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Arcadia Little League Dodgers Clinch 2016 Majors Championship
Arcadia Weekly May 18, 2016
Dr. Alexander Weber, assistant professor of clinical orthopedic surgery, hopes to expand the partnership to other PUSD sports programs in the years to come. - Courtesy Photo / Keck Medicine of USC
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Clinching a spot in June’s Tournament of Champions, the Dodgers will attempt to win AALL’s second consecutive championship. – Courtesy photo
On Saturday night, May 14, the Dodgers (16-2 overall) defeated the Sierra Madre Reds, 2-0, at Heasley Field as Mikey Easter struck out 16 in earning his eighth pitching victory of the season.
The win eliminated the Angels in the Arcadia American Little League (AALL) second-half pennant race and, coupled with the Dodgers’ first-place finish in the first half, gave the Dodgers an automatic berth in the upcoming annual California District 17 Tournament of Champions (TOC).
The Dodgers scored two quick runs against Reds’ starter Jason Patterson on RBI hits by Devon Eskridge and Guy Gruppie, Jr. and that was all they needed to win their seventh straight game. Easter required only 72 pitches to participate in a sixth shutout of the season and striking out 16 for the second time.
Patterson himself threw a strong complete game and was aided greatly by 10-year-old shortstop David Mysza, who took away three potential Dodger hits.
A great relay throw from shallow right field by second baseman Lance Wong to catcher Jason Fann cut down a Reds’ runner at the plate in the first inning and that was their only scoring threat. Wong and Fann have provided the Dodgers with all-star defense and consistent offense all season.
To position themselves to clinch on May 14, the Dodgers had to defeat their rival Angels the prior week in dramatic fashion. Going into the pivotal contest, the Angels had defeated the Dodgers twice – their only defeats – in 1-0 and 2-1 games where southpaw Brandon Nguyen nearly single-handedly led the Angels.
Although Deven Salazar gave the Angels an early 3-0 lead with an unexpected first-inning home run, it was clear on this day from the start that the left-hander would not dominate the Dodgers, who ran his pitch count up before Eskridge hit a three-run home run of his own in the third to tie the score at 3-3.
Eskridge, the Dodgers’ RBI leader, knocked in the winning run in the fifth, Brendan Weisinger knocked in an insurance run, and Gruppie in relief of winning pitcher Easter retired all four Angels that he faced to earn the save in the 5-3 victory.
The Dodgers, undefeated in interleague play at press time, previously demonstrated come-back ability in their first of two games in four games against the strong East Altadena Tigers. Down 6-2 in the fifth inning, the Dodgers erupted for six runs as Easter and Gruppie contributed back-to-back key doubles. The Tigers loaded the bases in the sixth before Gruppie struck out the final batter in an 8-7 win at Windsor Field.
Just three days later at Donley Field, the Tigers rallied for a late run to tie the score at 2-2 and force the game into extra innings. Eskridge and Gruppie led off the seventh inning with hits and eventually came around to score – on a wild pitch and Ari Nurhadi ground out – to give the Dodgers the lead. The Tigers scored a run in the bottom of the seventh and had the potential tying and winning runs in scoring position before Gruppie again struck out the final Tiger hitter as the Dodgers won, 4-3.
Other regular season highlights for the Dodgers included Eskridge’s game-winning grand slams against the East Altadena Blue Jays, and a sweep of the always tough Santa Anita teams.
The TOC will be hosted by Pasadena Southwest Little League June 11 to 18. The Dodgers will be trying to win AALL’s second consecutive championship.
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