CMALL Majors All-Stars: First-round breakdown

Bryce Alderton

HUNTINGTON BEACH - Fundamentals can often separate the winning team

from the losing team.

On Saturday at Le Bard Park the fundamentals broke down for the Costa

Mesa American Little League Majors All-Stars, as they committed eight

errors, six in a six-run fifth to help Ocean View break turn a 4-0 lead

into a 10-2 win in a a first-round game of the double-elimination

District 62 All-Star Tournament.

Costa Mesa plays Tuesday at 5 p.m. at the same site.

“It falls back on the throws and the quickness in looking to the next

play,” said Costa Mesa Manager Scott Willson. “We got to balls just as

quickly as they did, but you have to stop the runners.”

On a play typifying Costa Mesa’s day, during Ocean View’s six-run

fifth, catcher Cody Spoulos threw to the charging shortstop in an attempt

to keep Ocean View runners Scott Baxter and Beau Amaral from advancing to

third and second base, respectively.

The shortstop caught the ball and immediately threw to third in an

attempt to get a running Baxter, but the ball got away from the third

baseman allowing Baxter to score. Amaral would then score on catcher

Michael Nakamura’s single to left-center field.

It’s a play Willson said they’ve worked on in practice, but just

didn’t pan out in the fifth.

Also in the inning, a throw that pulled the first baseman off the bag

to foil what could have been the second out, as well as a botched

fielder’s choice throw to third that gave Ocean View another out.

Ocean View took advantage of Costa Mesa’s miscues with Cole Tischer

singling to right field to plate one run, followed two batters later by

James Miller’s RBI single to left, both in the fifth.

“They could hit the ball from top to bottom,” Willson said. “We were

also hitting but they were making the plays.”

Costa Mesa managed only four hits and four walks off of four Ocean

View pitchers, scoring its only two runs in the bottom of the fifth after

Ocean View had built a 10-0 lead.

Jesse Dawson plated Costa Mesa’s first run with a single up the middle

that the center fielder bobbled as he was trying to pick up the ball. The

hit allowed Luke Boulger, who beat out a slow roller to the right side to

reach base, to score.

After Daniel Stelle walked and Spoulos laid down a bunt that trickled

down the third-base line for a single, Andrew Millian brought home Costa

Mesa’s final run with an RBI groundout to the second baseman.

Costa Mesa might have scored more in the inning, but Ocean View first

baseman Scott Baxter robbed Mike Willson of a hit when he reached up to

his left to snare a line drive.

With one out in the fourth, Costa Mesa mounted another scoring chance

with Millian reaching on a walk and starting pitcher Andrew Niles

reaching on an error.

Millian took third on Niles’ grounder and up came Andy Dawson, who hit

a grounder the shortstop fielded and threw home to attempt to catch

Millian, who had broken for the plate.

The catcher, Nakamura, ran Millian back toward third and threw to

third baseman Mickey Moses, who chased Millian back toward home and

eventually taggedhim for the second out. A strikeout ended the inning one

batter later.

Niles had the only other Costa Mesa hit in the second, singling

sharply to center.

Niles walked none and struck out one in 2 2/3 innings, while Dawson

pitched 3 1/3 innings, striking out two and walking two.”Andy Dawson did

a great job pitching-wise,” Willson said. “They had good pitching with

(Baxter) closing the door with that heat.”

Baxter struck out two in the ninth to get the save for starter Garrett

Shinn, who struck out four while allowing no runs on one hit and two

walks.

Philip Weber played solidly at shortstop for Costa Mesa, throwing to

third baseman Andy Venegas for the second out in the fourth and catching

a pop fly for the final out in the inning.

Spoulos and first baseman Dawson combined to pick off a runner at

first in the top of the second.

Spoulos fired to Dawson, who reached up and caught the ball and

managed to tag the retreating runner for the first out of the inning.