Two Costa Mesa teams fall

HUNTINGTON BEACH ? One game was close and one wasn’t, but both the Costa Mesa American Little League 9- and 10-year-old All-Stars and the Costa Mesa National Little League 9-10 All-Stars lost first-round District 62 games Saturday at LeBard Park.

The Costa Mesa National team fell, 8-5, to Huntington Valley.

The Costa Mesa American team lost, 11-1, to Seaview in five innings.

The two teams will play each other in the losers’ bracket of the double-elimination tournament on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., also at LeBard Park.

The Costa Mesa National All-Stars fell behind, 5-0, in the fourth inning but rallied to tie.

Costa Mesa scored four runs in the fifth inning. The rally included a Kohl Ponsford’s home run, a walk to Dylan Reyes and Ryan West’s single.

But Huntington Valley added three runs in the sixth inning.

“A couple of misplayed fly balls was the difference in the game,” Costa Mesa National Manager Bee Jay Mazur said. “But [the kids] battled back. They didn’t hang their heads. It’s a double-elimination tournament, so now they know they can come back.”

The Costa Mesa American All-Stars scored the first run of their game, as Ryan Taormina drew a walk and came home on Steven Kipp’s double.

But it was all Seaview from then on, as the hosts scored twice in the first inning, four times in both the second and fourth innings, then added another run in the fifth to end it via the 10-run mercy rule.

“We had seven errors that led to nine unearned runs,” Costa Mesa American Manager Mike Pawinski said. “That’s what took us out.”