No letdown for CV 10-11s

GLENDALE — The Crescenta Valley coaches had some concerns when their squad took on Burbank on Monday.

After easily handling Burbank two days earlier in the teams’ first meeting, the Crescenta Valley staff wanted to make its squad didn’t take the District 16 Little League 10-11 All-Star championship game lightly.

In retrospect, the coaches had nothing to worry about, as Crescenta Valley scored early and often in a one-sided 14-1 victory at Scholl Canyon Ball Fields to secure the title.

The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.

The championship win puts Crescenta Valley into the Section 2 Tournament, which begins Saturday in Encino.

Crescenta Valley Manager Dan Mulcahey said he reminded this team to stay focused Monday, and not let Saturday’s 15-3 win change their approach to the game.

“We were a little bit concerned coming in,” Mulcahey said. “But they showed us that they weren’t about to let up after the big win. They really came out focused and they played well.”

Having its ace pitcher on the mound, along with having a key starter — who missed Saturday’s game — back, Burbank Manager Don DeSimone liked his team’s chances of forcing an if-necessary game.

“That was the thought,” DeSimone said. “Having those two guys in place, we figured we would be able to put up a better result than we did Saturday.

“But I have to give credit to the CV side. Their coaches did a great job and the players really hit the ball well. They played a very good game.”

It didn’t take Crescenta Valley long to get to Burbank starting pitcher Christian Falcon. Crescenta Valley received singles by Frank Alsamman, Jason Chang and Nico Arredondo, along with a walk from Brian Erickson, to push across three runs.

Two Burbank errors also played a big role in the three runs.

“Our defense didn’t play as well as they should have,” DeSimone said. “We usually play better defense than that.”

Crescenta Valley was paced by Alsamman, who was two for three with a walk, two runs batted in and three runs scored. Teammate Robert Geise delivered a solo home run in the fifth inning.

Crescenta Valley tacked on another two runs in the second inning, highlighted by a run-scoring double by Chuck Weinmann.

Burbank was able to cut the lead to 5-1 in its half of the second when Dylan Esquivel doubled and scored on a double by Gabe Pellot.

But Crescenta was just getting started. It added to its lead with an explosive third inning in which it scored five runs.

It added four runs in the fifth inning.

Pitchers Geise, who started, and Arredondo limited Burbank to just three hits.

Burbank received a single from Falcon.

With the District 16 title in hand, Mulcahey said his team is ready for its next challenge.

“Our first goal was to win this,” he said. “Our next goal now is to go and win the section. We are looking forward to playing against Encino.”