A Teary End to Dream Season for Yorba Hills

Nash Robertson’s birthday wish was right on track Thursday in the fourth inning of the Little League World Series semifinals. The 13-year-old Yorba Hills All-Star knocked one crisply over the center-field fence and took the trot around the bases he had probably been imagining all season long.

But two innings later, Nash had tears in his eyes and no appetite for the blue-and-white sheet cake that awaited him in the players’ compound. Spring, Tex., spoiled his party and delivered a most unpleasant parting gift--an abrupt ending to the dream season of Yorba Hills.

“We gave them hell and they beat us fair and square,” said Marv Shappi, consoling his wife, MaryAnn, shortly after Spring took the game, 3-1. Their son, A.J., pitched and played first base for Yorba Hills.

“Our team did very well,” Marv Shappi said. “But losing is devastating.”

The loss was no easier to take from a distance.

At the Lamppost Pizza in Yorba Linda, a capacity crowd of nervous parents, Little League coaches and youngsters packed around the two wide-screen televisions. The enthusiastic crowd, many ditching work for the afternoon, grew increasingly solemn as the game steadily turned against their beloved Yorba Hills squad.

The crowd erupted with cheers, whoops and hollers when Nash scored the team’s sole run in the fourth inning, but an inning later the mood was glum. As half-eaten pepperoni pizzas grew cold and nearly empty pitchers of beer went flat, the supporters began talking the talk of a second-place team.

When the final out signaled the end of the Yorba Hills season, a stony quiet fell over Lamppost Pizza. A fan named Dick Pond broke the silence by clapping and starting a chant of “Yorba Hills! Yorba Hills! Yorba Hills!”

As people began paying their tabs and filing out, Pond said the team’s sensational campaign was about more than baseball. “It’s brought us together,” said the project manager for U.S. Filter in Anaheim. “That’s what the kids did for us.”

He put on his glasses to hide his watery eyes when he reflected on the team’s disappointment. “It’s been a great week. A great week.”

While Yorba Hills came up short, the supporters gathered at the pizza parlor were touched by the earnestness of the players on both sides. In the age of athletics as big business, the purity of the youngsters’ competition was refreshing even if the final score was disappointing.

“These 12-year-olds are playing from the heart, not for money,” said Chris Depaz, who works at W.T. Electric and Communications. “It’s not about money. That means a lot.”

Some fans said they were headed home to start working on banners to welcome their team home, while others began the inevitable talk of next year. Darren Erickson, 11, waxed philosophical about the nature of a game that is as much about character as it is catching.

“Even if they’re losers, they’re still winners,” he said. “It’s hard to win. It’s hard to lose.”

For the parents who flew East, the worst part was seeing the disappointment in their children after reaching a point most Little Leaguers only visualize.

“It was the most difficult thing to deal with . . . the emotions of 12-year-old kids,” said Coach Bill Rooney, whose son, Patrick, played Thursday.

Friends and relatives gathered after the game at the International Grove, where players from all the teams have been housed in virtual seclusion since arriving here last Sunday.

Thursday night, the gates were opened for visitors to get a rare glimpse of the two-story bunkhouses and well-manicured grounds. At the building where Yorba Hills--representing the Western United States--stayed, a red, white and blue sign read “Happy Birthday Nash.”

Like most of the players, Nash was in no mood for a party. Tears filled his eyes.

“He hates to lose,” said his father, John.

Most family members--many of whom struggled to reach the World Series compound in time for the opening ceremonies last weekend--will stay here until Sunday, because their airline tickets are non-refundable.

The parents on hand for the final game included Toronto Blue Jay catcher Lance Parrish, who flew in from Canada to watch his son, Matthew, a pinch-hitter.

The Yorba Hills players will have some more time to soak in the surroundings. They will take part in closing ceremonies Saturday and return Sunday afternoon to Los Angeles International Airport.

“We’ll have to tough it out and watch Texas play Taiwan Saturday in the final,” A.J. Shappi said, his head hanging.

Taiwan defeated the Dominican Republic, 1-0, to earn the other berth in Saturday’s final.

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