Hart All-Stars Aim to Add Colt World Series Title to Collection

Armed with several veterans of four youth league national championships, the Hart Colt all-star team opens World Series play today against Hoosier North of Indiana at 6 p.m. at Loeb Stadium in Lafayette, Ind.

Win or lose, Hart will play again Friday in the eight-team, double-elimination tournament. A loss tonight would put Hart in Friday’s 4 p.m. game; a win edvances Hart to a 6 p.m. contest. The championship game is scheduled for Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Hart (13-1) defeated Ocean View, 5-2, Sunday in the City of Commerce to complete a sweep of the Western Zone tournament for 15- and 16-year-olds.

Outfielders Jay Sanford and Chris Vasquez, shortstop-left fielder Lance Migita, second baseman Darin Tsukashima, pitcher-catcher Jason Edwards and pitcher-shortstop Robbie Davis have been the principle members of championship teams in the Mustang, Bronco, Pony and Babe Ruth divisions.

“The rest of the team looks up to them in practice,” Hart Coach Regis Malone said. “When they are serious, everybody follows.”

After combining to bat .360 for Hart High, the six have paced the Colt all-stars throughout the playoffs. Davis and Migita both are batting better than .400 and had clutch hits in the Zone tournament.

Hart advanced through the losers’ bracket of the regionals two weeks ago with help from American Legion-turned-Colt player Kevin Milligan, whose game-winning home run gave Hart a 6-5 victory in a doubleheader sweep of Heartwell and put Hart in the Zone final.

Hart’s top pitcher is also its catcher--Edwards, The Times Valley Pitcher of the Year this spring. He compiled an 11-0 record during the high school season with 4 saves and a 1.28 earned-run average. He struck out 92 batters in 82 innings.

Hoosier North rates the home-field advantage. The team is composed of all-stars from the surrounding West Lafayette area and draws from five area high schools.

Hoosier North swept through a local tournament, winning four in a row last week.

In Tuesday’s opening-night contests, Houston beat Joliet, Ill., 8-5, and Lafayette (Ind) defeated Caugas, Puerto Rico, 13-3.

Hagerstown, Md., plays Maui, Hawaii, before Hart’s scheduled game tonight.

Rain has threatened to delay the tournament. Director Harry Bradway said the tournament would be pushed back a day if any games were rained out.