Finishing Strong
- Updated: July 22, 2019
It was a slow start for Santa Margarita National Little League(SMNLL) during their opening round battle at the 2019 Little League Southern California State All-Star Tournament. They say it is how you finish though, and SMNLL finished hot in their game against Sherman Oaks Southern Little League(SOSLL). The kids from SMNLL ended up defeating SOSLL 8-1 in their game Saturday at Marty Yusso Youth Athletic Park(Home of North Mission Viejo Little League).
Before I go any further, I want to mention that all the pictures you see in this article(including the one in the title) come from the amazing Robin Gray. Her shots of the game and atmosphere are fantastic and I am blessed to be able to use them.
Tyler Dunning took the ball to start the game on the mound for SMNLL. SOSLL came out aggressive and had a rally going in the bottom of the first, but Dunning and his teammates were very adept at getting out of the jam. It was a potential turning point very early in the game. Coach John Casarietti was impressed saying that “I thought he(Dunning) pitched really well. I thought he hit all his spots.” Photograph below by Robin Gray
The game proved tight for awhile, but SMNLL took control with four in the third inning, two in the fifth and two in the sixth. Sherman Oaks countered with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth. Evan Hall, of the winning squad, had a tremendous game. One of his hits left the yard and contributed to his multiple RBI day.
Santa Margarita National got contributions from so many players. Singles and doubles were constantly falling all over the field. “These kids see a lot of baseball and they are able to hit,” said Coach Casarietti. The gloves shined too! Ryan Lopas made a great catch on a hot line drive. Will Casarietti was sharp again at shortstop, and Brady Ford, playing second, made every ball hit at him look routine. Dunning even jumped off the mound to help himself and his team by making a nice play on a squib hit. SMNLL’s pitching was a big part of the day’s story. Dunning pitched five excellent innings and he seemed to get stronger as the game went on. He finished with six strikeouts. Grant Degulis did a really fine job closing out the game on the mound in the 6th. He recorded two strikeouts to quash any hope that Sherman Oaks had of possibly coming back. Photograph below by Robin Gray
SMNLL finished strong in this game. Coach Casarietti said “We stuck to our gameplan.” However, it wasn’t long before they had to get out on the beautiful fields at North Mission Viejo to take on another team from the Los Angeles area. Manhattan Beach was next.
Sunday’s game saw Santa Margarita National taking on Manhattan Little League from Manhattan Beach. The game started a lot like the game SMNLL played on Saturday. A scoreless first inning raised hopes that it could be a game that goes down to the wire. However, SMNLL made quicker work of their opponent in this game. They scored three in the second, one in the third and three in the fourth. A few errors by Manhattan wound up contributing to some of the scoring. The bats were still there though for SMNLL with the highlight being Tyler Dunning’s three-run homer. Photograph below by Robin Gray
The weekend was fun for Santa Margarita National. Things heat up big time for them now. A Tuesday night showdown with Sweetwater Valley Little League from the San Diego area(Once again, please read the articles that Rebbi Rabbs churns out about Little League) could be the best game of this fun tournament that District 68 is putting on. Don’t miss it if you are anywhere in the vicinity! Photograph below by Robin Gray
NOTES FROM THE WEEKEND AT YAP IN MV!
***Are Montreal Expo colors the new trend? The uniforms of both Temecula and Tustin Western have me thinking about Expo baseball.
***Greg Raths, Mission Viejo’s mayor threw out the first pitch to open up the tournament.
***As I keep saying, District 68 is doing a wonderful job with these tournaments. A nice program they put out is just the latest touch.
***Loud crowds(I mean that in a positive way): Sweetwater Valley, Sherman Oaks and Santa Margarita National top the list, from what I have heard.
***Tustin Western Little League has shown some grit after finishing their Section 5 play on Thursday night. After not much rest, the team from Tustin won their first two games. They have a big game against Moorpark on Tuesday night. Their game starts at 5:30 and the Sweetwater Valley Vs. SMNLL game begins at 6:00.
***The wonderful announcer at the Tustin Western game on Saturday gave a shout out to two Tustin players who were celebrating birthdays: Andrew Rieth and Eric Zweber.
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