Huntington Valley Little League wins Section 10 title

With fans barely settling into the bleachers, the ding of Tony Martinez’s bat echoed throughout Woodfield Park in Aliso Viejo.

His two-run home run off Brody Connors catapulted Huntington Valley Little League’s 12-and-under team to a three-run first inning and an 8-3 triumph, clinching the Section 10 championship Tuesday night over Irvine Ranch.

With the sectional title in hand, Huntington Valley advances to the state tournament, returning to Woodfield Park on Sunday.

“Tonight was do or die for both of us,” Huntington Valley coach Tony Armand said. “We didn’t want to play tomorrow. We wanted to close this out tonight.”

Huntington Valley had yet to lose in the double-elimination tournament, and if it had lost, it would have had to play a winner-take-all finale on Wednesday.

Martinez ensured that didn’t happen.

He quickly fell behind in the count, but showed patience to prolong the at-bat. With a full count, he launched a fastball well over the 200-foot center-field wall.

The homer ended up as his lone hit, as he forced three walks in his other trips to the plate. Martinez also scored two runs.

“He’s been doing that for us all year,” Armand said. “After that, they stopped pitching to him, which made me smile, since we have a full lineup that can replicate what he does.”

However, the champions saw their lead swiftly shrink, as Noah Stockman pitch zipped way outside the catcher’s glove to drive in two Irvine Ranch runs. For the next two innings, both pitchers battled to mitigate damage.

Huntington Valley’s Brad Morlett replaced Stockman with two runners on base, and responded to strike out Jake Amundson and Wylan Moss. For Irvine Ranch, Connors worked through the early jitters to pitch two straight scoreless innings, stranding three runners in the second to keep matters close.

Morlett lost control in the bottom of the third, walking two and smacking a fastball into Irvine Ranch infielder Garret Davidson’s shoulder blade. He held strong by recording his fifth strikeout and forcing a groundout to end the threat.

Irvine Ranch’s fans erupted at the call on the groundout, as Morlett barely beat Irvine Ranch’s Moss with a throw to first. Meanwhile, the Huntington Valley partisans roared, as their own Wyatt Thomas snagged the toss with an impressively outstretched arm.

The energy carried over to the top of the fourth. After Connors walked Connor Armand and Martinez, as well as beaning Stockman, Thomas belted a three-run double.

Morlett continued racking up strikeouts, whiffing three batters between the fourth and fifth innings. He pitched 4 2/3 innings of one-run baseball, hurling nine strikeouts in 85 pitches.

“I loved the way he attacked the plate,” Armand said. “He dug in when he got into some hairy situations and limited the scoring.”

Irvine Ranch finally tallied a run on him in the bottom of the fifth, as Sam Tucci induced a pickle situation between first and second base. Davidson had worked his way to third base earlier, and took advantage of the distraction to stroll home.

Irvine Ranch needed pitching to stay alive, but Huntington Valley’s Gage Everson slammed the door. With Martinez forcing a third walk, Everson roped a double to drive him home for the seventh run. Two Irvine Ranch wild pitches let him cross home plate, boosting the lead to 8-3.

Morlett exited the final inning after allowing only his third hit. Nursing a five-run cushion, Thomas relieved him, but found himself in trouble.

He loaded the bases with three walks, and knowing one swing could tip the balance of the game, he punched out Davidson to clinch the title.

Huntington Valley’s opponent for Sunday’s state tournament opener will be determined on Saturday.

SAM DODGE is a contributor to Times Community News. Follow him on Twitter: @samgododge