CMALL Majors: Yankees fall in TOC

Tony Altobelli

HUNTINGTON BEACH - The Costa Mesa American Little League Yankees

and the Huntington Valley Angels combined for 18 strikeouts Monday in the

District 62 Area 1 Tournament of Champions.

Unfortunately for Mesa, the locals were on the receiving end of more

punchouts, resulting in a 3-2 opening-round loss on the Majors diamond at

the Robinwood Little League field.

“I’ve come to three of these TOCs and I’m 0 for 3,” Yankees Coach Stein

Cozad said. “Our team battled hard all game, but we came up a little

short.”

A three-run second inning turned out to be the difference for the Angels

as both teams’ offenses struggled against the tough pitching.

The Yankees’ duo of Jordan Kalke and Branden Hoffman allowed two earned

runs on four hits with six strikeouts.

“Our guys pitched real well,” Cozad said. “They’ve pitched well all

season long, just like all of our pitchers this season.”

The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. With one out, Isaiah

Verdel walked, went to second, then third, on consecutive wild pitches

and scored on an infield single by Kalke.

The Angels responded in the second, sending eight men to the plate, while

scoring three. The third run, scored on a defensive miscue by the

Yankees, turned out to be the game-winner.

“If we don’t make that mistake, we’re still playing right now,” Cozad

said. “But, that’s baseball, I guess.”

A strong defensive play in the third kept the Yankees in the hunt.

With a runner on third and only one out, second baseman Skylar Crane

snagged a sharp one-hopper, caught the runner leaning too far off the bag

and fired a strike to third baseman Skyler Cozad, who tagged the runner

out.

The Yankees best chance to score came in the fourth inning when they had

runners on second and third with only out. However the Angels managed to

get two of their 12 strikeouts on the next two batters, ending the

threat.

Hoffman smacked his eighth home run of the season to lead off the sixth

inning, but the Angels retired the side after that.

“This is a group of kids that never quits,” Cozad said. “We’ve battled

hard all season and that’s something to be proud of.”

The Yankees, who finished the season 21-8, will have six players (Cozad,

Hoffman, Kalke, Werdel, Ricky Sepulveda and Dave Chambers) on the CMALL

All-Star team, which begins play July 8.