Early lead hard to hold for Mets

WESTMINSTER — In the top of the first inning, the Costa Mesa National Little League Minor A Mets were kicking off the game in grand style.

They scored four runs, as Adam Ditt, Jackson Letterman, Kohl Ponsford and Hayden Swift all crossed home to give Costa Mesa an early lead.

For the rest of the game, though, the Mets were kicking something else, Manager Steve Ehrhorn said Tuesday.

“We kicked ourselves in the pants a little,” Ehrhorn said after the Mets suffered a season-ending loss to the Westminster Dodgers, 7-4, in a District 62 Tournament of Champions Minor A quarterfinal at Johnson Middle School.

“We didn’t play up to our potential, and they did. That’s just the way baseball is.”

For the Dodgers, bouncing back from the Mets’ strong start meant scoring three runs of their own in the bottom of the first, pulling within 4-3.

The score stayed the same until the bottom of the fourth, developing into a pitching battle in which the Mets (13-4) still seemed to have an edge. But Westminster suddenly scored four runs to surge ahead.

The Dodgers were helped out by two errors in the inning, one on a late throw home and one on a strange play where the Mets threw to first instead of tagging a passing runner who was trying to get out of the way.

“We just weren’t doing what we were supposed to be doing,” Ehrhorn said. “Too many errors on our part. But it’s a bunch of good guys, a good team. We’re better on morning games, though.”

Instead, the twilight late in the game seemed to symbolize the Mets’ ending season. They had a single hit in each of the last five innings, including a double by Ditt in the second, a nicely executed bunt hit by Nikalas Arias in the fourth and a two-out double in the sixth by Swift.

But Westminster (16-6) immediately recovered from Swift’s attempt to prolong the game, as relief pitcher Mitchell Barnes recorded a strikeout to end the game.

“They’re excited,” Westminster Manager Mark Steinert said. “I don’t really think they expected it. In the past couple of years, Westminster has gotten out of these things pretty quick. I had to do a sales job with them before we started to tell them we could do it. We only have three teams at every level.”

Brad Ehrhorn pitched four gritty innings for the Mets, striking out seven. Steve Ehrhorn said it was his son’s longest outing of the year. Noah JeyaRajah came on in relief for a one-two-three sixth inning, striking out one.

Also adding hits for Costa Mesa National were Juan Loza (an RBI triple in the first) and Ehrhorn, who singled in the third. Ditt, the starting shortstop and leadoff hitter, reached base all three times up.

“We just made some errors,” Steve Ehrhorn told his team after the game. “Even the [Major League Baseball] Angels do that sometimes.

“Don’t get down on yourselves. Be happy with what you guys accomplished.”

THE METS: Adam Ditt, Brad Ehrhorn, Jackson Letterman, Kohl Ponsford, Noah JeyaRajah, Hayden Swift, Juan Loza, Nikalas Arias, A.J. Fisher, Marco Manon, Bobby Muniz.

In other District 62 TOC action from Tuesday night, the Costa Mesa National Little League Minor B Mets were eliminated after losing to the Robinwood Yankees, 7-3, in a Minor B quarterfinal.

Michael McClanahan was three for three with two runs scored for the Mets. McClanahan finished his TOC seven for seven.

Brandon Jensen and Jake Ponsford both had RBI doubles for Costa Mesa, and Tanner Riedle was two for two with a double. Christian Kent scored a run, and Andrew Halloran (first base) and Gianna Guyot (left field) both made nice catches to keep the Mets in the game.

“It was a good season,” Mets Manager Mike McClanahan said. “The kids hunkered down and fought. They were happy they made it to TOC.”

MATT SZABO may be reached at (714) 966-4614 or at matthew.szabo@latimes.com.