TEAM ROSTER
Manager: Ken Jakeme r(Dodgers)
Coaches: Rick Romo (Dodgers)
Victor Merrill (Dodgers)
Vic Troutman (Indians)
Chase DeJong (Angels)
Avery Flores (Angels)
Thomas Walker (Angels)
Soloman Williams (Athletics)
Cody Elder (Dodgers)
Brett Harper (Dodgers)
Irie Elizalde (Indians)
Matt Maccarrone (Indians)
Oliver Van Buskirk (Indians)
Daniel DeWolf (Red Sox)
Jake Hardy (Red Sox)
Matthew Heavin (Red Sox)
Victor Martinez (Red Sox)
Ty Provencher (Red Sox)
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SCHEDULE AND NOTES
PONY Section Tournament @ Whaley Park
[CLICK HERE FOR BRACKET]
Game 1 : July 12 - Long Beach 11, Lynwood 1
Game 2 : July 15 - Long Beach 15, Heartwell 3
Game 3 : July 19 - Long Beach 18, Norwalk 7
(Long Beach Wins Section Championship)
PONY Super-Region Tournament @ Whittier
York Field, Whittier, CA
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Game 1 : July 22 - Long Beach 1, Redlands 0
Game 2 : July 24 - Long Beach 4, Anaheim 2
Game 3 : July 27 - Long Beach 9, Emerald 0
Game 4 : July 29 - Long Beach 13, Whittier 5
(Long Beach Wins 'Super' Region Championship)
PONY West Zone Tournament @ Fullerton
Amerige Field, Fullerton, CA
300 Commonwealth Rd., Fullerton
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Game 1: 8/2 - Long Beach 10, West Jordan, UT 0
Game 2: 8/3 - Long Beach 4, Tucson, AZ 3
Game 3: 8/4 - Long Beach 6, Tucson, AZ 5
Game 4: 8/6 - Long Beach 10, Victoria 7
(Long Beach Wins West Zone Championship)
PONY World Series @ Washingtton, PA
Lew Hayes Field, Washington, PA
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Game 1: 8/10 - Long Beach 5, Tamiami, FL 1
Game 2: 8/12 - Long Beach 10, Hagerstown, MD 4
Game 3: 8/14 - Long Beach 9, Tamiami, FL 7
Game 4: 8/16 - Long Beach 3, Chinese-Taipei 2
(Long Beach Wins World Series Championship)
August 6 - It all came down to one single game to decide the West Zone Championship, and a trip to Pennsylvania, and the PONY World Series. On one side stood the undefeated Long Beach All-stars (10-0), vying to reach the pinnacle event for the second year in a row. On the other side was Riverside Victoria, the Super-Region runner-up, and a team riding a big wave of momentum, following their back-2-back wins over Hawaii. The setting was perfect and the stands were filled beyond capacity as the teams were introduced.
With a healthy line-up for the first time in days, Long Beach sent pitcher Soloman Williams to the mound. He started out a bit rusty as the lead-off man drew a walk. After falling behind to the next hitter, he delivered a strike that was driven to the fence in right center for a double, driving in the first run of the game. But that would be all, as Williams retired the next three hitters easily as the Beach came to bat in the bottom of the 1st.
Starting the inning off, Brett Harper jumped on a 0-2 fastball and doubled down the line in left. Daniel DeWolf's sharp singled moved him to third, where Thomas Walker would drive him home with another single. Williams followed with a walk to load the bases bringing up Irie Elizalde with nobody out. Irie's 2-2 smash down the left field line scored 2 more runs, before Victoria made a pitching change with the score 4-1 Long Beach. Another run would score on a passed ball, before the inning would end with a solid 5 runs.
Victoria was unable to muster any offense against Williams in the 2nd, going down 1-2-3. Back up to bat, Long Beach battled back as Walkers reached base on a 2-out single. Williams laced a single to left that scored Walker, and Matt Maccarrone singled home Williams to increase the lead to 7-1, after 2 innings.
However, Victoria was not going to go quietly. They strung together 4 consecutive singles with 1-out, scoring 1 run and threatening to score more. The next batter hit another sharp grounder towards the 5-6 hole that luckily hit the base runner for the 2nd out. The next batter lined the ball right at DeWolf at third for the final out, and a minor escape for the Beach.
This time Long Beach did not mount much of an attack, as the inning ended 7-2. Again, Victoria came roaring back with a walk, and 3 straight 1-out singles, to plate 2 more runs. A fly ball out to left for the second out brought up the #3 hitter, who singled sharply to left, where Elizalde scooped up the ball and threw a strike to Maccarrone at the plate to nail the runner to end the inning. The game was getting tighter as the lead was down to 7-5.
Again, the Long Beach bats failed to produce enough to score, wasting an Elizalde double in the inning. Williams again took the mound in the 5th, and got into a quick rhythm, striking out the clean-up hitter to begin the inning. However a single and a double would score a run, and put the tying run at 2nd. LOng Beach called on Daniel DeWolf to come close the door, and he complied by getting a long fly out to Harper in center and a pop foul out to first.
With a tiny 7-6 lead and momentum on Victoria's side, the Beach found themselves with two outs and a runner on first as the top of the order came up. A passed ball sent Flores to second, and Victoria chose to walk the dangerous Harper to face DeWolf. (The coaching staff was very happy with this development). With a 2-0 count, DeWolf jumped on a fastball away and drove it over the right fielders head to drive in both runs, and give Long Beach some huge insurance runs.
In the top of the 6th, DeWolf gave up a lead-off double, and then two fly ball outs, before a single brought the tying run to the plate in the cleanup hitter. Not to worry, as DeWolf struck him out to end the threat, and put Long Beach three outs away from a return trip to Pennsylvania. Before they could do that, they had to bat.....and Williams led off with a single, and Elizalde was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. A fielders choice and pop out put runners at first and third with 2 away. The coaches called the delayed steal, and this time Ty Provencher played the part perfectly, stopping and getting in a pickle as Williams stole home with another rune. The Beach was now up 10-6, as they headed to the 7th.
DeWolf came out throwing strikes, and the first batter hit a laser up the middle that was snagged by DeWolf for the out. The next hitter flew out easily to Harper in center, before a single and an error turned up the stress meeter a few notches...but a grounder to Walker at short was fielded cleanly for the final out and Long Beach was the West Zone Champion for the second year in a row.
We played a solid game, and held on when the very strong Victoria team cut it to a 1 run game. Daniel DeWolf stepped up and continued his clucth run on the mound and at the plate. Soloman Williams battled into the 5th with a l;ead, and also delivered clutch hits to support his cause. We get on a plane on Friday to fly to Pennsylvania, so check back with us from there!
Thanks for all of the support and well wishes from the friends, families, and fans of this exciting team. Go Long Beach!
August 4 - And on the third day, there was neck pain. Lots of it.
When the Long Beach players arose from their joyful dreams of the night before, at least one neck was out of whack. Left fielder Irie Elizalde joined the list of players under the weather, even after a busy day of chiropractors and massage therapy. Lump that along with a still visibly ailing Soloman Williams, and a semi-concussed Matt Maccarrone...and it was apparent that this would be another gut check TEAM game.
The coaches decided to put the ball in Brett Harper's hands for this big game, and they also inserted Jake Hardy into the line-up to catch, sending Maccarrone to left field replacing Elizalde in the starting line-up.
Once again, Long Beach won the toss and chose to be the home team. The Tucson team had to play an earlier game against Utah, and won 7-3 to reach this game. As play got underway, Harper showed he was ready to battle by retiring them 1-2-3 on only 10 pitches. In the bottom of the 1st, Harper got things going with sharp single to left. Daniel DeWolf followed that with a triple into the gap in right center scoring Harper with the first run of the game. Thomas Walker, still feeling the effects of his migraine headache from the night before, worked a great at bat before scoring DeWolf from 3rd with a ground out to short. After a strike out, Matt M. drove his own triple into the right center field alley, but he would be stranded there as the Beach took an early 2-0 lead.
In the second, Harper got ahead on the clean-up hitter, but left a breaking ball over the plate and it was driven to center for a hit. After a fly out to center, and successful(?) steal attempt, the next hitter drove a double to left scoring the run. An easy ground out to Avery Flores at 2B for the second out advanced the runner to third and brought up the #8 hitter. Harper induced an easy ground ball, but it was bobbled and another run had scored. With the game tied, Harper got the next hitter to send an easy fly ball to right field...but it too was booted, and Tucson had two men on as the top of the order came back up to bat. After getting behind in the count, an elevated change-up was really elevated...over the wall in left field for a 3 run HR and Long Beach was down 5-2. Harper stayed calm, and got the last out on another fly to right that was caught.
Having to respond, and quickly, the bottom three in the order came up and produced. A single by Hardy, a single by Matt Heavin, and a solid single by Flores brought up the top, where Harper joined in with a sharp single to drive in a run. DeWolf forced in a run with a base on balls, and a pitching change was made with the score 5-4, bases loaded an nobody out. Things were looking good as Walker stepped to the plate. But the pitcher used an assortment of pitches to strike him out. He did the same to Williams. And he finished off the inning by doing the same thing to Maccarrone. A very disappointed LB team returned to the field to start the 3rd inning, down 5-4.
But Harper was not giving up, and he kept working as he got a ground out to second, and a liner to first for two quick outs. The next hitter would smack a single to left, but the inning ended on a fielder choice grounder to Flores who flipped it to Walker in time. On offense, the Beach tried to get the rally started again, but a sinking liner by Martinez was ruled a catch? Really? A solid single to left by Hardy, a long fly out by Heavin, and a walk to Flores brought Harper up with runners on base. But his sharp one hopper to first was held on for the out, ending the 3rd.
In the 4th , the bottom of the Tucson order faced Harper. A grounder to second was misplayed, and the leadoff man was aboard. Harper took care of that himself, by picking the runner off at first for 1 out. The next hitter singled to right and advanced to second on a blocked ball. Harper got another fly to centerfield for the second out...bringing up the top of the order again. With a 2-1 count on the very dangerous lead-off man, Walker and Harper executed a perfect pick-off play at second, to end the inning.
The momentum from the big plays did not translate into offense in the bottom of the 4th, as the Beach wasted a Walker single, before meekly ending the inning on a double play.
The Tucson top of the order was waiting for Harper in the 5th, but Brett was dealing now. He struck out the lead-off man looking at strike three, and got the next hitter to also go down swinging. A brief lapse in control turned into a walk, before the final out was made on a 0-2 ground out to Williams at first.
The bottom of the 5th started out with a solid single by Maccarrone, and a sharp grounder by Martinez that was booted allowing Maccarrone to advance to third. Up stepped Hardy, and Coach Romo gave him the squeeze sign. A perfectly placed bunt scored the run, tying the game. Oliver Van Buskirk entered the game to pinch hit, Tucson obviously remembered his last hit (HR), and he walked on 4 pitches. Flores came to the plate and grounded a ball to second, who went to SS for one, and that was all. There were two outs, with runners on the corners...as the Tucson coach went to the mound. The Beach runners and coaches huddled and plotted their strategy, 'Give Harper 2 strikes, and then try an early steal'. Play resumed, and Harper swung and missed at strike one. A ball was thrown, and then a called strike on the outside corner put the count at 1-2. Flores took the lead at first, and Martinez edged of the base at third as the pitcher took his sign. As he began his motion and came set, Flores bolted for second base eliciting screams of 'Step off' from the Tucson infield. The pitcher reacted and stepped off and whirled to throw to second, as Martinez sprinted towards home plate. The throw to second was just a bit off line, as Avery slid head first under the tag, and the run crossed home plate uncontested to give Long Beach a 6-5 lead. Harper would foul off a couple more strikes before flying out to center field to end the inning.
In the top of the 6th, with the lead and only 2 innings to go, Coach Jakemer called on Daniel DeWolf to close down the game. He was greeting by a quick single up the middle. Unfazed, DeWolf proceeded to strike out the next two hitters, before a single to center put two runners on base. Calmly, DeWolf would work out of it striking out the #9 hitter ending the inning. The Beach tried to pad the lead, and came out stroking line drives. However DeWolf's bid was juggled for a catch, Walker's sinking liner was caught on the dive by the center fielder, before Soloman beat out a single. The inning ended there with a strike out, as the Beach headed back out to the field for the 7th inning.
Once again, Tucson sent their top batters up to start the inning. DeWolf kept throwing his nasty curve and struck out the lead-off man looking. He got the next hitter to strike out on a pitch in the dirt, as Hardy properly blocked the ball and threw the runner out at first. The final batter drove a 0-2 curve ball high and far into center field, but Harper got underneath it for the catch, and Long Beach had a tremendous 6-5 win.
Again, this team came through when it had to. They battled a very well coached, talented baseball team the past two games, and are extremely fortunate to come away with these wins. Despite making 5 errors in the game, and seeing countless breaks go the other way, this was a victory for the entire TEAM to be proud of.
Next up is the Zone Championship Game against the winner of tomorrow's Victoria / Hawaii game at 6:30 PM. The Championship Game is on Wednesday at 6:30 PM.
Come on out and root these boys on to the Zone championship!!
August 3 - The second round of the Zone tournament found Long Beach with an assortment of concerns entering play against a very strong Tucson, AZ team. As game time approached, Manager Ken Jakemer was faced with a terribly sick starting pitcher and shortstop with a severe migraine headache, as he made out various line-up cards to handle the potential available roster.
Taking the field to start the game for Long Beach was a very courageous Soloman Williams, who hours earlier was sick at home and resting. His desire to be on the field, allowed him to get on the mound and retire the side without allowing a hit, thanks to a great diving catch by Avery Flores. Long Beach came up to bat and Brett Harper got things going with a single. But he was quickly erased on the back-end of a failed bunt pop-up double play. A single by Thomas Walker just added to the pain of the previous play, and Long Beach missed an opportunity when the weakened Williams struck out to end the inning.
Heading out to the mound for the second inning proved to be more than Soloman could handle, and he exited the game...and the park, as he went home to rest and recover. So the emergency call to the bullpen was answered again by Ty Provencher, who came in and got a quick ground out to Flores for 1 out. After back-to-back singles, Tucson bunted the runners over for the second out as the top of the order came up. On a 1-0 pitch, catcher Matt Maccarrone fired a strike to Daniel DeWolf at third for an inning ending pick-off. On offense, the Beach was having difficulty making solid contact against the AZ pitcher, and the 2nd ended tied 0-0.
The third inning saw Provencher record two more quick outs, before a 3-2 fastball was hit for a double. But Ty made some great pitches and got the next batter to ground out, stranding the runner at second. Back on the offensive, DeWolf ripped a one-out single, and Walker walked. But the inning ended with a fielder's choice and strike out.
Working his third inning of the game, Ty started off by getting a long fly out to centerfield, then a single put a runner on base. But Ty was in a groove and struck out the next batter, and then got an easy pop up to shut the door. Trying to make something happen, Long Beach got a single by Maccarrone down the left field line. On a 2-2 pitch to Victor Martinez, Matt took off stealing, but slipped half-way there. The easy out was followed by ball 4 to Victor, and Flores delivered his second hit of the game (a high infield chopper). Unfortunately, no runners would score then or afterward as the next hitters went down meekly.
On to the 5th, as Provencher remained in the game. He was greeted by a leadoff single, which was followed by a sharp line drive right at DeWolf who snaged it and fired to Matt Heavin at first to double up the runner. The lead-off batter stepped up and lofted a long fly ball to leftfield that was misplayed into a double. Again, Provencher worked a full count and tried to throw the fastball, but it was smacked for a double and Arizona had the first run of the game. The inning ended on a nice running catch by Martinez in leftfield. The Beach appeared down as they came to bat, and the meat of the order went down weakly 1-2-3, failing to hit the ball out of the infield.
In the sixth inning, Tucson came out looking to finish the job as they doubled off the fence in left field. A call was made to the bullpen for Oliver Van Buskirk, who came on for Ty. On the first pitch he threw, a long fly ball was driven to centerfield, where Harper ran it down with a great catch going away. The next batter drove a high fastball where even Harper couldn't get to it, over the fence for a 2 run HR, and a 3-0 lead. The inning would end without further damage from a single, a fly out to right, and another fly to Harper in CF. Really facing adversity, the Beach made two more quick outs before Van Buskirk came up for the first time. He found a pitch in his wheelhouse, and smashed a long HR over the fence in left giving Long Beach some life, and cutting the lead to 3-1. Flores came up and single, before Heavin drove another fly ball deep to left. But this one stayed in the park and the inning way over.
The 7th inning featured the top of the order for each team, as AZ came to bat. Feeding off the adrenaline from his HR, Oliver struck out the first two batters before walking the next one, bringing up the clean up hitter. Again, another call was made to the bully, and this time DeWolf answered. His 4 pitch strikeout ended the threat, and gave LB one more chance at the game.
With their tournament chances hanging in the balance, Long Beach supporters and players got up and got vocal. Brett led off by smacking the first pitch into centerfield for a single. Next up, Daniel drove a ball into the gap in left center for a double, and the Beach had the tying runs at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. As Thomas strode to the plate, the Tucson coach went to the mound to strategize. After keeping the ball away from him early in the count, they came in with a strike and then Thomas fouled off a fastball as the count worked it's way to 3-2. The next pitch was a curve, one that had been very effective all game long. But Walker waited perfectly on the ball and drove a screaming line drive to centerfield that landed for a single, and bounced by the center fielder to the fence. Both runs scored as Thomas slid in head first with a triple. A pitching change was made, as Provencher came up with a chance to win the game. With the infield in, Ty attacked the first pitch he saw and lofted a fly over the first baseman's head for a single, and the game winning RBI.
Long Beach had come back against a very solid team, when so many factors were working against them. This was a tremendous TEAM victory, and absolutely the type of games teams must win to keep playing in the PONY tournament. We hope for a speedy recovery by the members of the team currently in sick bay.
Next up is a return match against Tucson, Arizona on Monday at 6:30 PM in Fullerton. Come on out and root these boys on to the Zone championship!!
August 2 - The 2008 West Zone tournament got underway as Long Beach faced the Utah representative West Jordan. After the teams were announced and had lined the baselines, the game got underway and the visitors (Long Beach) came up to bat .
It was not a pretty start for the Utah pitcher as he proceeded to walk Brett Harper, and hit Daniel DeWolf and Thomas Walker with pitches, before walking Soloman (Walker) Williams and Irie Elizalde. That worked out to 2 runs across and the bases loaded for Matt Maccarrone. His medium liner back at the pitcher was turned into a double play at 3B, and a fielder choice ended the top of the inning with a disappointing 2 runs.
Assigned with the task of pitching the opening game against Utah, Oliver Van Buskirk came out focused and struck out the first hitter. However the next batter gamely wore a 1-2 inside curve ball, and advanced to first. The following hitter worked a bases on balls, and things were a bit concerning as action stirred in the bullpen. But Van Buskirk took over from there and struck out the next two hitters, standing the runners and end the inning with Long Beach up 2-0.
In the 2nd inning, Van Buskirk led off by being hit by the pitch. Matt Heavin smacked a grounder to the third baseman, who threw and forced the runner at second. After a Heavin steal, Harper doubled down the left field line for an RBI, then DeWolf followed that with a walk, and Walker and Williams both singled. The score would end 6-0 as we wend to the bottom of the 2nd.
Van Buskirk picked up where he left off, striking out the first two hitters of the inning before again putting two runners on base as two walks to the 8 and 9 hitters brought up the top of the order. But a perfectly executed pick-off from Van Buskirk to Walker at second caught the runner napping, and the inning ended with no runs being scored by Utah.
The third inning produced more Long Beach action as Victor Martinez led off with a walk. An Avery Flores single and a Harper single scored a run, and DeWolf's sacrifice fly to right brought home another. With two outs, Walker would single home a run, and Williams would single home a run of his own as the lead extended to 10-0.
Taking the mound in the bottom of the 3rd was Brett Harper. The long dormant pitcher came on and got a quick bunt comebacker, which he fielded and threw to first for the out. But the next two batters would reach base on walks, as Harper struggled to find the plate. Two quick balls to the next batter, brought the manager out to the mound for a quick reminder to 'throw the ball over the plate and let your defense help you out....or else'. That seemed to get Brett's attention as he found the zone and struck out the batter on the next 3 pitches. The next batter popped the ball up to Harper for the final out of the inning.
The 4th and 5th innings were non-eventful from a Long Beach offensive perspective, except for a Martinez single that was erased on a Cody Elder double play liner. But on the defensive side, Harper was starting to have fun again...and he was hitting his spots. He induced an easy grounder to short, and then struck out back to back batters to end the 4th. In the 5th, Harper would strike out the leadoff man, allow a walk, a pop up to short, and then strike out the last batter of the game.
Long Beach pitchers threw a great game, as Oliver and Brett both recorded 5 strike outs while not allowing a single hit in the entire game. Great job guys!
Next up is Tucson, Arizona on Sunday at 5:00 PM in Fullerton. Come on out and root these boys on to the Zone championship!!
July 29 - Long Beach Pony came out against the host Whittier team for the Region Championship on Tuesday evening at York Park, with a simple plan to get an early lead and rely on their pitching and defense to keep the game under control. However, the execution of that plan did not go as smoothly as diagramed out on paper.
The Beach sent Chase DeJong out to the bump for the big game, and he got things started by showing the Whittier team that they had a very difficult road ahead. He struck out the first three batters of the game with an over-powering fastball. In the bottom of the first, Daniel DeWolf drew a walk and stole second base, before Thomas Walker singled him home with the first run of the game. As the inning ended, Long Beach had an early 1-0 lead.
In the second, things went astray with DeJong's control, and Whittier mounted a rally. After a pair of hit batters and a failed force out, Whittier got their first run on a passed ball, tying the score at 1. A base on balls, another hit batter, a sacrifice bunt, and a 2 run single to left scored 4 more runs as Whittier took a 5-1 lead. Ty Provencher was summoned from the pen, and he came on and ended the threat by getting two quick outs to close the inning.
Facing their first deficit of the tournament, the Beach responded the way good teams are supposed to. With one on and one out, Provencher drove a fastball deep to the gap in right center for a triple, scoring the run. Then, with 2 outs, Brett Harper doubled to the gap in left center, DeWolf singled to right, and DeJong doubled to the fence in left center scoring 3 more runs to tie the game up at 5-5, as we reached the end of 2 innings.
Back on the hill in the 3rd, Provencher sent the Whittier hitters down 1-2-3, and then in the bottom of the inning he delivered a clutch 2-out single to score a hustling Jake Hardy all the way from first base. Long Beach led 6-5 after 3.
In the 4th inning, more solid pitching kept the Host team from scoring as Long Beach came up to bat. Oliver Van Buskirk hit a sharp grounder that was booted, allowing him to reach first base. Then the hit parade began: Harper single to center, DeWolf single to right, DeJong bases clearing triple to left, Walker RBI single, Soloman Williams RBI double to left, Irie Elizalde RBI single to right....and Long Beach had extended their lead to 12-5.
The 5th inning saw Provencher give up two quick singles to start the inning. But he would handle a sac bunt nicely, and strike out the next two batters to end the threat. The Beach would add another run in the bottom half, on a Walker double and a Williams infield RBI single. making it 13-5.
Long Beach turned to Van Buskirk to close out the game, and he pitched a quick and easy 1-2-3 inning in the 6th. In the 7th, he gave up a single to start the inning. Then he got tough and struck out the #3 batter, and got a fly out to Harper in center for the second out. The final play of the game was a base hit that struck the base runner in the leg, an immediate out, and the game was over!
Long Beach swept through the 4 games in the very difficult 'Super' Region winners bracket, and now advance to Fullerton where they will compete for the West Zone Championship and a trip to Washington, Pennsylvania and the Pony World Series. This marks the second year in a row that Long Beach has won the Region Championship. Congratulations to Manager Ken Jakemer and Coaches Rick Romo and Victor Merrill for getting this team ready to play at such an exciting level, and Congratulations to all of the wonderful players, parents, and fans that have represented Long Beach so well. Long Beach Pony is proud of you all.
Next up is Utah on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 PM in Fullerton. Come on out and root these boys on to the Zone championship!!
July 27 - With one game left to go before the winner's bracket championship game, Long Beach came out ready to play! They were facing an Emerald team that boasted a 12-1 record, and had not allowed more than 4 runs in any all-star game all year. Emerald won the toss, and elected to be the Home team, so the Beach went on offense.
Brett Harper got the ball rolling with a single to open the game. Daniel DeWolf singled into right centerfield, but a hesitant Harper was thrown out trying to advance to third. With two outs, DeWolf hustled home on a passed ball, and the Beach had a 1-0 lead. Soloman Williams took the mound for Long Beach, and started off nicely with a strike out and long foul fly out to Irie Elizalde in left field. The next batter singled to left, before Victor Martinez ran down a liner to right to end the inning.
Pitching and defense kept the game close for the next few innings and the score remained 1-0, heading into the 4th inning. But then the Beach came out swinging as Chase DeJong tripled into left centerfield, Thomas Walker singled him home, and Williams singled home Walker.
In
the bottom of the 4th, Emerald tried to shake things up with a bunt, but 3B Matt Heavin charged and pounced on the airborne attempt for a great catch and out. Another ground out to DeWolf, and a fly ball to Martinez ended the inning. That marked 10 batters in a row that were retired by Williams at this point in the game.
In the 5th, DeWolf singled home Heavin who had singled earlier, and in the 6th Elizalde would double home Williams to extend the lead to 5-0. Meanwhile, Williams was still in control of the game, and completed the 6th inning having thrown just 69 pitches, while striking out 6 and allowing only 4 hits.
In the 7th, Long Beach would put things away as they strung together a Harper single, a DeWolf double, a DeJong single, a Walker smash for an error, a Williams single, and sacrifice fly's by Elizalde and Jake Hardy to score 4 more times to make the score 9-0. Lefthander Cody Elder came in to pitch the 7th, and retired the side without allowing a run to preserve the shutout win for Williams.
This was a solid performance and one that we are all very proud of. The spawn of Sarah Williams was superb this evening, and dominated the game from the beginning. The stellar Long Beach defense set the tone early, and kept making the plays. And finally, we saw some life come to the bats that have been silenced somewhat over the previous couple games, as we stroked 11 hits in the game.
Our next game is against the host team Whittier for the Super-Regional Championship (and a direct berth to the Zone Tournament) on Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM.
Come on out and help cheer our way to the championship!
July 24 - Round 2 at the Super-Regional produced another tremendous game as Anaheim and Long Beach put on a great show for the crowd at York Park. This was a game that found Long Beach in constant trouble from the pressuring Anaheim offense. But they would keep finding ways to escape the danger, and keep the game close. In the end, it was a classic win, and a big character builder.
Long Beach got the ball rolling as Brett Harper singled to open the game, and promptly stole second. Daniel DeWolf doubled into the right centerfield gap, and the Beach had a run on the board and a man on second. Chase DeJong came up and stroked a liner into center field driving home Daniel before the next three batters were retired with Long Beach staking an early 2-0 lead.
Anaheim came out firing themselves, as the lead-off hitter smashed a lead-off triple into the LF gap. Pitcher Chase DeJong was still trying to find his rhythm, as the next batter walked. A strike out restored some order, before a second walk loaded the bases with 1 out. The next hitter hit a sharp grounder that DeWolf dove for and knocked down, before throwing him out at first for the second out, as the run scored from 3rd on the play. Chase then struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Long Beach went down easily in the second 1-2-3, and Anaheim came right back with their second lead-off double of the game. A bunt single put runners at the corners with no outs, and a walk loaded the bases again. This time, a passed ball allowed the runner to score the run from 3rd to tie the game. With runners at 2nd and 3rd and no out, Chase dug deep and got the lead-off hitter to pop up to second. But, he then proceeded to hit the next batter, loading the bases yet again, as the #3 hitter stepped up. Chase got ahead in the count, and got a sharp grounder to SS Thomas Walker, who threw to Dewolf for one, over to Soloman Williams for two on a nice dig. That would end the second inning with the score tied 2-2.
And so it would stay as Long Beach was unable to muster much of a threat through the 5th inning. Meanwhile, Chase was battling every inning to keep the Anaheim bats from inflicting serious damage. He struck out the side in the 3rd, and started the 4th with another K. But a walk, a diving stop and throw out by Walker up the middle on a grounder, and another walk put runners at 1st and 3rd with 2 outs. Again, Chase found a way out by striking out the #3 batter to end the inning.
The Houdini act would last one more inning, as the 5th came and Chase took the mound . He got a quick out before a single to left, a fielder choice ground out, and a hit batter put 2 more runners in scoring position. But DeJong's 8th and final strike out of the game ended the threat.
The Beach had Daniel DeWolf warming up in the bullpen, as the offense came to bat in the top of the 6th. Chase led off, and after fouling off a few 3-2 pitches he worked a walk. Thomas Walker stepped up and hit a sharp grounder to second that was flipped to short for 1 out, but that was all they would get. Walker stole second, and Soloman moved him to third with a grounder to second. That brought up Irie Elizalde, who stroked a line drive double down the left field line scoring Walker with the go ahead run. Matt Maccarrone followed that with a double into the right center gap, and the lead was 4-2. A pitching change was made and a strike out ended the inning.
DeWolf took the mound for Long Beach in the bottom of the 6th, and proceeded to throw 4 straight balls to the #9 batter. But he found his curve, and struck out the next hitter for 1 out. The next hitter grounded to short, who threw to second, but the relay to first was in the dirt. With two outs, Daniel induced an inning ending grounder to Thomas.
In the 7th, with one out Brett was hit on the elbow, and took first base. He was promptly thrown out on a steal attempt, before Daniel smacked another hit. But the inning would end with a strike out, as we headed to the bottom of the 7th.
Anaheim opened the inning with a single, before DeWolf recorded a strike out and flagged a come backer for the second out. However, a four pitch walk would bring the winning run to the plate. Daniel reached back and got another grounder to short, where Thomas calmly fielded it and threw to first to end the game, and push Long Beach another step forward in the winners bracket.
This game was another tremendous contest against a very good team. These are important games to play in, and even more so to come away with a victory in. Let's get ready for the next one.
Next up is Emerald on Sunday afternoon 3:00 PM. Come on out and get more than your money's worth of baseball excitement!
July 22 - The first round of the Super-Regional produced a 'Super' game on Tuesday night as Long Beach battled against a very tough Redlands team. The contest featured two outstanding pitchers matching scoreless innings from the outset. Long Beach sent Soloman Williams out to start, and he proceeded to pitch a masterpiece. Williams pitched 7 shutout innings on 79 pitches, striking out 8 and allowing only 3 hits. Amazingly, when he was done the score was still tied 0-0. That was because Redlands' pitcher Kevin Stevens was equally as impressive through 5 innings, allowing only 2 singles.
However, Redlands made a pitching change in the 6th, and Long Beach showed a bit of life before stranding Brett Harper at third. With one out in the bottom of the 7th, Soloman battled deep in the count, and squibbed an infield single. This brought up Irie Elizalde, who swung and missed at a
high fastball, before stepping out and refocusing on the next pitch. It was another high pitch that Irie was ready for, and he smashed a long drive deep down the left field line. The ball bounced off of the base of the fence 335 feet away, as Williams raced all the way home with the winning run, and a thrilling Long Beach victory!
Next up is Anaheim on Thursday night at 7:30 PM. Come on out and get your money's worth of baseball excitement!
July 19 - Long Beach captured the Section Tournament Championship with a 18-7 victory over Norwalk. With the win, LB advances to the Super-Regional in Whittier as the WEST #1 representative.
This game got off to another great start as Ty Provencher took the mound and shut the Norwalk bats down in the first. The Beach bats were hot from the start as Brett Harper singled, Daniel DeWolf doubled him home, and after a walk to Thomas Walker, Soloman Williams and Irie Elizalde would blast HR's. That left the score 5-0 Beach.
After another shutout inning, Williams drove home two more runs to extend the lead to 7-0. Things were looking good, when Norwalk mounted a rally, and with 1 out they got a hit batter, a single, and a walk loading the bases. A high fastball was driven over the wall in left, and the lead was cut to 7-4. Victor Martinez came in and shut down the threat, and Chase DeJong came up to bat in the bottom of the inning and doubled home two more runs to put the Beach up 9-4.
Once again, Norwalk came battling back as they scored 3 more times, and made this a ball game. In the bottom of the 4th, Long Beach would get a single run on Irie's 2nd HR of the game, and that was all. So the call was made for Soloman to come in and close the game down. And he did just that, getting a quick end to the top of the 5th. Back to work offensively, Chase (3B), Thomas (1B), and Soloman (2B) all stroked hits and scored to increase the lead to 12-4.
Soloman completed another scoreless inning on the hill, and up came the batters again. This time Chase blasted a monster 2-run shot, Thomas tripled, Soloman singled him home for his 5th RBI of the game, and Irie smacked another HR (his 3rd of the game) to end the contest at 18-7.
We play again on Tuesday night at 7:30 in Whittier against the SOUTHEAST #2 team - Redlands. Come on out and support us in this very tough Super-Regional.
Congratulations Long Beach players and coaches! Well Done!
July 15 - The much anticipated Heartwell vs. Long Beach match-up brought out a full house of spectators at Whaley Park on Tuesday night.
Long Beach fans did not have to wait long for good things to happen. Brett Harper led of the game and was hit by the pitch, a Daniel DeWolf single and a walk, loaded the bases with no outs for Thomas Walker. A passed ball scored Harper before Walker drove a long HR to right center for a 4-0 lead. Four more hits in the inning would extend the lead to 6-0 before Heartwell came to the plate.
On the hill for Long Beach was 6'4" Chase DeJong, who got into a bit of trouble after striking out the leadoff hitter, by hitting two batters in a row. But a ground ball and strike out would end the inning with no runs scored.
The second inning got off to a bang when DeJong sent a towering fly, long and far into the left field trees for a solo HR. The next 4 batters all reached base on a error and 3 walks before a pitching change was made. When play resumed, Matt Maccarrone worked a full count before blasting a Grand Slam HR over the CF fence! His hit was immediately followed by Matt Heavin's drive over the fence in left center and the Beach had a commanding 13-0 lead.
Heartwell tried to mount a challenge in the bottom of the 2nd, and pushed across a run before DeJong struck out 2 hitters with runners in scoring position to end the threat. There would be single Long Beach runs in the 3rd and 4th innings to make the score 15-1 as Cody Elder came in to pitch. With 2 outs, Tyler Liedholdt got ahold of one and drove it out for a 2 run HR, but the final out was then recorded on a grounder to Oliver Van Buskirk who threw him out to end the game due to the 10 run mercy rule.
Our next game is Saturday at 10:00 AM against Norwalk for the Section Championship.
July 12 - The Long Beach All-stars faced a tough Lynwood team in their tournament opener, as they sent Soloman Williams to the mound. He responded brilliantly, pitching 5 innings and allowing only 1 run on 56 pitches.
He was supported by an offense that got untracked after dealing with the 'Batter's Box' scandal. The Beach took a 3-1 lead after 3 innings based on consecutive hits by Matt Heavin, Brett Harper, and Daniel DeWolf, and Thomas Walker's RBI double over the CF's head.
The 4th inning saw Long Beach score 8 more times, and put the game away on Irie Elizalde's 2 run blast over the fence in LF. It was solid effort by the team, who must now wait to play against the winner of the Heartwell and Santa Fe Springs game tomorrow.
Our next game is Tuesday at 7:30 PM. Make sure you come on out!
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