Locals win ASA title

The North Huntington Beach Dynamites All-Stars continued their hot tournament touch last weekend by winning the American Softball Assn.-sponsored Central District All-Star 8-and-Under Girls Fastpitch Softball tournament in Laguna Niguel.

Coach Brian Sterzer’s club beat out 12 other All-Star teams from Orange County to win the double-elimination event.

In winning all five of their games, the Dynamites racked up 39 runs and 50 hits and surrendered just 11 runs and 18 hits.

The Dynamites advance to compete in the upcoming state championships in Lancaster.

The Dynamites defeated Orange/Villa Park (4-1), Mission Viejo (7-2), Los Alamitos (9-4) before pounding out 15 hits to rout a previously undefeated Cypress team, 12-2.

In the division’s title game, the Dynamites met up with a familiar foe, West Garden Grove, whom they had faced on five previous occasions during the All-Star season.

The Dynamites wasted little time in this sixth meeting between the teams, using four-straight hits in their first at-bat by their top of their order, Kristina Inouye, Hannah Howell, Ally Sterzer and Anna Kufta, to build a 3-0 lead. West Garden Grove scored its initial run in the second inning to pull to within 3-1 but in the third, the Dynamites posted a huge, two-out rally. Sterzer’s triple, singles from Kufta, Darcy Weiser and Kelly Kazempoor and Bailey Rall’s homer boosted the lead to 7-1.

The Dynamites went on to a title-clinching, 7-2 victory.

Along with Brian Sterzer, the Dynamites coaching staff includes Ken Inouye, Tom Jorgenson, Mike Barry, Rene Howell and Cindy Herron. The roster includes a pitching staff of Kristina Inouye, Hannah Howell and Ally Sterzer, catchers Camryn Hohneker and Kaitlin Barry, infielders Hannah Wessel, Jenny Herron, and Kelly Kazempoor, and outfielders Anna Kufta, Alexa Jorgenson, Bailey Rall and Darcy Weiser.

In other action:

Inferno second at district tournament

The South Huntington Beach Inferno, a 12-and-Under Silver All-Star team out of South Huntington Beach Girls Fastpitch Softball, finished second last weekend at the “C” District Warm-Up Tournament in Pico Rivera.

Inferno defeated Claremont (4-2) and Buena Park (3-1) on Saturday to finished first in its pool. On Sunday, the team defeated El Cajon (4-1) before coming up with a big comeback victory over Buena Park (3-2) in the semifinals.

Those four wins put Inferno in the division final where they took on the Pico MLGS. Inferno jumped out to a 3-0 lead but Pico scored six unanswered runs to forge a 6-3 lead. In the top of the sixth, with daylight and time running out, Inferno scored five runs to take a two-run lead. The game, however, was called due to darkness and the score reverted back to the previous inning, which left Inferno with a 6-3 loss. In the five tournaments they competed in, Inferno reached the semifinal round on four occasions. They finished their run with a 14-7 record.

The South Huntington Beach Inferno 12-U Silver All-Stars are Alison Jahansouz, Chanel Luis, Chelsea Dial, Angie Santopoalo, Breanna McCaa, Dana Kerins, Sinead Martin, Jessica Kuiper, Chiara DeMarco, Emily Stoner, Raegan Zschach, Tyler Ratzlaff and coaches Dan Kerins, Tony Santopoalo, Bob Stoner and Ken DeMarco.