Capoccia elite talent on diamond

When most of the batters moved back in the box, Dante Capoccia inched closer to the mound.

Capoccia dared the pitcher to fire one past him. It never worked out for the pitcher against the left-handed hitting Capoccia.

He hit the ball harder than anyone else during the Little League District 62 Tournament of Champions.

No one threw it harder than the right-handed throwing Capoccia, either.

The 12-year-old put on a show and lifted the Costa Mesa National Little League Red Sox to the league’s first Majors Division title at the TOC last week.

The numbers Capoccia posted, four home runs, including a grand slam, 13 runs batted in, and a .768 average (10 for 13), put Capoccia alongside some the best players to come out of CMNLL.

Names like Tyler Rios and A.J. Roth first come to mind for longtime coach/manager Rob Stillman when comparing the CMNLL’s finest.

“[Capoccia is] definitely one of the top [players],” said Stillman, who coached his second TOC champion. “Tyler Rios last year was a great player. [His] team actually won the Pony championship this year in the 13- and 14-year-old division with almost all 13-year-olds.

“There’s A.J. Roth, who was a great player. He was in a division above [when I coached]. He’s probably the best [CMNLL] hitter, but Dante’s pretty good.”

If you ask the opposition, they’ll say Capoccia is more than pretty good.

You can see it for yourself as Capoccia will play for Costa Mesa National in the District 62 All-Star Tournament, which starts today. Costa Mesa National plays Huntington Valley at LeBard Park in Huntington Beach at 10 a.m.

Capoccia is joined on the team, comprised of 11- and 12-year-olds, by a couple of Red Sox teammates, third baseman Jeff Dottl and infielder/pitcher Levi Stillman. Rob Stillman is the manager.

Even on an all-star team, Capoccia stands out.

Capoccia isn’t as tall as Roth was in 2005 as a 6-foot, 156-pound 12-year-old.

Like Roth, who’s now a sophomore at Mater Dei, the 5-7, 140-pound Capoccia is coordinated. This is the key to his success because Stillman said most tall players aren’t as fluid at his age.

“He’s always pitching [to his strengths],” Stillman said. “He has some nice size. He has a good mound presence. There [are] a lot of big kids in Little League, but there [are] a lot that don’t know how to pitch. He just knows how to pitch.”

Helping Capoccia is the heat. He brings it often, helping him record 27 strikeouts in 11 innings during the TOC.

Stillman said Capoccia throws 73 mph. It looks faster because the rubber is closer to the plate in Little League than in high school.

As for Capoccia’s high school plans, they probably won’t include Costa Mesa or Estancia, two programs Capoccia could bolster with his arm and bat.

Brian Capoccia, Dante’s father, said his son will most likely play at Edison.

Dante said the reason has to do with Edison having a “really good baseball team.”

“We’re probably going to move like in the track [homes] right behind [the school],” said Dante, who has hit nine home runs this season.

As of now, the only moving Capoccia will do is up in the batter’s box.

No one has figured out how to strike out Capoccia all year. Or stop him.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com,