Ryan McCasland steals home. Photo by Michele Friszell
By Tom Murphy
La Jolla Youth Baseball (Read on La Jolla Light’s website)
The La Jolla Youth Baseball season comes to a close Saturday, May 18, 2013 with championship games in the Pinto, Mustang and Bronco divisions. Shetland doesn’t have playoffs, but a lot of kids will play post-season games on tournament teams. Pony schedules its inter-league playoffs over the Memorial Day weekend at Tecolote.
LJYB continues to lead San Diego Pony play with Aladdin maintaining its perfect record at 14-0, and On the Inside Design (OTID) moving into second place, following a come-from-behind bottom-of-the-eighth victory over Mira Mesa’s Storm.
Reed Farley pitches four innings last week. Photo by Michele Friszell
OTID went into extra innings tied 2-2 against Storm. La Jolla left the bases loaded three times along the way. Reed Farley pitched four solid innings. Mira Mesa picked up a couple of unearned runs off of closer Carson Greene. Chasing two, the bottom of the lineup produced a hit and a couple of walks.
Ryan McCasland stole home on a passed ball. With runners on the corners, two outs and two strikes, Greene crushed a high fastball into the gap that scored John Murphy from first to win the game — walk off style!
The two LJ teams face each other 5 p.m. Saturday for bragging rights. Nine Pony players will be recognized for their “Decade on the Diamond,” playing 10 consecutive years in LJYB.
Bronco division had double elimination playoff games with Pharmatek being the first team to go. Last week it overcame an 11-1 deficit to tie the game 12-12 going into the seventh inning against Morgan Stanley. MS pushed across a run to take the lead and P-tek was unable to match them, stranding the tying run on second. Last Saturday, the elimination game between Mitch’s Surf Shop and Pharmatek was a defensive and pitching battle with a 1-1 tie going into the sixth inning.
Coach Rick Macdonald executed his small-ball strategy with consecutive bunts that each produced runs. P-tek ended the inning on an interesting note with Marcus Scott on the hill, who pulled the infield in for a chat and called a hidden ball play with two outs and runners on the corners. When the ump called “play,” the third baseman still had the ball and casually tagged the runner on third, who was called out. Unfortunately, Pharmatek was out of tricks and Mitch’s won 4-1. Alexandria remains undefeated in the winner’s bracket. Bronco championship game: 2 p.m. Saturday.
Carson Green gets a winning hit in the bottom of the eighth inning. Photo by Michele Friszell
With a 14-3 record in the Mustang division, Sector 9 continues its march through the winner’s bracket in double-elimination play. Over the season, it had a commanding lead in both runs scored and runs against, which is the secret sauce to a winning season. PacVentures and Garden Communities are playing scrappy baseball and hanging tough. RAK has been the biggest surprise with its late-season hitting and improved defense, led by Luke Roberts and Nathan Latimer.
B of A Home Loans, Drache Feld and Alexandria have been eliminated. Mustang Championship game: noon Saturday.
With 10 teams in the Pinto division, Scoma Pediatric Dentistry, Donovan’s Steak & Chop House and Retirement Benefits Group have been eliminated in single-elimination format. RBC remains undefeated and like its Mustang counterpart, it dominates in runs scored and runs against, compared to the rest of the teams. Rotary Club of La Jolla, Voices for Children and Party City are very much in the hunt. Pinto Championship game: 10 a.m. Saturday.
• Following the festivities at Championship Saturday, LJYB will again serve as a host for the third annual “Home Run for Chelsea” tournament and benefit for Chelsea’s Light Foundation.
• LJYB will send a dozen teams to represent the league in the Memorial Day Tournament hosted by Tecolote Youth Baseball. Play starts May 21 and championship trophies will be handed out May 27. This tradition is a tuneup for the official PONY Sectional All Star Tournament June 22-July 2.
La Jolla Youth Baseball
Saturday, May 18, 2013 Schedule
• 10 a.m. – Pinto Championship
• Noon – Mustang Championship
• 2 p.m. – Bronco Championship
• 5 p.m. – Pony Home Finale, closing ceremony, league BBQ
• Website: lajollayouthbaseball.org
Reed Farley makes a base hit. Photo by Michele Friszell
Carson Green at the pitching mound. Photo by Michele Friszell
Congressman Scott Peters serves California’s 52nd Congressional District, which includes the cities of Coronado, Poway and most of northern San Diego. First elected in 2012, he currently serves on the House committees on Armed Services & on Science, Space, & Technology Committee.
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