CMNLL Majors: BIG MAC ATTACK!

Tony Altobelli

HUNTINGTON BEACH - There’s a first time for everything, right? Just

ask the Costa Mesa National Little League Major Division All-Stars.

For the first time ever, the Costa Mesa Nationals victoriously

advanced to the second round of the District 62 All-Star Tournament with

an 8-5 win over host Robinwood.

For Mesa standout slugger Michael McDaniels, there was a first time, a

second time and a third time to be the offensive hero, clubbing three

home runs and driving in six.

“This kid is a karate champion, a basketball all-star and a baseball

all-star, so obviously, he’s a very good athlete,” Manager Bill Redding

said. “But the best thing about Michael is that he’s very coachable. Some

kids who are that talented aren’t coachable. He’s a joy to have on the

team.”

The first four hitters in Mesa’s lineup, Trevor McDonald, Evan Van

Geem, McDaniels and Vinnie Valdez went a combined 12 for 15 with eight

runs scored and eight RBIs.

After losing the coin flip, Costa Mesa made the best of the situation

and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. McDonald and Van Geem singled before

McDaniels’ launched a drive over the right-field fence.

“Sometimes it’s a good thing to get the first at-bat,” Redding said.

“If you can jump out to an early lead, it puts the other team on its

heels and I think we did that to Robinwood.”

After Robinwood answered with a run in the bottom of the first, Costa

Mesa flexed its muscles once again. With two outs and nobody on, McDonald

singled, stole second and scored on a single by Van Geem, making it 4-1.

McDaniels followed with a two-run home run to right for a 6-1 Mesa

advantage and Valdez answered with solo blast of his own, this one to

center field, making it 7-1.

With the offensive explosion, Redding was quick to point out the real

reason for the victory. “We made all the plays we needed to make and the

entire team contributed,” he said. “Home runs are great, but it took more

than that for us to win.”

Mesa starting pitcher Austin Elliott pitched three strong innings

before getting into a little trouble in the fourth. He allowed only two

runs on four hits in the first three innings with two strikeouts and no

walks.

Things did get a little spicy for the locals in the bottom of the

fourth as Robinwood fought back. An RBI double by Kevan Gray and a

two-run single by K.P. Powers cut the lead to 7-5, but McDaniels came in

relief to prevent further damage.

That would be as close as Robinwood would get as McDaniels closed the

door, retiring the next six batters he faced over the final two innings.

McDaniels’ heroics continued in the sixth inning when he smacked his

third home run of the game, a solo shot to right to close out the

scoring.

“This is a very strong team,” Redding said. “We’ve been watching these

boys since they were in T-ball and they play very well together. I’m

guessing you’re going to be hearing from a good chunk of these boys when

they play high school baseball.”

Solid defence by Valdez at third, Van Geem at shortstop and Ryan

Redding at second helped minimize Robinwood’s chances.

Strong all-around play was turned in by P.J. Errington, Starnes

Arnold, Tim Morley, Caleb Burgess, Taylor McClanahan and Brandon Maurer.

The Costa Mesa Nationals will play again Wednesday night at 5 p.m.

against Seaview.