Junior all-stars ready to roll

They have played in unison for the past four months and beginning Saturday, players in Laguna Beach Little League’s Junior League will take the 2006 season a step further by competing at the District 55 All-Star Tournament.

The 12 players representing the league will open district all-star play at 6 p.m. Saturday at Woodfield Park in Aliso Viejo. Laguna will take on neighboring Laguna Hills in a first-round matchup in the double-elimination tournament that runs through mid-July.

Manager Mark Christy and Coach Don Vickers have worked with these 12 players throughout the regular season, as Laguna fields just one Junior League team.

The all-stars will be going up against other leagues that draw all-star players from “three-to-five” teams, Christy said.

“While this truly puts our backs to the wall, I really love these kids and because we have played together for so long, we are truly like a family,” he said. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Like a close-knit clan, every Laguna player has a nickname, Christy said, from “Pineapple” Miller and “J-Rod” Christy, to “Frodo” Glazer and “El Guapo” Hanson.

The names reflect the players’ ease with one another.

“We have a pretty developed sense of humor,” Mark Christy said. “It certainly helps when things are tough, and when we’re in ‘the zone,’ the sky is the limit.

“This is my final chance to coach my son Jackson, so I hope that we can surprise a few folks with our play and have a few laughs at the same time. Win or lose, I can promise you, we’ll go for it.”

During the regular season, Laguna Beach, playing as the “Firefighters,” posted a record of 8-4. But Laguna will enter the district tournament as an underdog to the title, and Christy likes that tag.

The league has never won the All-Star event.

“Personally, I like that position,” he said of the underdog role. “With nothing to lose, we can play it fast and loose, have some fun and hopefully something good will happen.

“We have already turned in a better winning percentage at eight wins and four losses, than any team in Laguna Beach Junior’s history. So I’m really proud of these boys. They rock.”

Christy said that the ace of a talented pitching staff, Raphael Vickers, son of Coach Don Vickers, will get the start in Saturday’s opener.

Vickers has an ERA of just over 1.0 and averages two strikeouts per inning.

“Raphael is a smart and very solid pitcher with a wicked breaking ball and is just a great young man,” Christy said.

The 2006 Laguna Beach Little League Junior All-Stars:

Travis Sampson, 1B/OF

Casey Miller, C/P

Logan Schoembs, 1B/3B

Ben Hanson, 3B

Jake Glazer, SS

Ryan Raffo, 2B/P

Jackson Christy, 2B

Sawyer Pierce, OF

Luke Dressler, OF

Sean Pigden, OF

Jack Clark, OF

Brenden Ferguson, OF

Raphael Vickers, P/C

Manager: Mark Christy

Coach: Don Vickers