Crescenta Valley Junior baseball sees lengthy run come to difficult end

It took an equally spectacular and devastating rally to end the season of the Crescenta Valley Junior All-Stars on Saturday afternoon.

The area’s last team Little League baseball team standing was on the cusp of forcing one more game in the Division 3 North Tournament before allowing seven runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, as host Dos Pueblos rallied for an improbable 11-10 victory at Santa Paula Little League.

With the victory, Dos Pueblos earned advancement to the Southern California State Championship three-game series at Manhattan Beach Little League, which commences Thursday.

For Crescenta Valley, champion of District 16 and Section 2, the squad finished with an 8-3 postseason record while dropping its first elimination game (4-1). Advancement to Saturday’s title game, though, gave Crescenta Valley Manager Bryan Rich a coveted title.

“We get the privilege to say that we were one of the four best teams in Southern California this year,” Rich said. “I couldn’t be prouder of these guys. It was a tough loss, but a great job.”

Crescenta Valley entered Saturday’s title tilt needing to defeat unbeaten Section 1 champion Dos Pueblos to force a winner-take-all finale Sunday.

That goal was agonizingly within reach before the game fell apart.

Crescenta Valley led Dos Pueblos, 10-4, entering the bottom the seventh, but struggled to find consistency out of a four-player relief corps that entered after five strong innings from starter Brian Harley, who allowed three runs and struck out two.

Over the last three innings, Crescenta Valley pitchers walked six and plunked two more, which backfired in the seventh inning.

The key moment of the game came with the Section 2 champion leading, 10-8, with one out in the seventh and the bases loaded.

A potential game-ending comeback was smacked right back to the Crescenta Valley’s pitcher, who threw home wildly and allowed a run to score without an out instead of perhaps starting a dramatic 1-2-3 double play. Dos Pueblos’ next batter than laced a game-winning two-run single to left to secure the wild comeback.

“That was the play that changed everything and it hurts to lose that way, but that’s the way it goes,” Rich said. “I thought we were the better team for five innings, but that wasn’t enough.”

Devon Ramaker smacked two doubles and drove in two runs for a Crescenta Valley team that led, 6-0, after three innings and, 8-0, heading into the bottom of the fifth.

Ian McClusky had two hits and a double, while Sam Kunz and Vinnie Parrott both drove in two runs for Crescenta Valley. David Melendez had two singles and one runs batted in, while Chad Ruf and Trente Steele also connected on doubles.

After opening the tournament with a 13-6 loss to Section 3 champion Ontario Mountain View, Crescenta Valley responded with three straight victories, including eliminating Mountain View, 9-6, on Thursday.

Crescenta Valley’s run to the Division 3 North Tournament was the team’s furthest advancement in the five-year tenure of Rich.

“While it hurts to lose, this is a great experience for these guys,” Rich said. “We couldn’t be prouder of them.”