All-Stars Crush Washington, Earning Spot in Semis

For the Manhattan Beach Senior League All-Stars, it was just a walk in the ballpark.  Taking on the Washington state champions on Saturday at the Western Regionals, the Mustangs stuck to their tournament game plan of being patient at the plate and their patience was rewarded as they racked up 14 walks and collected some timely hits en route to a 15-0 victory.

"This team has done everything our staff has asked of them, and their hard work is evidenced by the results this team is getting," Manager Carlos Rojas said.

The Mustangs' offense wasted no time in picking up where they left off after scoring 11 and 13 runs in their first two games of the tournament. 

Ryan Erickson led off the game with a walk, and promptly stole second base to get into scoring position. Austin Henning then doubled to left field, bringing Erickson around to score. 

With the dangerous Bret Collins up to bat, Washington pitcher Matthew Dewald began to exhibit some control problems. Dewald threw back-to-back pitches low, then high leading to a passed ball and a wild pitch, which brought Henning around from second and into score the second run of the inning.

Dewald was able to get Collins to fly out, the first time in eight plate appearances in this tournament in which he did not reach base. After cleanup hitter Anthony Lombardo singled, Dewald struggled mightily with his control, walking four consecutive batters before being pulled in favor of reliever Mike Mazitelli. 

Things did not go well for Mazitelli at first either as he walked his first two batters.  The parade of walks kept the scoreboard operator busy as the score reached 7-0 with the bases loaded and only one out. Mazitelli was able to get out of the inning, inducing Henning to hit into a fielder's choice.  He then was able to get Collins to fly-out ending the inning.

"The schedule makers did not do that team any favors, they were playing their fourth game in four days and we knew their pitching would be a bit depleted," Rojas said. 

But, as was stressed prior to the tournament, the Mustangs resisted the urge to swing at bad pitches and waited for their opportunities to get hits.

"We were really comfortable out there, it's hard to see so many pitches.  You want to swing at something, but being disciplined is the key," Lombardo said.

Backed with a seven-run cushion to begin the game right-hander Carter Casady threw two scoreless innings for the victory.

"It's really reassuring to get runs on the board early, my defense played great and it made things easy for me.  I just went out and tried my best to throw strikes," Casady said.

The Mustangs would then turn to lefty Jackson Lipps for two scoreless innings of work that included three strikeouts. Rojas decided to limit his pitchers workload to keep them fresh for the rest of the tournament.

In the fourth, the first four Mustangs walked to begin the inning. Then, with some pitches to hit, they got into top gear as Erickson drove in two runs with a double, Jackson Casady added an RBI single and Lombardo collected his second hit of the game, triple to the wall in right field.

The six run fourth inning brought the score to 15-0 and put the Mustang in position for the mercy-rule decision as Morgan Ascher completed the shutout with a scoreless fifth inning.

Second baseman Sam O'Melia reached safely in all of his plate appearances collecting an RBI single to go along with two walks. First baseman Ryan Franklin drew three walks, and scored twice.

"Today was a great day for us, we stayed focused throughout and got some hits where we could. For us to win this tournament and advance, we know we will have to hit the ball more and we will be ready when we get those opportunities," O'Melia said.

Rojas was delighted with his bench's play getting strong performances from almost the entire roster in the 15-0 win.

"I'm thrilled with our performance so far this summer, it's been a team effort.  Everyone has stayed ready and when called upon, there hasn't been any drop off in intensity. Our staff with Aaron Medina, Jeff Cammann and Dean Jelmini has done an excellent job with this team," Rojas said.

The victory gives the Mustangs a 3-0 record in pool play and assures a berth in the semifinals round. They will look to build on their 12-0 summer tournament record as they take on the tournament host from Ontario Sunday at 7 p.m.