Brian Rodriguez did. On his 65th and final pitch, he went to a beautiful curveball to earn a strikeout and end the threat.
Costa Mesa National soon broke it wide open, taking a 10-0 lead in the sixth inning. Four of the five runs scored came with two outs.
Robinwood tried to rally, getting on the board on Blake Partis' three-run homer in the bottom of the inning. But Bond, the Costa Mesa National relief pitcher, didn't panic. He got back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.
Leadoff hitter Matt Palma was three for four with a double for Costa Mesa National and Colby Arensdorf also had an RBI and a run scored. Brown and Sheets both had two hits.
Brown, the first baseman, said he thinks Costa Mesa National can go far in the District 62 tournament.
"We have a really good chance," he said. "If we play like this every game, I think we have a good chance … We can hit off of any pitcher."
After all, playing with just nine players was not going to stop the hitting onslaught. If anything, it provided less things for the coaching staff to think about. Costa Mesa National didn't have to worry about the Little League rule that everyone must play.
"We don't have to worry about the subs," Bee Jay Mazur said. "We just can't risk injury. We told the kids, 'There's no such thing as pain today. You can't get hurt.' "
Instead, his team brought the pain.
