Bats

FOUNTAIN VALLEY — You only need nine kids to field a Little League team, but playing with no substitutes at all can prove to be a difficult proposition. The members of the Costa Mesa National Little League 10- and 11-year-old All-Stars didn't mind it Saturday. All it meant was more at-bats for each of the players, and Costa Mesa National knew what to do with those opportunities. Everybody hit, helping Costa Mesa National earn a 10-3 victory over Robinwood at Mile Square Park in the opening round of the District 62 All-Star Tournament.

CORONA DEL MAR — The New York Yankees of Major League Baseball are in a funk, sitting well below .500 and fourth in their division. They probably could take some lessons from the Newport Beach Little League Double-A Division Yankees, who performed at a high level all year long and rode it to the division championship. The American League-champion Yankees defeated the National-League champion Giants, 10-2, on Saturday morning at Lincoln Elementary. "It's a solid group of kids, just great ballplayers," Yankees Manager Frank DiFerdinando said.

As finals came to a close Friday and UC Irvine baseball players are bound for their summer destinations, Anteaters Coach Mike Gillespie is pleased to report the return to the program of Pat Shine, the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. Shine missed the final 23 games of the 2012 season and had been absent from the program since late April, before returning to work on Monday. The reason for Shine's absence, referred to by school officials only as a personnel matter, remains unknown.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL UC Irvine 86, Long Beach State 61 IRVINE - Senior Kassandra McCalister had 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the host Anteaters in the Big West Conference game Thursday. Sophomore Jacquelyn Marshall had 18 points and nine rebounds, while three other Anteaters scored in double figures. The win for UCI (10-12, 6-3 in conference), sets up a first-place showdown with visiting Cal State Northridge (7-2 in conference) on Saturday at 4 p.m. Anete Klintsone had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists for UCI, which avenged a 63-51 loss at Long Beach State on Dec. 31. Kiara Belen had 10 points and six rebounds, while Kelly Meggs had 12 points off the bench for the winners.

Uncle Don Just before the flick started, a multi-car accident outside the theater should have been a premonition of the accident about to happen within the theater, which was to be witnessed by a partial dozen of horrified onlookers. In its own kind of slackjawed, drooling, knuckle-dragging sort of way, "Bats" was a rather entertaining flick, showing how far a once-promising actor (Lou Diamond Philips) is willing to drop to perform his craft. Situated in Gallup, Texas, and Skull Valley, Ariz.

Several UC Irvine baseball players have extended their summer league seasons as their teams have advanced to playoffs. Christian Bergman and catcher Francis Larson, both of whom will be juniors in 2009, earned all-league recognition in the Alaska Baseball League. Bergman, pitching with the Anchorage Bucs, was named to the first-team ABL All-Star team after posting a 4-2 record with a 1.34 earned-run average. The right-hander struck out 34 in 62 1/3 innings while allowing just nine earned runs.

Bryce Alderton Those looking to catch home run balls off the bats of Orange Coast College baseball players may be in for a boring spring. OCC Coach John Altobelli, entering his 12th season at the helm, inherits seven returners from a team that went 19-21-1, 8-16 in the Orange Empire Conference, and failed to make the Southern California regional playoffs. Much like last year, Altobelli said OCC's runs should come more by the sacrifice fly or line-drive single than the long ball.

Bryan Petersen, the right fielder during the UC Irvine baseball team’s run to the 2007 College World Series, was called up by the Florida Marlins after the team’s game Thursday. Petersen, 24, who hit .284 in 67 at-bats with the Marlins during spring training, was hitting .290 with a home run and nine runs batted in with 100 at-bats at Triple-A New Orleans. Petersen takes the roster spot created when Florida designated Mike Lamb for assignment. Marlins Manager Fredi Gonzalez said Petersen could play all three outfield positions.

BY BARRY FAULKNER A 2009 baseball season the produced a considerable bang, was followed by a veritable whimper with the recently completed summer leagues for collegiate players. Just after helping UC Irvine with the program’s first Big West Conference championship and earn the No. 1 national ranking for six weeks before bowing out of the NCAA tournament in its own regional, several Anteaters produced modest individual success. In addition, members of the Orange Coast College unit that claimed the program’s first state title since 1980, were less than noteworthy in their respective summer assignments.

(High school football plays of 30 yards or more) 34 – Cameron Collins (Estancia) punt return 30 – Taylor Ross (Sage Hill) touchdown run 30 – Eric Cheng (Sage Hill) kickoff return GAMESTOPPERS (Top defensive plays) NEWPORT HARBOR — Junior lineman Steve Michaelsen records a 10-yard sack to force a punt … Senior linebacker Blair Luchs and senior tackle JB Salem pressure the quarterback into a bad throw that junior safety Titus Hasson almost intercepts … Senior end Mutuvai Asi bats down a pass … Luchs intercepts a tipped pass … Salem drops the quarterback for an eight-yard loss … Michaelsen pressures the quarterback into throwing the ball away … Senior safety Kellon Truxton recovers a fumble on the Sailors' three-yard line ….

A bat infected with rabies was found on the garage floor of a Costa Mesa home, according to authorities. A 15-year-old boy got the live bat in a box without touching it May 5 and later received treatment, the Costa Mesa Police Department said. Because the bat was found in a confined area in the 2300 block of Vanguard Way, the public wasn't exposed, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA). Orange County Animal Care was notified that day, and OCHCA officials said they were notified two days later.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has picked out seven athletics improvement projects to build with a $100,000 grant from Costa Mesa. The money is the first installment of what could add up to half a million dollars in grants from the city in the next five years if Costa Mesa chooses to continue the program as it has projected, according to a resolution the council approved in February. The money is meant to fund capital improvements at Costa Mesa high schools where the public has access during non-school hours.

Jake Lemmerman, a Corona del Mar High product who has spent the last three baseball seasons in the minor leagues as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for utility man Skip Schumaker on Wednesday. Lemmerman, 25, a two-time Newport-Mesa Dream Team Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007, was a fifth-round draft pick out of Duke in 2010. He hit .233 in 373 at-bats at Double-A Chattanooga in 2012, with seven home runs, 46 runs batted in and eight stolen bases.

The 11U Newport Beach Bat Rays beat the HB Bombers 4-3 to take home the championship in the Huntington Beach USSSA Veterans Day Baseball Tournament over the weekend. The Bat Rays went 4-0 in the tournament against tough competition by facing three of the top 10 seeded teams. With three strong innings in the championship game, starter pitcher Jack Bibb led the staff with a combined six innings throughout the tournament, which included four timely strikeouts. Trey Genova went three for three with two triples and two runs batted in. Jarrett Thompson closed the championship game allowing zero runs in the final three innings.

The U8 local Bat Rays club baseball team won the championship at the USSSA Halloween Haunt tournament recently. The tournament was held for a great cause to "Strike Out Cancer" and took place at the Big League Dreams Park in West Covina. The tournament was the qualifier for the 2013 Global Sports/USSSA World Series in July and had over 120 teams competing at the event. The U8 Bat Rays, formed this past summer, is comprised of standout baseball players from Newport Beach and Irvine.

Corona del Mar High graduate Jake Lemmerman and former UC Irvine star Ben Orloff are among 28 players on the roster for Team Israel, which will play in the World Baseball Classic qualifier that begins Wednesday and continues through Sept. 23 in Jupiter, Fla. The Israeli squad, managed by former major league catcher Brad Ausmus and including player-coaches Shawn Green and Gabe Kapler, both former big-leaguers, will attempt to earn a berth in the 16-team World Baseball Classic contested in 2013.

Former UC Irvine baseball outfielder Bryan Petersen was recalled by the Miami Marlins on Tuesday and went hitless in three at-bats with a walk and a stolen base in the Marlins' 7-1 home loss to Atlanta on Wednesday. Petersen, a member of UCI's College World Series team in 2007, was hitting .321 with three home runs, 28 runs batted in and eight stolen bases in 243 at-bats with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs. It's his second stint this season with the Marlins, for whom he is batting .200 with two RBIs and two stolen bases in 55 at-bats.

COSTA MESA - The Costa Mesa National Little League Majors Division All-Stars like to go over all facets of the game before the actual game starts. The team tried a different approach on Monday. The team focused mostly on hitting. Manager Matt Palma said his team needed to after a one-run effort in the first game of the Mayor's Cup on Saturday. His players agreed. "They wanted their bats to come alive," said Palma, who saw the bats tatter the ball in the second game of the best-of-three Mayor's Cup series.

Newport Harbor High senior shortstop Jordan Desguin earned first-team All-Sunset League laurels in baseball after Coach Patrick Murphy said Desguin finished with the second-best batting average (.413) in league play. Desguin, who is bound for Florida State, was the better hitter for Newport Harbor (6-19, 2-13 in league). He hit .364 overall as a switch hitter. He finished with seven runs batted in, five doubles and one triple. Desguin played in the Ryan Lemmon Showcase game between the Sunset League and Trinity League.

As finals came to a close Friday and UC Irvine baseball players are bound for their summer destinations, Anteaters Coach Mike Gillespie is pleased to report the return to the program of Pat Shine, the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. Shine missed the final 23 games of the 2012 season and had been absent from the program since late April, before returning to work on Monday. The reason for Shine's absence, referred to by school officials only as a personnel matter, remains unknown.