Baseball: Costa Mesa Pony 13 All-Stars make history
For the first time in its 20-year history, a team from Costa Mesa Pony Baseball will advance to a Super Region tournament. The next section of the road to the Pony World Series will be held at York Field in Whittier, beginning Thursday.
Costa Mesa’s Pony 13 All-Stars, who finished third in the West Zone Central Region Region Tournament that it completed Sunday, will open Super Region action against Long Beach-based Heartwell at 5 p.m.
Costa Mesa finished 2-2 at the Region Tournament at Cypress to become the Central Region’s No. 3 representative in the Super Region event.
The locals defeated Placentia B, 18-14, to open the Region Tournament, as Ryan Juncker doubled twice, walked and drove in five runs.
Kyle Anderson, Raul Villalobos and Trey Wilborn had two RBIs apiece, while Luis Munoz, Dylan Bernal and Cameron Ellis all drove in one run.
Munoz, Bernal and Villalobos scored four times, James Crowell scored three times and Beau Dionio twice.
After a six-run first inning, Costa Mesa never looked back. Juncker and Wilborn pitched the first three innings and Cameron Ellis worked the final four innings from the mound.
Costa Mesa secured its birth in the Super Region in walk-off style, when Juncker delivered a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the eighth inning to cap a 5-4 victory over Fountain Valley on Saturday.
Against Fountain Valley, starting pitcher Dillon Manchester went five strong innings to keep his team in the game.
Juncker worked the final three innings to earn the win.
Dionio and Villalobos each had two hits, including a triple by Villalobos that put Costa Mesa on top early in the game.
Fountain Valley threatened several times, but failed to score after loading the bases with no outs in one inning and leaving runners in scoring position in three additional innings.
Costa Mesa’s two losses were to tournament host Cypress and Placentia A.
Costa Mesa competed previously in All-Star tournaments in Irvine and Los Alamitos. It lost one of its top players, Nolan Churan, to a wrist injury in the Irvine Memorial Day Tournament. Churan, who has the strongest arm on the team and is also one of the leading hitters, is not expected to play again this season.
Another key player, Beto Sotomayor, missed the Region Tournament for health reasons, but is expected to play in the Super Region Tournament.
Costa Mesa Pony President Jack Morales said chemistry and the ability to overcome challenges are team attributes.
If victorious Thursday, Costa Mesa would play either San Dimas or Emerald Crimson on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
A loss would drop Costa Mesa into loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament, in which it would face the San Dimas-Emerald Christian loser on Saturday at 9 a.m.
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