the Laguna Beach Firefighters from turning in a dominating performance.

Despite falling behind early, Laguna rallied big-time and went on to post a 13-2 victory in a game halted by the mercy rule at Chaparossa Park.

The Firefighters started slowly, committing two errors which led to the Twins scoring twice in the first inning. But from that point on, Laguna played errorless ball the remainder of the game.

The Firefighters drew even by scoring twice in the second inning. They forged ahead for good by battering Twins pitching for 10 runs in the fourth as they batted through the lineup.

A run in the fifth closed out the scoring, and the game.

The pitching duo of Raphael Vickers and Ryan Raffo silenced the Twins for the most part. Vickers pitched three innings and held the Twins to one hit and two runs with seven strikeouts.

Raffo came in as a reliever but performed as a closer, striking out three while allowing only one hit in two innings.

Sean Pigden came up with a big defensive play in centerfield, and Casey Miller and Vickers split time behind the plate and didn’t allow a stolen base or run to score on a passed ball.

Raffo also keyed the offense of the Firefighters with a pair of doubles. Vickers doubled and Pigden, Miller, Ben Hanson, Jake Glazer and Jackson Christy each racked up a base hit.

Travis Sampson, Sawyer Pierce, Jack Clark and Luke Dressler, who was hit twice by a pitch in the game, also made key contributions to the victory.